People work at a kebab shop in Ankara, Turkey, on Feb. 23, 2022. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)
Facing surging living costs amid high inflation, Turkish people are turning to street delicacies to fill their stomachs, the cheaper the better.
by Burak Akinci
ANKARA, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- As restaurants in Turkey are hiking their prices amid rampant inflation, cash-strapped people are turning to cheaper street delicacies to fill their stomachs.
The downtown Kizilay, renowned as a street food hub and kebab heaven in the capital Ankara, is attracting increasing customers than before.
A man takes a big bite of his food at a restaurant in Ankara, Turkey, on Feb. 23, 2022. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)
"The reason we come here is that it is cheaper than others, and it is tasty too. We are students, preferring cheap eateries," Mustafa Yilmaz, a 19-year-old student, told Xinhua at a doner shop in Kizilay.
A man squeezes sauce onto his food at a restaurant in Ankara, Turkey, on Feb. 23, 2022. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)
In Kizilay, also a hub for private tutoring centers, wallet-friendly street foods are the most appealing choice for students who come to prepare for university entrance exams.
"This a cheaper alternative for us. For example, we pay 50 liras (3.5 U.S. dollars) here for two persons, but we would pay 200 to 300 liras (14 to 21 dollars) in a restaurant," Yilmaz said.
People eat and chat at a small restaurant in Ankara, Turkey, on Feb. 23, 2022. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)
Turkey is rich in street foods pampering foodies of all kinds, the most famous being the doner kebab. Doner is named after the rotating spit used to cook upright stacked beef, lamb or chicken, which is then cut into thin slices.
Another popular Turkish street food is grilled mussels and fish fillet sandwiches, standing out as delicious and easily accessible options.
A cook makes food at a small restaurant in Ankara, Turkey, on Feb. 23, 2022. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)
"Fish fillet sandwich is also one of the great street foods. It's fresh and the price here is affordable," Kubra Zeynep Sirin, a 20-year-old college student majoring in anesthesiology, told Xinhua.
"Midye tava" or grilled mussels are crispy snacks on a stick. The mussels are battered and fried in a metal cauldron and then served.
You can have your mussels with some "tarator," a walnut and garlic sauce for dipping, or you can have your mussels between crusts of Turkish bread as a sandwich.
These nutritious street foods are among the few options for the low-paid Turkish people, Sirin said.
Turkey has been struggling with elevated inflation, and the annual inflation rate has surged to a two-decade high of 48.7 percent, according to data revealed earlier this month, increasing the burden on the population with rising living costs.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced in December last year a record 50 percent rise in the minimum wage to help offset surging living costs amid high inflation and a currency slump, while the economists predicted that the country is likely to live with high inflation throughout 2022.■
