In the early seventies I was lucky enough to be visiting Turkey many times ( Istanbul, Kusadasi and Izmir among other places). At that time, Turkey still had an oriental mystique to it which was incredibly fascinating and exiting to a young man like me. The sights, smells and noises where so much different from what I was used to – even after all these years, they still linger vividly in my memory My girlfriend and I almost got stoned by an angry mob one day at the market in Izmir. We just came from the Caribbean and my girlfriend Edith was wearing the popular outfit of the day – high heels, hot pants and a thin t-shirt without a bra – not a good idea at the time in a mostly Muslim country. Only the quick help and intervention of our taxi driver who came running to rescue us (carefree idiots) prevented great harm or worse. But beside that particular episode, I only have great memories of Turkey in the seventies. One of the highlights of our stay’s were always the great meals we had in local restaurants. We tried anything we could, from five-star restaurants in five-star hotels in Istanbul to small dives along the beaches and funky eateries in the sea ports more seedy areas. The food was always great, fresh, spice-laden and exotic (to me at that time, most anything seemed exotic) I remember Adana Kebab to be widely served and today I finally got around to do my own version which turned out pretty spectacular :-) Bon Appetit ! Afiyet Olsun !

Servings:  4
Prep Time:  10 Min
Total Time:  20 Min