When asked about Turkish food the majority of people will immediately think of doner kebab. There is a lot more to Turkish dining. Here are a few tasters.

Modern Turkish cooking can be credited to the Ottoman Empire(1301-1922),and is a fusion and refinement of Central Asian, Middle Eastern and Balkan cuisines. The Ottomans took various culinary traditions of their empire, adding influences from Middle Eastern cuisines and traditional Turkic elements (eg. yoghurt), thus creating a vast array of technical specialities, many with strong regional associations. The dishes of the Aegean, Mamara and Mediterranean regions are based on Mediterranean cuisine, rich in fish, herbs and vegetables.

Breakfast

Traditional Turkish breakfast is a really tasty meal not to be rushed. It includes various cheeses (beyaz peynir, kasar etc.), butter, olives, eggs, tomatoes, cucumbers, green peppers, reçel (jam/marmalade; a preserve of whole fruits) and honey usually on top of kaymak(like clotted cream). Sucuk (spicy Turkish sausage),pasturma(cured beef), borek(filled pastry), simit(sesame seed bread), pogaca(puff pastry) and even soups can be served. A common Turkish breakfast speciality is called menemen, which is prepared with peppers, roasted tomatoes, olive oil and eggs.

All day long Turkish people drink black tea. Tea making is a slow process using two teapots. Strong bitter tea made in the upper pot is diluted by adding boiling water from the lower. Street sellers can be seen carrying trays of glasses of tea to offices and shops, costing about 1Tl a glass.

Coffee is so important in Turkish culture that the Turkish word for breakfast, "kahvaltı" literally means "before coffee" (kahve 'coffee' altı 'before' or 'under'). Turkish coffee can be served sweet or bitter.  Although Arabs call their coffee Turkish coffee, it is different in aroma and taste from the classical Turkish coffee.

Eating out

Major foreign fast food chains have opened throughout Turkey, but Turkish people still rely heavily on the rich and extensive dishes of their local cuisine. Some traditional Turkish foods, especially kofte(like a meatball but various flavours),doner(lamb donerkebab), börek and gözleme(thin filled pastry) are now served as fast food in Turkey. Eating out has always been popular in large commercial cities. Esnaf lokantası (restaurants for shopkeepers and tradesmen) are widespread, serving traditional Turkish home cooking at affordable prices. The local restaurants in Datca really are good value.

While most Turkish restaurants offer Western dishes varying from fillet steaks to pizzas and omelettes, the traditional Turkish meal consists of numerous cold and then hot starters called Meze dishes followed by main courses of meat, cheese or fish all with a variety of salads. The local drink called Ayran (yoghurt, water and salt) is very refreshing and of course the Turkish spirit Raki is popular with evening meals.