Brisbane's Culinary Diversity: 52 cuisines in 52 weeks: Week 11: Turkey

Week 11: Turkey....Veni Vidi Vici

In 1992, six of us charted a yacht and sailed the south-western coast of Turkey. I often refer to it as our Peter Stuyvesant holiday....remember those amazing cinema ads with that very distinctive jingle, depicting an idyllic lifestyle? That was us...for two weeks at least. We did not have a care in the world, and because of that, I saw the world in cinemascope - the beaches were whiter, the sky was brighter, the ocean more turquoise and the tomatoes tasted sweeter. I couldn't get over the flavour and colour of the tomatoes (in hindsight, I believe they were so good because they never saw the inside of a fridge!) We sailed to remote locations, explored rural settlements and enjoyed their local produce. Language was often a barrier, so-much-so that the owner of a tiny eatery in Gocek actually invited us into his kitchen to prepare our own meal, as he couldn't understand what we were trying to order. And I can still smell the wafting aroma of freshly baked borek, with spinach and goat's cheese filling, that we bought from a local woman on the quay of Kalkan. In Istanbul, I was overwhelmed by the perfume and variety of exotic spices as I traversed the aisles of the Grand Bazaar. That holiday, now 21 years ago, holds a very special place in my memory. How life has changed since then......

It is widely considered that there are three major cuisines in the world: French, Chinese and Turkish.
This week, we explored the culinary delights that emerged from the Ottoman Empire. We visited Mado, a truly authentic Turkish restaurant situated south of the Brisbane River in a 17ha cultural and recreational precinct called Southbank Parklands. In 1840, Southbank was the preferred place of settlement for most Europeans, but after the Great Flood of 1893, most residents and businesses moved to the northern side of the river. After WWII Southbank declined into a ghost town. Change happened in 1977 with the construction of the Performing Arts Complex, however the real re-birth of Southbank was in 1988 when it was the site for EXPO'88. Today Southbank is a vibrant visitor's attraction, drawing over 11million visitors each year. It has a man-made beach, garden and rainforest walks, picnic and barbeque areas, cycling paths and many restaurants, of which Mado is but one.

The spice profile of Turkish cuisine is subtle and refined. They prefer sumac, paprika, black pepper,
cumin and pimento. Herbs include mint, oregano and thyme. Eggplant has an important place in Turkish cuisine, as has yoghurt, which accompany nearly all meat dishes, meze and manti (bread).We decided to try some of the more traditional dishes on offer, and after being wished Afiyet Olsun by our delightful Turkish waitress, we shared a meal worthy of a Sultan: Kofte Izgara (lamb mince chargrilled on a skewer), Imam Bayildi (a vegetarian grilled eggplant dish), Hunkar Begendi ( lamb on a smoked eggplant puree), Anatolian Chicken Guvec (traditional chicken casserole), some calamari, got to have shish, and a Turkish musakka. Halfway through the meal, we were entertained by a belly dancer, who dragged Boetie out of his chair to join her......I am convinced there is some YouTube footage available of this energetic performance!

Turkey is such an amazing place, and this was reflected in the variety of interesting facts (see blog week 1) offered around the table. We covered ancient history, modern history, geography, religion, wars (it was in Turkey that Julius Caesar uttered the famous words veni vidi vici after conquering Pontus), carpets and kilims, and my favourite fact: The Turks gave the Dutch their tulips. In the 16th century, tulips were growing wild all over Anatolia, and it is an important emblem on tiles, carpets and textiles. The name tulip derives from the Turkish word tulipa, which means "turban". Makes sense, doesn't it?

Last night we were also joined by Sophie, a young student from Germany, who shared the fact that there are 2 million Turks living in Germany, and the issues surrounding this Muslim nation becoming a member of the EU. In Australia there are over 300,000 people of Turkish origin, most of them settled in Melbourne.

One cannot complete a Turkish dinner without a strong Turkish coffee and some rosewater lokum (Turkish delight) to enhance digestion, as was the norm after meals during the Ottoman era. But sadly, it's time to travel forth. Next week we shall complete the trifecta of most noted world cuisines and exhibit our chopstick skills (or lack thereof...) in China.