is Turkey good place to live in for gluten intolerances?

[Muhammaf]

Hello everyone, who lives or lived in Turkey? Could you tell me if Turkey is good for us? Is there any safe gluten free restaurants? Are there enough gluten free products?

 

What would you choose between Saint Petersburg and Istanbul?

[Scott Adams]

I have been to Istanbul for a vacation, and spent about a week there, but have never lived there. I can say that there are a lot of naturally gluten-free options in general when it comes to Middle Eastern and Mediterranean foods, however cross-contamination, a with any country's foods, can be an issue. The biggest problem I found was the very common practice in Istanbul of adding ~10% bulgar grain or tiny wheat noodles into their white rice, which they serve as a side dish with nearly everything. I've heard that this is very common throughout Turkey, so beware!

[Muhammaf]

On 5/2/2022 at 8:15 PM, Scott Adams said:

I have been to Istanbul for a vacation, and spent about a week there, but have never lived there. I can say that there are a lot of naturally gluten-free options in general when it comes to Middle Eastern and Mediterranean foods, however cross-contamination, a with any country's foods, can be an issue. The biggest problem I found was the very common practice in Istanbul of adding ~10% bulgar grain or tiny wheat noodles into their white rice, which they serve as a side dish with nearly everything. I've heard that this is very common throughout Turkey, so beware!

got it, thank you.

[Debbiere]

Yes, in the eastern countries, bulgur is an important part of food culture, and it is literally everywhere. Once I was in such a country for work, and I had to eat only vegetables and eggs for a month and a half. They also made pilaf with lamb fat, which is simply impossible to eat. We lived in a remote village in the house of local residents, so there was nothing to choose from.