28/05/2026
One of the attractions of travelling in Türkiye is the food. And one of my favourite Turkish street foods is Gözleme. I’ve already had a few but yesterday’s was special.
I watched the family matriarch roll out the thin dough (usually just flour, water and salt), fill it with finely cut spinach and herbs, and add crumbled white cheese. Using her thin wooden roller, she expertly dropped it onto the hot griddle (called a sac). Then her daughter watched it carefully, turning it a couple of times until it was perfectly cooked. Her son then folded it and cut it lightly with an implement like a pizza cutter. It was delivered to my table less than 30 seconds later.
Originating in rural Anatolia, the stuffed flatbread was initially a useful, portable food for farmers and travellers. Today it is found everywhere from roadside cafés and market stalls, to coastal restaurants. Part of its attraction is the contrast between the paper thin dough and the rich, fragrant fillings, along with the theatre of watching it being rolled, folded and cooked fresh to order.
I ate mine slowly (it was hot) as I wanted to savour the tastes. I finished with a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice. As I turned to leave, another daughter and two grandsons arrived. Each scrambled up onto the platform where she sat cross legged, her rolling pin at the ready. Each boy and then the daughter, kissed the older lady on both cheeks and said hello. There was so much respect in those greetings.
I nodded to the woman and murmured my thanks as I departed the simple roadside cafe. She looked at me with a resigned glance. She will probably make another 100 Gözleme today if business is good.
