Two and a Half Geeks: Turkey Trip: Food

We ate well in Turkey, including some new treats I had never had. Some of the highlights for me were:

Poğaça, a bread roll that we had with various fillings including olive and olive paste and peynir cheese, and plain
Mantı, Turkish dumplings similar to ravioli or aushak, filled with minced meat or potatoes and served with delicious yogurt sauces
Pide, Turkish flatbread pizza with a wide range of toppings including eggs, pastrami, and peppers
Börek, pastries made with phyllo dough and stuffed with spinach, cheese, etc.
Gözleme, which were basically Turkish crêpes. We had savory (cheese, spinach, minced meat, etc.) and sweet (apple and cinnamon, chocolate, etc.)
Testi kebab, a Cappadocian specialty of meat and vegetables cooked for about three hours in a clay pot that is broken at the table
Simit, available everywhere and basically like a Turkish soft pretzel
Puddings - I had no idea pudding was so popular in Turkey
Dondurma or Turkish ice cream, which has a texture that's an interesting combination of the smoothness of gelato and the elasticity of chewing gum. I read later that is because it includes mastic gum

We also had lentil soup everywhere, partially because it was delicious and warming on cold evenings, and partially because it came with bread for our carb-loving Geek Girl. I got to indulge my taste for döner kebab with fries, which is an old habit from Zurich days. We had tea everywhere, and baklava, and of course Turkish delight.

Three places stand out in my mind:

Nazar Börek Cafe in Göreme. We had börek, pide, gözleme, and lentil soup here, all of which were delicious. The owner, Refik Ciftci, and his main assistant were really friendly - telling us stories, showing us books of things to see in the region, and generally making us feel welcome. Refik even offered to make us the apple/cinnamon gözleme when he was out of the börek listed on the menu.
Ficcin Restoran in Beyoğlu, Istanbul. We had Carcissian cuisine (food from the Caucasus region), which we had never even heard of before. Delicious mezze, mantı, liver, and a special meat pie that we really enjoyed. We must have liked it -- we went back twice.
Cuma in Beyoğlu, Istanbul. We indulged in one Turkish breakfast out, and this was it. Geek Girl was thrilled to get her usual Sunday pancakes, Mama Geek got to enjoy salmon and eggs and my olives, and I got a fun Turkish spread including several different cheeses and yummy bread.

I can't resist some pictures, so here you are - selected culinary pictorial highlights.