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Travelers in Turkey with the inherited glucose-6-phosphate
dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency must
take care not to eat Fava beans/broad
beans (Vicia
faba), called bakla (BAHK-lah)
in Turkish.
(Note that baklava has
nothing to do with bakla.
They are two entirely different foods.)
Broad beans are sometimes
found in Turkish stews, and are usually
identifiable by sight. Falafel,
which may be made from either broad
beans or chickpeas, is not as common
in Turkey as in some other eastern
Mediterranean countries.
Hummus is
usually made with smashed chickpeas/garbanzos (nohut in
Turkish), but
it may in some cases be made with other
pulses. White beans (kuru
fasulye) are
far more common than broad beans; green
peas (bezelye) turn up occasionally
in stews, salads and purées; black-eyed
peas (börülce) are
rarer. Lentils (mercimek, MEHR-jee-MEHK)
are also a common food in Turkey, especially
as mercimek çorbasi,
lentil soup.
In general, chickpea, white bean and
lentil dishes are far more common in
Turkey than broad bean dishes.
Here's how to ask about your food:
Are there Fava beans in it? = Icinde
bakla var mi? (EECH-een-DEH
BAHK-lah VAHR muh)
Yes = evet (eh-VEHT)
No = hayir/yok ('higher,' YOHK)
I'm allergic to broad beans = bakla
alerjim var (BAHK-lah
ah-lehr-ZHEEM vahr)
In Turkish, G6PD deficiency is G6PD
Eksikliği (GEH al-TUH PEH
DEH ek-seek-lee-ee).
Most processed food
packages in Turkey contain lists
of ingredients, often in several
languages, but you may want to have
a Turkish
speaker help to interpret
the ingredients list.
I'm indebted to TTP reader George
Messaritakis for much of the
information on this page. Here's
more on G6PD deficiency.
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