Bereket, a Turkish market at the Istanbul Center in Norcross

A good introduction to Turkish culture is to visit the Istanbul Center in Atlanta. The Istanbul Center is very active, hosting speakers and conferences in addition to an annual Turkish Festival in October, which expands to 2 days in 2009. The center organizes tours of Turkey. They also host special art and cultural exhibits like Whirling Dervishes of Rumi or Art & Essay Contest for Middle and High Schools.

They have two locations, Midtown Atlanta and Norcross. The Norcross center, located at 6760 Jimmy Carter Boulevard is more interesting for most folks and there is a lot to do. You can sign up for Turkish language classes, Turkish cooking classes, or just stop by the Bereket Grocery and browse the delicacies.

The Bereket Grocery is small, but stuffed with so many interesting things including food, cooking utensils, spices, and the ever present “evil eye”. Most of the items are non-perishables, but there are fresh cheeses and baklava. The store is very clean. While some of the items are available in Middle Eastern shops, this is the first completely Turkish grocery I’ve seen in the Atlanta metro. The staff was friendly and helpful.
A good place to start is the small hot tea glasses, used to serve the strong, black tea that Turks drink much more of than coffee. If you prefer Turkish coffee, the Effendi brand is available. I purchased some stuffed eggplant and pomegranate salad dressing that I’ve been craving since my visit to Turkey more than a year ago. Other specialties include sucuk (a Turkish sausage, also spelled sujuk), pastrma (literally a “pressed”, wind-dried beef) and manti (a small dumpling that may be the best meal I’ve ever had in my life).

When confronted by foods you aren’t used to, start with the sweets. There are a variety of instant puddings, cookies and tea biscuits, and half an aisle dedicated to jams. While most everyone has tried baklava or Turkish delight, few may have seen cevizili sucuk, which literally translates as walnut sausage. In the bazaars and open markets of Turkey, stalls are draped with long ropes of this confection that consists of walnuts, strung and coated in thickened grape juice. At Bereket you can buy small sections pre-wrapped in plastic.

Bereket will have a booth at the Turkish Festival, which is a good place to try lots of amazing food you won’t find anywhere else.