A new events series called “Turkey, region by region,” being put on by the Women’s Club of the ATFA, kicked off last Saturday, Dec. 10 with the theme “The Black Sea Region.”
During the two-hour program, the Black Sea region of Turkey was promoted with a slide show presentation before participants had the pleasure of watching a performance by the folkdance group from Pinnacle Academy and the opportunity to taste many different Turkish dishes originating from the Black Sea region, including kale soup, sardine pilaf, kale rolls, Black Sea pide (a Turkish ground beef pizza), laz börek (a special pastry), pickled string beans and mıhlama (a sort of cheese fondue with corn flour). There was also a gorgeous arts and crafts table that served to demonstrate handmade “silk needle lace,” handmade jewelry fromTrabzon and many other crafts.
Yasemin Çelik, program coordinator for the Women’s Club of the ATFA and a folkdance teacher atPinnacleAcademy, told Zaman Weekly, “We are so happy. Our program had [such] high demand. We had almost a hundred guests tonight. Everybody was so happy to be here. They are thrilled by our little ones’ dance performances. Many said that they’ve never seen such an energetic and fast dance like that!” As 50 different dishes were served at the event, “guests were so impressed that only one region can have that much variety,” she added, continuing, “Our guests also loved the homemade Black Sea region food because that cannot easily be found at Turkish restaurants.”
Southeastern Anatolia will be the next region presented in the “Turkey, region by region” series. If you would like to learn more about the event, you can contact the ATFA information desk at (703) 267-5751.
