Going to Ankara, TR!!!

I know I've read a post or two about people who have been or visited Turkey. I will be flying to Ankara on Saturday and wanted to ask for some advice. It can be nutritional as in what you think I should try or stay away from (anything will be helpful) or places to visit, etc. Any advice? 

Oh how exciting!!! My husband is Turkish so we go to Turkey often to visit his family. In fact we spent the entire summer of 2006 in Turkey, and I really miss it there. Turkey is an absolutely wonderful place and there is so much to see and experience.

Are you only going to be in Ankara? If you have a chance to go to other cities in Turkey I would highly recommend going to Istanbul, Adana, Izmir, Bodrum, and Antalya. There are many other great cities in Turkey but those are the ones I can think of off the top of my head. My husband would be better at telling you what places you should visit since he is Turkish.

If you are only going to be in Ankara then I suggest going to Anit Kabir (Ataturk's Mausoleum). There are a lot of other museums in Ankara too that you can check into going to as well.

As for traveling in Ankara, there is a monorail system that I would suggest. Once you get to know the names of the streets it is really easy to get around if you use the rail system. If you have ever been to Turkey then you would know that the traffic there is outrageous in the big cities. They seriously drive like crazy and they honk at EVERYTHING. I would not suggest you driving because that would be way scary if you aren't used to how they drive over there.

I can't really tell you the nutritional value in the foods because my parent in laws always cooked for me when I was in Turkey (or we went out to eat), but you seriously need to try as much Turkish food as you can. It is super delicious!! I really wouldn't worry about eating a lot because when I was in Turkey I walked everywhere so there is some major excercise right there.  But seriously, one of the best things about Turkey is the food. They have incredible foods!!! The kebaps are to die for!! They also have yummy hot fresh breads everywhere that I could seriously eat all day long. Other foods that I would suggest you try are: turkish pizzas (lahmacun), doner, and all the turkish desserts. There is so many foods that I wish I could eat right now in Turkey. It is so good!

How long will you be in Turkey?

Enjoy your stay in Turkey! It is a wonderful place!

My cousin lived there for several years but I don't remember him saying anything about the food -- but that he really liked it there and that the people were all so kind and welcoming to him.

Don't know if Turkish food is similar to Lebanese or Greek, but there is a web site about it.

Have a great time!

My husband is here with me now and I asked him if he had any suggestions when it comes to foods. This is what we recommend:

• Iskender Kebap: It has flat meat (beef, lamb, or chicken) with a tomato sauce on top. Under the meat there is flat bread. On the side there is usually tomatoes and yogurt.
• Dolma: Vegetables (eggplants, peppers, or zucchini) stuffed with white rice, ground beef, and tomatoes.
• Sarma: Rice wrapped in grape leaves.
• Kofte: Ground beef with spices and bread crumbs. They can fry it or grill it.
• Sac Borek: Thin bread with whatever you want inside of it. We really like them with cheese and potatoes in it. It is super good!
• Lahmacum: I call it turkish pizza. It is thin bread with ground beef, onions, garlic, tomatoes, and spices on top.
• Yayla Corba: It is basically yogurt soup.
• Dondurma: This is ice cream and it is so good. It is like no other ice cream you have ever tasted in the USA. You should really try it! There is one place that serves ice cream and tons of desserts and it is called MADO. You should really go there! Just thinking about that place makes my stomach rumble.
• Baklava: It is a dessert with pistachios or pecans inside of really thin bread with melted sugar on top.
• Kunefe: A sweet cheese pastry made with kadayif (very fine vermicelli/pastry).
• Turkish delights: They have an assortment of turkish delights. It is basically like a jelly candy with different flavors.

I hope this helps you a little! You should really bring me back some Turkish food! I am really craving now after thinking about all the food over there! ENJOY!

wow! thanks a lot for the help! seriously i was expecting no one to answer...

sadly i will only be there for a week! and as far as i know i will only be staying in ankara. i am going there to visit/register for college. we have a house there already (my dad is working over there) and now my mom and brothers are going there as well and staying. so i am going along with them just to visit and figure out the whole school issue. i am staying behind here in the US until the summer when i move there for good though. i am excited to go i have been learning a lot about Turkey it sounds like such an interesting place! i'm sure i will like it. if the food really is anything like lebanese or arabic food then i know i will love it (one of my friends mom was lebanese and i LOVED their food)! over all though, do you think i have to worry about their food being too caloric/unhealthy? i mean is it safe to assume i could eat out there a lot more and not have to worry so much about its nutritional/caloric value as i do here in the US? 

 anyways i do wish i could go to istanbul though... i keep hearing lots of good things about it. i'll have to wait until i move there i suppose. 

 either way, i can't wait to try the ice cream you talked about. i hope i find this MADO place. i'm pretty sure i've tried baklava before and liked it. mm i can't wait to try their sweets haha! anyways wish me luck thanks a lot for all the help you guys! :)