Istanbul Eats' latest "Wine Chat" with Turkish sommelier Serdar Kombe takes a look at a Turkish rosé that Kombe says might be in the same league as great rosés from Provence. More here.
A yacht tour in Turkey has turned out badly for a group of Russian tourists, after three of them died after drinking what appears to be bootleg alcohol. More details here.
This is not the first time Turkey has had to deal with the death of tourists who had imbibed bootleg hooch. In the resort city of Antalya, a court is currently deciding the fate of a liquor distributor who is accused of supplying the bathtub booze that killed three German students in 2009. More on that case here.
And in 2005, more than 20 people died after drinking bootleg raki, the anise-flavored spirit that is Turkey's national drink. Details here.
For those who may have missed it on Sunday, here's a link to a great article from the New York Times' travel section about farm holidays in Georgia's Kakheti region. An accompanying video is here.
Planning a visit to Istanbul and worried about how to enjoy the city's culinary scene while keeping your kids happy? Istanbul Eats' latest advice column has the answer, here.
Strict new regulations introduced by the Turkish government had put many of the country's drinkers in a funk. Among the new regulations were ones that tightly controlled who could buy alcohol at festivals and other large events and also made it more difficult for catering companies to serve alcohol at events.
But some of those regulations have now been suspended by a Turkish court. More from the Hurriyet Daily News:
The ruling party tabled one of the most disputed articles in the law, one which had banned alcohol sales at events and activities “for children and young people,” dealing a blow to festival and concert organizers and attendees.
The regulation had come under particular fire for defining “young people” as those up to 24 years of age, a provision the court said contradicted existing laws that set 18 as the minimum legal age for buying and consuming alcohol.
The Council of State made its decision as it continued to examine a petition by the Ankara Bar Association seeking the annulment of the entire bill. It also suspended a second provision of the law that had prohibited shops from selling liquor in small bottles, which regulators argued made alcohol easier to access for young people.
The regulation was passed in January by the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, with the aim of protecting young people from alcoholism. Its adoption triggered protests saying that the party was targeting liberal lifestyles.
Istanbul Eats recently visited the Inebolu Pazari, an open-air food market that sets up shop once week on Sundays to sell goods from Turkey's Black Sea regions. One of the market's specialties are wild mushrooms. More here.
As Foreign Policy's The Cable blog reported yesterday, violence recently broke out on the disputed border between Georgia and the breakaway republic of S. Ossetia, with a group of 15 people being shot at by either S. Ossetian or Russian troops. Two people were killed and four injured in the incident, according to the report, which stated the group was in the area "collecting food."
But just what was this "food" they were collecting? According to Kebabistan's Georgian sources, the food in question is jonjoli, a wild green that is a staple of the Georgian kitchen. Says EurasiaNet's Giorgi Lomsadze, via email: "Jonjoli is a bush (Staphylea colchica). The pickled sprouts of this bush are a popular appetizer/side dish. It is normally mixed with olive oil and sometimes with other . . . pickled veggie[s], such as cucumber, pepper, or tomatoes. It's mostly associated with western Georgia, has a strange taste but everyone loves it for some reason. There are no popular beliefs connected to jonjoli, but it is a must on a Georgian supra, or traditional feast table. Some are apparently dying to get it."
This blog recently reported about Georgian opposition groups' efforts to woo the country's rural wine makers, who are still feeling the effects of Russia's embargo on the country's wine.
Could Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili be striking back and creating his own brand of "wine politics"? More here.
For many of us, the real action in Eurasia is happening in the region’s kitchens. From noodles in Kyrgyzstan to doner in Turkey and everything else edible in between, Kebabistan brings you the latest developments in Eurasia’s food culture.
About The Author
Kebabistan is written by Yigal Schleifer, a freelance journalist based in Istanbul, Turkey, where he works as a correspondent for EurasiaNet, covering Turkey and the surrounding region.
