When our travel agent asked whether we would be interested in including a Food & Culture Tour while in Cappadocia, we had no hesitation in saying yes. We have previously done half and whole-day cooking classes in Italy and have enjoyed the experience very much. Although we didn't know what the "Culture" part of the tour would involve, we thought we would take the chance.
We were picked up from our hotel at 9:30am by Tolga, who is a trained chef and is the manager of Cappadocia Home Cooking. He drove us to his home, where we met his wife Toba, then made a short walking tour of his village, which is smaller than the one where we are staying but also was historically a cave town. Cave dwellings are still in evidence and quite possibly could be converted to places of accommodation in the future.
As we walked, Tolga explained that this is a farming village and people grow most of the food they need for their families, either in their own back garden and/or on separate plots they own elsewhere. He greeted many villagers along the way and many wanted to have a quick chat - everyone knows everyone, everyone grew up here and it's clearly a very happy place to be. When we passed the local school, I asked whether Tolga had attended that school - "Of course!" he said. "Also my father and my grandfather." That's the way it is in his tiny village.
We passed a small park with tables and chairs - Tolga said the women of the village gather in the park daily, with their samovars and snacks to chat about life, their children and perhaps even their husbands. We also were privileged to be allowed to visit the 500-year old village mosque, where the young immam was very kind to us and Tolga explained how the observant Muslim men come to pray five times each day in response to the call across the village by the imam.
Returning to Tolga's home, we were shown around - it was decorated in a very traditional Turkish style, with embroidered handiwork on the bed linen and low cushioned seating around the communal dining table. Handcrafts, artwork and decorations were also typically Turkish. It was all very pretty and the family had clearly gone to a lot of trouble to organise their surroundings in an authentic way.
Together with Hawa, who is Tolga's mother, we prepared the lunch meal of bulgur and tomato soup, seasoned rice wrapped in vine leaves (dolma), baked eggplants stuffed with minced meat and vegetables, lentil rolls, a "palate-cleanser" of stewed strawberries with grape molasses, yogurt and feta, Turkish ravioli in yogurt sauce garnished with seasoned oil and sumac, pickled vegetables, fresh salad and a dessert called dolaz which was made of cooked flour, egg and milk, topped with honeycomb from Tolga's own hives. The yogurt and feta cheese were made with milk from the family's cows and all the fruit and vegetables were grown organically in the family's back yard or nearby plot. It was certainly a feast.
After enjoying Turkish coffee outdoors while gazing across the valley which is their next-door neighbourhood, it was time to take final photos, say fond farewells to the family and be driven by Tolga to a nearby winery for a quick pitstop tour and tasting of Cappadocian wines before being returned to the hotel.
Needless to say, dinner was not required that evening.
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