Kadir Usta in Gazientep – Part 2

This extract is from ‘Travel Tales from Exotic Places like Salford’

I decided to have a Beyran soup, a local meat soup with rice, chili peppers, and garlic. For main course I wanted an Ali Nazir kebab made with meat, yoghourt, and aubergines. I
was then brought a large freshly baked flatbread, a mixed 7 salad, a parsley salad with lemon – to counteract the garlic – and a small bottle of water. All these were provided free of charge.

More locals came in including a woman who sat on her own and looked as though she was waiting for someone else who never came. The soup arrived in a metal bowl. The meat was lean and contained little fat. The chili stained parts of the bowl and the overall taste was of meat and garlic combined. A family of father, daughter, and two older brothers sat
down at the table nearest to me and while the brothers visited the toilet, the father took his daughter to the display counter by the door so she could see what was available to eat.

A man wearing a grey chelaba and two friends came in and sat in the corner. They were closely followed by a young couple. The male had a phone pressed against his ear and he
smiled occasionally without appearing to talk; his female companion wore modern, western clothing.