TOURMAG / Sonbahar 2021

Actual
Hungarian chef introduces
Turkish cuisine
to world
Thanks to its geography, Turkey enjoys a
rich culinary culture, says a Hungarian chef
who is introducing Turkish cuisine to the
world with food tours of Istanbul. Speaking
to TOURMAG Tourism Magazine during her
latest tour of Istanbul with a group of about
20 Hungarians, Agnes Toth told about her
admiration for Turkish cuisine and her love
of Istanbul, the historic Ottoman capital and
Turkey’s commercial capital.
Toth who has been a culture and tourism
ambassador between Turkey and Hungary
for 15 years, said: "By virtue of its geography,
Turkey has an incredibly rich culinary
culture." Telling how she first came to Turkey
as a tourist 15 years ago, Toth said: "I loved
Turkish culture and language, and I decided
to advance myself in these areas."
After honing Turkish recipes that she started
to learn while picking up the Turkish
tongue, with frequent visits to Istanbul,
Toth continues to get training from Turkish
chiefs on the local cuisine. Explaining that
she started to learn Turkish through private
lessons and worked as cultural coordinator
for three years after the Yunus Emre Institute
(YEE) opened a branch in Hungary’s
capital Budapest, Toth signified: "In this
process, I organized programs on Turkish
culture and cuisine. I’ve done a lot of work
both at the YEE and as a volunteer. After
leaving the YEE, I started to write a blog
about Turkish cuisine."
US TV show documents
Ottoman Jews across Turkey
A US television team is following the traces of
Jews who settled in Turkey at the invitation
of Sultan Bayezid II following the expulsion
of Jews from Spain. The team of the Jewish
Life Television (JLT) channel, invited by the
Turkish Culture and Tourism Ministry, is in
Turkey’s northwestern province of Edirne,
once the capital of the Ottoman Empire after
filming in Turkey’s largest city Istanbul.
Brad Pomerance, the host of Air Land & Sea,
a global travel series about Jewish communities,
said Turkey has always been the
center of the three great monotheistic faiths
– Judaism, Islam, and Christianity. Noting
that being in Edirne was really inspiring,
Pomerance said: “After here (historic Selimiye
Mosque), we are going to visit the Great
Synagogue of Edirne.”
“It just goes to show you how Turkey continues
to be a tolerant country that welcomes people
of all faiths, whether you're Muslim, whether
you're Christian, whether you're Jewish. Yes,
Turkey is 99% Muslim, but I have felt incredibly
welcomed as a Jewish American documenting
the story of Jews in Turkey from the Spanish
Inquisition in 1492 to the present”, he added.
10 Ekim / Kasım / Aralık | 2021
October / November / December