<strong>Champions of breakfast: </strong>Van, a city in Turkey's far east, has developed a reputation for offering some of the best breakfasts in the country, if not the world.
Champions of breakfast: Van, a city in Turkey's far east, has developed a reputation for offering some of the best breakfasts in the country, if not the world.
Peter Yeung
<strong>Lakeside location: </strong>Van sits beneath rolling hills and on the shores of a spectacular lake, not far from the country's borders with Iraq, Iran and Syria.
Lakeside location: Van sits beneath rolling hills and on the shores of a spectacular lake, not far from the country's borders with Iraq, Iran and Syria.
Peter Yeung
<strong>Wide spread: </strong>Van's epic<em> serpme kahvaltı</em>, or breakfast spreads can contain up to 30 different dishes, often with a heavy emphasis on the prized dairy produce from livestock that graze on the surrounding Anatolian plateaus.
Wide spread: Van's epic serpme kahvaltı, or breakfast spreads can contain up to 30 different dishes, often with a heavy emphasis on the prized dairy produce from livestock that graze on the surrounding Anatolian plateaus.
Peter Yeung
<strong>Anything, so long as it's breakfast: </strong>Local restaurateur Kenan Coşkun says food joints in Van's Kahvaltıcılar Çarşısı area only serve breakfast, there's no place for anything else.
Anything, so long as it's breakfast: Local restaurateur Kenan Coşkun says food joints in Van's Kahvaltıcılar Çarşısı area only serve breakfast, there's no place for anything else.
Peter Yeung
<strong>Traditional role: </strong>Some say Van's focus on breakfasts emerged because of its proximity to the ancient Silk Route, nourishing travelers as they passed through.
Traditional role: Some say Van's focus on breakfasts emerged because of its proximity to the ancient Silk Route, nourishing travelers as they passed through.
Trots/Adobe Stock
<strong>Record breaker-fast: </strong>In 2014, more than 50,000 people assembled on rows and rows of tables in front of the Van Fortress to break the <a href="index.php?page=&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.guinnessworldrecords.com%2Fworld-records%2Flargest-full-breakfast-%28attendance%29" target="_blank" target="_blank">Guinness World Record</a> for the "largest full breakfast attendance."
Record breaker-fast: In 2014, more than 50,000 people assembled on rows and rows of tables in front of the Van Fortress to break the Guinness World Record for the "largest full breakfast attendance."
kadir/Adobe Stock
<strong>Cultural treasure: </strong>Local authorities have submitted an application for the region's distinctive breakfast to be added to the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List.
Cultural treasure: Local authorities have submitted an application for the region's distinctive breakfast to be added to the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List.
Peter Yeung