Istanbul … Aşkım ….. Dünyadaki en sevdiğim şehir.
Istanbul and Food go together like peanut butter & Jelly, Hanky & Panky, Chocolate & EVERYTHING. Before I became vegan, my sojourns in Istanbul were a glutton’s dream. I kid you not, I once rented a room right next to Karaköy Güllüoğlu, for the sole purpose that I could eat — well more like stuff my face — Baklava all day, all night for the entirety of my trip.
Among the trillion reasons why Istanbul is one of the world’s best vacation destinations — I mean this city has it ALL — is its food so much that calling it a foodie paradise really falls short.
Ok, I need to stop right here, I mean what sort of “ethical” vegan would I be if I kept going on and on about — sorry folks — unethical food.
Long story short, now I am a happy Vegan, who, of all places lives in Istanbul. A bit of a bummer, I say. And no, I am not roaming the streets like a sad puppy, ogling humans chugging down “Lahmacun” and “Köfte” with sniveling eyes. Ever since I made that switch, I neither crave nor want to eat anything that ain’t vegan. The issue here is that at the beginning it could be quite challenging, but once you learn to navigate through, have the right sorta info, and acquire some new habits (be healthier, learn to cook, aka become a real adult), it becomes ya know life as usual. So here are my two cents on how to live cruelty-free and HAPPY in the most magnificent city in the world.
Türk yemekleri[1] in a jiffy:
Turkish cuisine is one of the world’s top cuisines, joining the ranks of French, Chinese, Italian, and the like. Like the country’s cultural mosaic, the food of Turkey is very colorful and contains countless different influences and tastes. Not to mention — important to all foreigners on the planet — there is no one Turkish cuisine, just like there is no such thing as the Mediterranean diet, Gosh how that phrase bugs me, I mean squeezing tens of countries into one tiny box, is kinda racist don’t ya think. Besides who gets to define what.
Yet, we ain’t here to delve into the ocean that is Turkish cuisine but to dip our toes into what concerns us as Vegan.
Fun fact 1: Turkey has the highest bread consumption per person in the world. Bread consumption a year is 199.6 kg (440 lb) per person. Turkish people eat more than three times their own body weight in bread annually.
Not-so-fun fact 2:
Turkey/ Turkish cuisine, in recent times, has become a carnivore’s paradise, street food being the worst of them all. So be prepared to smell meat EVERYWHERE, and I mean that literally
The Vegan Vocab:
Look you may have heard horror stories about how Turkish people could care less about your vegan ethics, and how waiters lie about what’s in the food. But fear not, Turks are absolutely awesome, understanding, and helpful. Ok, they may think you are crazy for denying yourself döner kebab, Börek, and Kaymak and filling your vegan tummy with “grass” but if you’ve been vegan long enough you know that’s kinda universal, and not unique to Turkey.
Here are the most important phrases you guys. Write them down, memorize them, whatever, they will come in handy pretty much every time you step outside your vegan dungeon.
I am a very cool/ attractive vegan woman from Jordan
Ben çok havalı, vegan, Ürdünlü bir kadınım
Love animals, eat plants, be kind
Hayvanları sev, bitkileri ye, nazik ol
Seriously now ….
I am vegan
Ben veganım
Do you have vegan food
Vegan yemeğiniz var mı?
I am vegetarien
Ben vejetaryenim
I don’t eat meat
Et yemiyorum
I don’t eat dairy products
Süt ürünleri tüketmiyorum
I don’t eat fish
Balık yemiyorum
I don’t eat animal food
Hayvansal gıda tüketmiyorum
I don’t eat eggs
Yumurta yemiyorum
Do you have vegan milk?
Vegan sütünüz var mı?
To be continued ….
[1] Turkish food