My younger brother who traveled to Turkey dozens of time for his work over a decade in the early 2000’s told me that I shouldn’t leave Turkey without having lamb testi which is a type of lamb stew prepared in a terra cota jar and he was so right.
And if you visit Turkey, you should try it as well.
And if you do you should consider the Olympus restaurant underneath the Galata bridge where my guide Ugur took me.
And you should have it prepared by my new Kurdish friend Murat, who speaks 7 languages including Japanese and is a wonderful host, performer, personality and chef!
And the lamb, omg, so melt away tender and absolutely delicious!
And if you’re lucky Murat will offer you Raka (Turkish ouzo) and will spoon feed you individually selected tiny bites so you can properly savor the flavor with the Raka!
And then he’ll bring you Turkish coffee and baklava!
And you’ll have such a great meal and such a great time that you’ll be tempted, as I was, to kiss him on the cheek to show your appreciation!
And you feel tempted, go ahead and plant one, he won’t mind, in fact I think he liked it!
