The Turkish Cuisine and Award-Winning Turkish Wine

Ask not what you can do for your country. Ask what's for lunch."
--Orson Welles

Deemed as one of the world's top three cuisines (along with French and Chinese), Turkish dining is fabulous in that it includes an enormous variety of preparation, techniques and flavors. Turkey is also blessed with its natural resources and geography for growing fruits, vegetables, baby lamb and beef. Turkey is completely self-sufficient agriculturally and a major exporter of foodstuffs.

What Will I Eat on the Gulet?

You'll be dining in the style of the Ottoman sultans. Here are some tidbits of what to expect and check our sample menu page for a full day's actual menu.

Blue Cruise Breakfast

You'll begin your days with a Mediterranean breakfast. Fresh fruit, olives, feta and kasar cheeses, pine honey, sour cherry jam, eggs prepared to order, sliced tomatoes and freshly baked bread brought to you in a rowboat from villagers on shore. Ample squeezed orange juice, coffee (includingTurkish coffee) and tea are always provided. 

 

Aegean Lunches

After a morning of exploration and sailing, you crew will anchor for lunch. You can expect an array of dazzling `mezes` to begin with, including such appetizers as fresh beans in olive oil, sauteed aubergine in tomato-garlic sauce, green salad, and a main course of oven baked courgette casserole.

Alternatively, you may choose to enjoy your lunch on shore at one of our suggested restaurants or a small, family run taverna en-route.

Afternoon tea

Your captain will anchor for your afternoon tea and coffee while your chef effortlessly produces his family's traditional börek for accompaniment. It will then be time for another swim before continuing on to your next anchorage for dinner.

Happy Hour & Sunset Dinners on board your gulet

Once you have anchored for the evening, your crew will serve cocktails to order while your chef prepares dinner. It might be grilled calamari, tarator sauce with crushed pine nuts, sauteed purslane, and stuffed vine leaves as starters, followed by grilled sea bream with a light olive oil and lemon sauce to be passed around. Or, it might be lightly spiced chicken with vegetables. Remember that the menu preferences are for you to indicate and choose.

The Blossom of Turkish Viticulture and Wine

Perhaps the biggest irony of having a very conservative Turkish government in power which taxes alcoholic beverages very highly, is that Turkish wine and its production are absolutely blossoming. This is the time to imbibe! In recent years, Turkish wines have taken gold and silver awards in London and Paris. After all, this is where the ancient Hittites first began producing wine, and the geography, climate and terrain are perfectly suited for excellent grape production.

Wine Tasting on your Gulet

If you are a connieuseur of fine wines and wish to try the best that Turkey has to offer, a gulet charter is the perfect opportunity to do so. Depending on your preferences, we'll have a selection of wines ready for you at proper temperature and the right glasses at your embarkation. You can taste each and decide which wines you would like to have (and in what quantity!), and we'll stock your gulet with them prior to your departure from the harbor. Our suggestions are Angora, Cankaya, Kavaklidere Bogazkere-Öküzgözü, and Saraffin to begin with.

Raki - The Turkish Way

The national drink in Turkey is raki - over 70% of alcoholic beverages sold are raki. Similar to Greek ouzo, French pastis and Lebanese arak, it is a licorice-flavored, rather potent spirit which turns milky white when water and ice are added to it. The manner in which it is prepared and served is an art form which our crew will be happy to show you.