Why breakfast is Turkey's most important meal of the new year
While New Year's celebrations have become a contentious issue in Turkey, everyone joins in on the festivity of the country's first-day breakfasts in fancy restaurants and hotels.
Whether Islamist, nationalist, liberal or secularist, people in Turkey have one joy in common for their New Year's celebration: the legendary Turkish breakfast. On the first day of the year, all restaurants and cafes in main cities will be booked for breakfast. If you are in Istanbul and wish to get an ocean view table, you may have to wait awhile.
For the past decade in Turkey, the end of December has brought debates over whether to protest Santa Claus or how to avoid celebrating the new year. Those who still aspire to welcome the upcoming year with decorations, gifts or end-of-the-year parties take care not to cross paths with the growing number of Islamists in the country.
