It is interesting to note that not a great deal of tourists who visit Turkey know about or have experience with the meyhane culture, which has been the trademark of traditional cuisine in the Aegean region for several hundred years. If kebab,durum and pide are the fastfood of Turkey, then meyhane and meze represents the slow-food culture of Turkey's Aegean coast.
The term 'Meyhane' literally means 'wine house', a culinary institution
that has its roots in the multi-ethnic social composition of the Ottoman
Empire. Most meyhane during the Ottoman era were owned and run by ethic
minorities living within the realm of the Empire, such as Orthodox
Greeks, whose religion did not forbide the consumption of alcohol. Over
the years, the meyhane culture has come to symbolise a kind of cultural
norm that defines the slow, lesiurely and refined culinary lifestyle
which is prevalent along the little fishing towns and villages of
Turkey's Asia Minor coast. A typical meyhane is a place where friends
and family gather for some drinks and snacks - in the form of various
mezes freshly prepared on the day - before treating themselves to some
fresh seafood or fish dishes, while engaging in lively conversations or
listening to live music performance on the premises.
