Turkish cuisine tantalizes taste buds in South Sudan

By Benjamin Takpiny

JUBA, South Sudan (AA) - The Turkish Embassy in South Sudan is celebrating the Turkish Cuisine Week to introduce the country's rich gastronomic culture to the African nation.

“The cuisine is among the factors that represent cultural identity. As such, food is more than a biological and nutritional ingredient but also a part of the history and culture of a nation," Ambassador Erdem Mutaf said during celebrations in Juba on Tuesday.

Mutaf said that Turkish cuisine is a vast treasure that dates back centuries.

“This journey has been enriched by various cultures throughout our history. This diversity contains not only different cultures, religions and ethnicities, but also spirituality,” he said.

Mutaf said that Turkish food has different features with respect to the events at which they are served such as festivals, weddings and even funerals.

“Recipes for Turkish food aim not only for a good appetite, but may also be designed for healing the sickness, supporting the weakness and upgrading the mood,” Mutaf said.

He said the cuisine is larger than the world famous kebabs, doner and baklava.

“Cuisine is also an inseparable part of the tourism sector and among the sector's attractions together with other facilities. I think when you make bookings for Turkish hotels, you may also consider hotels’ culinary offers as well,” he said.

Dilara Timur, third secretary of the Turkish Embassy in Juba, said that they have gathered to celebrate the 2nd Turkish Cuisine Week to promote the famous Turkish cuisine and celebrate Turkish culinary traditions.

“We will have the opportunity to present the traditional recipes of Hatay, southern city of Türkiye. Unfortunately, most of you have heard of Hatay three months ago as an earthquake-struck the city where thousands of lives were lost,” Timur said.

Malak Marial, who attended the celebration, said that if such events are adopted by the South Sudan government it would attract tourists to the country.

“Meals prepared with creative presentations by Turkiye’s chefs were offered to us and we felt very happy for that,” he said.​​​​​​​