Turkey Material from Matt Thomas
Here is Matt Thomas's e-mail address. He was the concluding speaker at class last night, and the graduate assistant for the 2005 McCombs Turkey trip.
matt.thomas@peopleadmin.comMatt had some additional information to share about Turkey:
"A company in Turkey launched a soda brand, Cola Turka, to compete with Coke. They hired Chevy Chase to act in the commercials. They are pretty entertaining. They play off the name of the soda which is obviously nationalistic. The basic premise is that drinking Cola Turka makes you more Turkish.
mms://windowsmedia.dvlabs.com/adcritic/colaturka-chevychase1.asf
mms://windowsmedia.dvlabs.com/adcritic/colaturka-chevychase2.asf
Random Places:
Pasabahce (pasha-bach-eh) - great store for nice gifts, mainly glassware
Dolmabahce (dolma-bach-eh) - literally translated, it means Full Garden. This is an amazing palace and the home of Ataturk, the modern father of Turkey. It has one of the world's largest chandeliers.
Ortakoy (or-tah-koy) - This a great neighborhood. Lots of shops for souvenirs, a nightly bazaar, many great restaurants and bars. You can have a beer, smoke the hookah, and play tavla (tah-vlah - backgammon).
Taksim (tahk-sim) - This is the party neighborhood the essentially the hub of night life in Istanbul. Many restaurants, clubs, bars, etc.
Soccer:
Fenerbahce (fen-ehr-bach-eh) - yellow & blue
Galatasaray (gah-lah-ta-sah-ray) - yellow & red
Besiktas (besh-shek-tash) - black & white
Food:
One thing I forgot to mention with respect to food is that the Turks love yogurt (phonetically yoh-urt in Turkish - don't pronounce the 'g'). It's not Yoplait yogurt, but plain yogurt similar to the tzatziki sauce on gyros. What can be odd for Americans is that they put yogurt on a lot of food that we wouldn't, in particular meat. I was hesitant at first myself, however it is really good once you try it. If you don't want yogurt on something, say "yogurtsuz lutfen" (yoh-urt loot-fen - "No yogurt, please.").
ENTREES
Lahmacun (lah-mah-jun) - Turkish pizza; thin crust pita bread with lamb and light tomato sauce; most people will really like this
Pide (pee-dae) - similar to Lahmacun, but the bread is thicker and oblong in shape; you can get this a variety of ways, e.g., with meat, cheese, etc.; most people will enjoy this dish
Dolma (dohl-mah) - grape leaves stuffed with rice and pine nuts with olive oil
Patlican Kizartmisi (pot-leh-jun kiz-mart-muh-suh) - fried eggplant (my favorite dish)
Cop Sis (churp shish) - finely chopped lamb/beef in a pita; common on the street
Iskender Doner (is-ken-dare doh-nare) - lamb with tomato sauce, butter, pita bread, and yogurt
Manti (man-tuh) - Turkish ravioli
Su Boregi or Su Borek (su bore-eh-ee or su bor-ek) - pastry dish made with feta cheese
Kofta (koorf-ta) - essentially Turkish meatballs
Beyaz Peynir (beh-yaz peh-neer) - Turkish feta cheese
Levrek (leh-vrek) - sea bass
Kumpir (koom-peer) - the world's greatest baked potato. The best place to get these is at Ortakoy.
Iskembe Corbasi (ish-kehm-beh chor-bah-suh) - tripe soup. This is the soup you eat to sober up after drinking. I'm not a fan.
DESERTS
Baklava (bahk-lah-vah) - light pastry with sugar water and nuts
Kadayif (kah-day-if) - made from shredded pastry and baked in syrup with pistachio nuts, walnuts, or cream
Tavuk Gogsu (tah-vook go-soo) - a desert made with chicken breast. Definitely try this. You won't realize it's made with chicken...
General Deserts:
http://www.maxiturkey.com/showthread.php?t=226GENERAL FOOD TERMS
Peynir (beh-yaz peh-neer) - cheese
Salata (sah-lah-tah) - salad
Tavuk (tah-vuke) - this is the general term for chicken
Su (soo) - water
Gazos (gaz-ohs) - carbonated water, sparkling water
Bira (beer-ah) - beer
Raki (rah-kuh or rah-kee) - this is a distinctly Turkish drink and is referred to as Lion's Milk. It's a clear liquor made from anise that is mixed with water and immediately turns a milky-white. Very strong, but great when served with fish.
Sarap (sha-rap) - wine; beyaz sarabi (bey-ahz shar-ah-buh) white wine; kirmizi sarabi (kur-muh-zuh shar-ah-buh) red wine
Nargile (nar-gee-leh) - aka hookah. There are a few coffee houses in the Besiktas (beh-sheek-tash) area of town that are hookah bars.
Turk Kahvesi (turk kah-veh-seh) - Turkish coffee. Please be mindful that there are grinds at the bottom of the glass. You can order it one of 3 ways: sade (sah-deh) no sugar, orta (or-tah) medium sweetness, sekerli (sheh-kehr-lee) sweet (literally "with sugar"). Also, you should ask a local to help you tell your fortune using Turkish coffee. They will read it in the grinds left at the bottom of the glass.
Corba (chor-bah) - soup
GENERAL PHRASES
Lutfen (loot-fen) - please
Te sekkuler (teh shek-koo-lehr) - thank you
Sagol (sah-ole) - thank you
Tuvalet (too-vah-leht) - bathroom, e.g., Tuvalet nerede? (too-vah-leht nare-eh-deh) Where is the bathroom?
Saat kac? (saht kach) - What time is it?
Ne kadar? (neh kah-dar) - How much?
Cok guzel! (choke goo-zel) - Cool!, Nice!, in general a nice compliment to show that you like something.
Dolmus (dole-moosh) - These are the small vans you'll see running around. You get on and then pass your money forward. The driver will give you your change. The word dolmus basically translates to "stuffed".
Inecek var! (in-eh-jehk vahr) - essentially, "This is my stop". You can use this phrase to get off of the dolmus. Don't say "inek var" (in-ehk vahr) as this means "There is a cow!".
