Meze: Side dish or starter served together with raki. The most simple and basic mezes are white cheese and melon and they go very well with raki.
Raki: National Turkish drink made of fermented grapes. It has a strong aniseed smell and taste. It contains 45% alchohol. Usually it is drunk together with food although recently people started drink it alone as well.
Meyhane: This is the restaurant you drink raki and eat meze and chat with your friends (paradise!). You should eat and drink very slowly though. The slower is the better! Spending 2-3 hours is very normal, 5-6 hours is not unusual at a meyhane table.
Fasil: This is the Turkish classical music, with some gypsy touch, played at some meyhanes. The band is usually made of gypsies.
Fasil Meyhane: Easy! When there is fasil at a meyhane then this meyhane is called “fasil meyhane”. Don’t miss this experience and try to choose an authentic one where local goes to.
