Breakfast Turkish-style

Before I fill these blog pages with photos from our visit to Göreme, a fantastical city in Turkey's Cappadocia region, I'll take a moment to share my love for the Turkish breakfast.  My first exposure to Turkish style breakfast was our Istanbul hotel's morning buffet.  I'll say that it was an underwhelming experience.  Nothing in the the table-long spread of salad fixings, soft white salty cheeses, bright pink bologna slices, hard boiled eggs, bread rolls, packets of jam, corn flakes and cocoa puffs was particularly appealing first thing in the morning.  Each morning I was disappointed that nothing more exciting appeared, and settled on an uninspired bowl of corn flakes with a cup of coffee, longing for the bounty of tropical fruits that lined the breakfast buffets during our stay in Brazil.  Now, as a more seasoned Turkish tourist, I realize two things: first, that hotel presented a bit of a sub-standard Turkish breakfast, and second, cucumbers are a divine way to start the day.

This past week, I loved that the New York Times photo essay by Hannah Whittaker called Rise and Shine: What Kids Around the World Eat for Breakfast featured not one, but two kids from Turkey.  Interestingly, two were from Brazil as well, but the Brazilian kids' breakfasts were very hum-drum and didn't include even one delicious tropical fruit selection.  Meanwhile, these Turkish parents are taking it to another level:

Above photos by Hannah Whitaker via nyt online

I want to eat at Doga's house!  The article points out that repeated exposure to foods at a young age will bring a kid on board with pretty much anything, even a "putrid soybean goop" called natto that the Japanese eat.  I apparently didn't need exposure in the womb in order to appreciate the virtues adding cucumbers to my breakfast plate.  For those looking to put a little Turkish flavor into your morning, try this at home:  slice open a warm boiled egg, layer on soft white salty cheese and top with peeled sliced cucumbers.  Mmm mmm good.

Here are a few breakfast shots from around Turkey:

Breakfast at the Peri Cave hotel in Göreme, Cappadocia

Honeycomb at the Ankara hotel

Not breakfast, but an apple tea with kitty to warm Booker up after our pre-dawn arrival to Göreme