The Migration of Food in Anatolia

Anatolia has witnessed several waves of migration. Migrants in the 1920s, like my family, were part of a flow of people fleeing war, moving mostly on foot — which took more than a year — from Başkale in the east to Konya, in the west. They reached Mosul after two or three months, having mostly walked through the mountains, sometimes getting food from villages, often eating wild plants they found on their way, as it was dangerous to travel inside or through the cities.

The people of Mosul welcomed immigrants with stuffed meatballs. My mother, fighting back tears, explained to me how delicious the taste of the stuffed meatballs were, particularly considering that they had consumed only wild herbs for the several months of their journey. She was about five years old then, and gives her thanks to Allah that no one in her family has to go through such difficulties any more.