The Turkish Breakfast Club The Turkish Breakfast Club

This week we have our very first cross-pod collaboration as we got the chance to talk with the wonderful women behind Hayriye and Huriye's Dissertation on Turkish Pop Culture. On their show, they offer up hilarious and knowledgeable breakdowns of Turkish pop culture, past and present, through the eyes of two Turkish-Australian fans. In our conversation, we found out how they've managed to stay so in tune with their cultural roots from so far away. It involves a possibly dodgy Turkish bootleg VHS business, some very hot takes from Hayriye and lots of laughs in between.

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This week we are wading into some controversial territory as we take on the topic of yogurt.

For some, that may seem like a ridiculous statement. But questions about the best ways to eat yogurt, who makes it best, and where it comes from are all hotly debated in Turkey and across the region.

But what is indisputable is how central yogurt is to Turkish cuisine. The word yogurt itself comes from the Turkish word yoğurmak, with a soft G, which means 'to thicken' or 'to curdle'.

To help us understand Turkish yogurt culture (get it?) we're joined this week by Özlem Warren, a teacher, blogger and passionate advocate of Turkish cookery and the author of the award-winning book Özlem's Turkish Table: Recipes From My Homeland.

Special shout-out this week to a friend of the pod, Betül, who put in the request for this very important topic. If you have any suggestions for future episodes, you can reach out to us through Facebook or Instagram @TheTurkishBreakfastClub.

Outside of Turkey, the name Zeki Müren might not ring a bell. 
But inside the country, he is one of the most beloved cultural icons who rose to fame as a singer in the 50s and has remained widely popular even after his sudden death in 1996.
He is known as the 'Sun of Art' and has been compared to the Turkish version of David Bowie, Freddie Mercury or Liberace, because of his flamboyant outfits that included platform boots, mini skirts, sequined capes and feather boas (Seriously, if you haven't seen photos of him, go look it up right now. It's fabulous)
He found a way to be exactly who he wanted to be, even while living in a time and society that didn't necessarily understand or accept those things.
To understand more about this legendary legend, I'm joined this week by Beyza Boyacıoğlu, who co-created the Zeki Muren Hotline with designer Jeff Soyk. It's an incredible interactive web documentary that explores Zeki's life and legacy by collecting messages from anonymous callers who share their memories of the artist. It was honoured this year by the Webby Awards for Best Net Art.

This week, we're shaking it up şekerim by taking a look at Turkey's obsession with the Eurovision Song Contest.

With its strong musical culture, Turkey has proven we could be the same as other powerhouses in the competition. 

But after a string of top 10 performances, including Sertab Eraner's win in 2003, Turkey suddenly withdrew from the competition in 2012. For the past 10 years, Turkish fans have dreamed of once again being 'Under the Same Sky.' 

Begüm from Eurovision Turkey -- an unofficial group of ESC superfans -- joins us to look back at some of the best performances that make our hearts go düm tek tek and, most importantly, every way that we can get Turkey back into the competition. 

Dinle, subscribe and share this episode -- and tell us your favourite Eurovision memories!

This week's episode will hopefully hit home with a lot of you.

I've talked a lot about my experience as a Canadian expat who has spent most of my adult life outside of Canada and has chosen to put down roots halfway around the world in Turkey. 

My guest this week is Erkan Çakır [prono: ehr-kahn chuh-ker] and he has done the same but from the opposite side: After growing up and finishing university in Turkey, he moved to Canada, where over the past eight years he has slowly built up a community and new sense of identity.

So in this episode, you'll hear two immigrants trade some stories about our homes -- by birth and by choice -- and what that word even means.

If you haven't already, please subscribe, listen, review and share the podcast on any of the standard platforms. And follow us on Instagram and Facebook to get more from The Turkish Breakfast Club. 

Moving to Turkey was one of the best decisions of my life, but it was filled with a lot of challenges as I learned how to setup and settle into a brand new life in a completely foreign country and culture.

One of the invaluable resources I still use to this day is Yabangee.com -- a play on the Turkish word yabancı, which means 'foreigner' or 'stranger'. The website is filled with thousands of helpful articles about life in Turkey, from practical guides and advice columns to a full on relocation service section. They also host some great events, including a weekly quiz night that I have won in the past and therefore love (not-so-humble brag).

The co-founder and co-director of Yabangee, Tarik Yassien, sat down with us this week to talk about his own journey from a yabancı to a local -- and some tips for how you can do it, too.

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And of course follow us @TheTurkishBreakfastClub.