To my left, witness the fabulous women making
gözleme in a village just outside of Eğirdir (or maybe it's in Eğirdir province? I don't know how this all works). Whats gözleme, you ask? It's a handmade fresh pastry--made from wheat, of course--that's made by rolling out wheat dough really thin, then putting yummy ingredients inside (like potatoes, onions, spinach, mushrooms, feta cheese, or some combination of the two) and then heating it on a griddle. You get a large, crepe-like flat pastry that tastes unbelievable. This is what I ate tonight, along with a cucumber, tomato, cabbage, lettuce salad; bulgur pilaf; yogurt soup; and ayran, a yogurt drink made from yogurt and water. Oh and grapes fresh from the vine in the back yard, watermelon, the most delicious honeydew I've ever tasted (it actually tasted like honey!), and did I mention several cups of tea?
What's funny is that most men have no idea what ingredients go into their favorite dishes. My colleague and local guide, Vançin (pronounced Vahnchin), didn't know that bulgur was wheat (he called it rice, which I ate heartily until I asked him what it was, suspiciously, and then slowed waaay down). He also didn't know (and neither did the other four men we asked) that one of Turkey's favorite treats, helveh (not the tahini version, which is also served here) is made from glutinous semolina flour. Hours later, when my stomach was feeling super fabulous, I googled the ingredients and told him what they were. Surprise!
Photo on the right of Turkish helvasi taken from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halva
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