Turkish food is among the best in the world, and traveling here is in large part an eating experience. The cuisine draws on Central Asian, Persian, Arabic, and Mediterranean traditions — Ottoman cooking was a synthesis of an empire — and the results are varied, robust, and deeply satisfying.
Breakfast is an institution. A full Turkish breakfast (kahvalti) involves a spread of cheeses (beyaz peynir, kasar), olives, tomatoes, cucumbers, eggs, honey, and clotted cream (kaymak) with bread and endless tea. Hotels across the country serve some version of this; in cities like Van and Trabzon, where breakfast culture is particularly serious, dedicated breakfast restaurants open early and fill with locals for hours.
Kebabs are everywhere, and the variety is greater than the word suggests. Adana kebab is spiced minced lamb on a flat skewer, fiery and served with flatbread and onion salad. Iskender kebab (a specialty of Bursa) is thinly sliced grilled lamb over pita, drenched in tomato sauce and browned butter, with yogurt on the side. Beyti is minced lamb in a bread roll, sliced and served similarly. Cop sis are small cubes of marinated meat on a skewer. At good places, the meat is freshly ground or cut each day.
Meze are small dishes served at the start of a meal, particularly at meyhanes (taverns) where raki is drunk. The meyhane tradition — slow eating, much talking, progressive courses of cold and hot meze followed by a main — is one of the great pleasures of being in Turkey. Cold meze include tarator (walnut and garlic sauce), circassian chicken in walnut sauce, stuffed vine leaves (dolma), and various yogurt-based dishes (cacik — the Turkish version of tzatziki — and haydari, thick strained yogurt with herbs).
Street food: Simit (sesame-covered bread rings sold from carts) are eaten at all times of day. Balik ekmek — grilled mackerel in bread, sold at floating boats in Istanbul's Eminonu — is an Istanbul classic. Kokorec (offal grilled on a spit and stuffed into bread) is an acquired taste but an Istanbul street staple. Midye dolma (mussels stuffed with spiced rice and lemon) are sold by the dozen from carts; the seller pries one open, you squeeze lemon on it, eat it, and hand back the shell as the counter.
Soup: Mercimek corbasi (red lentil soup) is the everyday standard, rich and warming. Iskembe corbasi (tripe soup) is the traditional late-night restorative, drunk after a night of raki. Ezogelin corbasi (red lentil with bulgur and dried mint) is a simpler, homier version.
Sweets: Baklava in Turkey means layers of filo, clarified butter, and ground pistachios or walnuts, drenched in syrup. Gaziantep in the southeast produces what most Turks will tell you is the best. Kadayif is shredded wheat over cheese with syrup. Lokum (Turkish Delight) is everywhere but varies wildly in quality — the best is made fresh without artificial flavoring. Sutlac (rice pudding, baked until the top is browned) is comfort food at its finest.
Drinks: Tea is the national drink. It comes in small tulip-shaped glasses, drunk black and strong, and is offered constantly — in shops, offices, construction sites, everywhere. Turkish coffee (turk kahvesi) is thick and unfiltered, drunk slowly. Raki is the national spirit — an anise-flavored liquor that turns cloudy white when mixed with water, drunk with meze at meyhanes. Turkish wine has improved considerably; the Aegean regions (Bozcaada, Urla, Thrace) produce decent reds and whites.
A note on regional differences: the Black Sea coast has its own traditions (hamsi — anchovies — cooked dozens of ways; corn bread). The southeast is the land of spice, kebabs cooked over specific wood, and lahmacun (thin crispy flatbread with minced meat, eaten rolled up with parsley and lemon). The Aegean is the place for olive oil, herbs, and fresh vegetables.