In Baran Turkey
Home Cooking Turkey
For those who have every braved a road trip without packing a gourmet meal before hitting the highways are left with indelible memories of awful 49 cent mini mall hotdogs and cans of cola, only to have to repeat the process every few hundred miles or so. So I planned ahead on my latest trip with FLOtours. I loaded my backpack with an assortment of power bars for those times when I just could not handle a gas station meal. Next stop, ten cities in Turkey.
However, when I stopped about 99 kilometers outside of Ankara on the road to Cappadocia at Baran. It looked like a typical roadside tourist center gas station, with one exception the food was delicious. I enjoyed a variety of traditional Turkish specialties including masakka, lavash bread and a mouth-watering, stewed eggplant dish that has me drooling right now. Being pleasantly surprised would be an understatement.
As I continued around Turkey, hitting many of the countries major attractions, I eventually visited numerous pleasant surprises across the country. I left the power bars in my backpack to melt and congeal. For those considering seeing Turkey by car or bus, note that the roads throughout Turkey are in excellent condition and some of the homemade meals, even better.
Devin Galaudet is the Editor of In The Know Traveler, an online travel magazine dedicated to international travel and cultural exchange. He also shares his insider information as a working travel writer on his personal blog Travel. Write. Live.. Before travel, he has survived careers in antiques, construction, film and professional card playing. When Devin is not traveling or writing, he lives in Los Angeles with his fiance, pixie-like ten-year-old daughter and his compulsive book buying habit. And yes, I am horseback riding in Costa Rica. Photo by Tim Williamson
It surprises me to read that you were thinking you might encounter road-side hot dogs in Turkey to begin with. I have done many road trips in Europe and never been worried that I might have to eat a meat stick. I have been surprised at times to find that the gas station food (like crossing from Italian to Swiss Alps) happened to be a prociutto sandwich with butter on a baguette…that was a delightful shock, or spaetzle in Germany, but never have I been forced to eat a hot dog with no other option. Is that normal for you, or only when you road-trip in the States?
Hi Gretta,
Yes, my references to hotdogs was from my experience of road trips in the U.S. and I was surprised to see some much good homemade food everywhere I went in Turkey — even the gas stations.
It is nice to know that there are more good options out there. In my visits to Germany and other spots in Europe, I spent far more time in trains than in cars. Thanks Gretta
I just remembered that some of my favorite meals in Paris were hotdogs. I am ashamed that I was so horrified by the idea earlier. Paris had hotdogs on baguettes with super spicy brown mustard. Those baguettes were so delicious and the mustard so spicy it was really a fantastic meal. I had forgotton that until just now and all of a sudden I want to eat a hotdog so bad I might head straight to the grocery store. Now to find a Seattle-based bakery that makes good enough baguettes to compete.