Dinner Traditions & Innovations

For most Turks, dinner is the most important meal of the day, particularly during the thirty nights of Ramadan (spelt ‘Ramazan’ in Turkish). That’s the month when adult muslims are expected to refrain from eating, drinking, smoking or having sex from dawn to sunset.

When the drums and cannons signal that the sun has set, the faithful sit down to a feast called iftar, which begins with easily digested foods such as dates and olives, then moves on to lavish lamb and eggplant stews, and concludes with cinnamon-flavoured rice puddings and baklava.