Detailed Gluten-Free Restaurant Card — Turkey

Learn the word “bulgur” and Turkey opens up

Turkish cuisine has many naturally gluten-free anchors — grilled meats and fish, meze, fresh salads, rice — and Istanbul has dedicated gluten-free bakeries and cafes. The trap is bulgur: it hides in kısır, çiğ köfte, stuffed vegetables, and soups, and pilav usually has şehriye (wheat vermicelli) mixed in.

What’s on the card

• A clear explanation of çölyak in Turkish, so the kitchen understands it’s medical
• What I can’t eat and where gluten hides: bulgur in kısır, çiğ köfte, and many köfte; şehriye mixed into pilav; çorbalar mostly thickened with flour or containing noodles
• What’s usually workable: plain şiş kebap (ask for unmarinated) and balık ızgara, grilled fish
• The kitchen questions — including the two Turkish-specific ones: “No bulgur?” and “Is the pilav şehriyesiz — without vermicelli?”

What’s in the travel companion (page 2)

• How I find places: “glutensiz” on menus, the question “Glutensiz seçenekleriniz var mı?”, hotel restaurants in Istanbul and Antalya, and asking about the fryer — shared oil for breaded foods is the norm
• Six dishes worth ordering, shopping notes (Schär imports, Sinangil glutensiz flour and mixes, glutensiz sections at large Migros and CarrefourSA stores), and where options cluster — Beşiktaş and Kadıköy in Istanbul, Izmir, Antalya, Cappadocia with notice
• If you get glutened: the eczane (look for the red “E” sign) and the phrase “çölyak hastasıyım, gluten yedim”; 112 is the single national emergency number

The honest certification picture

Turkey has celiac patient associations — çölyak dernekleri, whose websites list gluten-free-friendly spots — but no restaurant certification. On packaged foods, look for “glutensiz” labels; the crossed-grain symbol appears on some imports. At the table, there’s no badge to trust, so the card does the explaining.

Format

Instant digital download — a 2-page PDF to print or show on your phone.

This card helps communicate your dietary needs. It does not guarantee a gluten-free meal or eliminate cross-contact risk. Always use your judgment, and when in doubt, do not eat. Not medical advice.