Doner Kebab Becomes Germany’s Favorite Fast Food

Forget about bratwurst, currywurst and other kinds of sausages — doner kebab, or shawarma, has overtaken traditional German fast food as the country’s favorite snack on the go.

First brought to Berlin by Turkish immigrants in the 1970s, the grilled meat snack that comes wrapped in a pita bread with shredded lettuce, tomatoes, onions and different dressings, is now being sold everywhere in Germany from the Baltic Sea to the Bavarian Alps.

Students and late night revelers relish it as much as construction workers, children and foreign backpackers on a tight budget.

“We assume that doner kebab is the Germans’ favorite fast food by now,” said Yunus Ulusoy, an expert from the Center for the Study of Turkey in Essen, who has done extensive research on how the ethnic specialty conquered Germany’s culinary mainstream.

The secret behind the doner’s success story is not only its satisfying grilled taste, Ulusoy said, but also the big portions and its affordability — a regular doner in a pita costs only between (EURO)2.50 and (EURO)5 ($3.30 to $6.70).

Turkish Singer Sets Blind Speed Record In Ferrari

Turkish pop-singer Metin Senturk became the world’s fastest unaccompanied blind driver and said he felt he had danced with death.

Senturk wept as he emerged from a Ferrari F430 at Urfa airport in eastern Turkey to learn from Guinness World Records officials his average speed of 292.89 kph broke the previous record of 284 kph, held by a British bank manager.

“I don’t think there are any words to describe this feeling. I am really happy. It was really hard, like a dance with death,” said Senturk, who has been blind since the age of three.

Following Senturk in a separate vehicle was former rally driver Volkan Isik, who guided the blind man by radio.

Israeli Arabs Flock To Turkey

There have been many recent reports on a consumer boycott in Israel against vacationing in Turkey, traditionally a popular destination during the Passover holiday.

It seems, however, that more Arab Israelis than ever are traveling to Turkey following a set of Turkish soap operas aired in Israel that are particularly popular in the sector. 

With estimates that Israelis have largely forgotten about various calls to stay away from Turkish vacation packages and reports of “business as usual”, not enough light has been shed on Arab Israeli vacation choices. It seems they are traveling to the neighboring country more than ever.

One of the main reasons for Arab Israelis’ preference for Turkey is economic. With high rates of unemployment and poverty in the sector, many seek out relatively inexpensive vacation deals. 

“The Arabs turn to Turkey because of the low prices, because there are good brands there, and because they get good value for their money,” said manager of Nazarine Tours, Ghanem Abu Seif to Ynet.

Today’s Top Eurotastic Song By Klips ve Onlar

Halley was the Turkish entrant to the Eurovision Song Contest 1986 in Bergen, Norway. It was sung by Klips ve Onlar in Turkish.

The song is a praise of the famous Halley’s Comet which can be seen from Earth every 76 years, and could be seen in 1986. We’ll see next in July 2061.

Klips ve Onlar was a popular Turkish band of the 1980s.

Eurovision 2010 Update: Turks Upset Over maNga Entry

Members of a Turkish nationalist party are upset their country’s entry in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest is sung in English.

Members of the Nationalist Movement Party are unhappy the state broadcaster chose “We Could Be the Same” by the group maNga as the national entry for the contest, which airs throughout Europe from Oslo during the last week of May, the Radikal newspaper reported.

Party deputy Rıdvan Yalcın told the newspaper choosing an English song was disrespectful to Turkey’s language and culture.

“So we receive a lot of points, so we come in first. I do not want a first place like that,” Yalcın said. “Let us enter with our own language.”

Pilot With Fake License Arrested In Corendon Cockpit

A pilot was arrested in the cockpit of a packed passenger jet just before take-off — for flying for 13 years with a fake license.

The 41-year-old Swedish man — who worked in the UK during his time in the air illegally — was nabbed by cops in the Boeing 737 at Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport.

There were 101 passengers on board the Corendon Airlines flight which was due to fly to Ankara, Turkey.

According to a police statement, the man had once had a commercial pilot license, but it had expired and it never qualified him for passenger flights.

Cops said the dodgy pilot appeared to be relieved that he had finally been caught.

Eurovision 2010 Update: maNga’s Turkish Entry Finally Announced

The Turkish entry for the Eurovision Song Contest was finally revealed.

It was already known before the band maNga would represent the country in Oslo, but it was time for the winner country of the 2003 Eurovision Song Contest, Turkey, to present the song they’ll take to Oslo.

At a press conference maGna finally took the stage and sung their hearts out with their long-awaited entry, called We Could Be The Same.

Today’s Top Eurotastic Song By Sertab Erener

Here’s Turkey’s Sertab Erener singing Everyway That I Can:

 

This song topped the charts in countries all over Europe, including Sweden and Greece and it won the 2003 Eurovision Song Contest.

Woman Delivers Grandchild On Thanksgiving

 A Boston woman has succeeded at one of the all-time great Thanksgiving Day juggling acts: She cooked the turkey while helping deliver her baby granddaughter.

Patricia McCalop was in the middle of preparing the meal when her daughter suddenly went into labor two weeks early.

McCalop called 911, and a dispatcher talked her through the delivery and helped her confirm that the baby girl was breathing.

Paramedics arrived shortly afterward and took Africa McCalop and her newborn to the hospital. They are both in good health.

Patricia McCalop said she kept running between the kitchen and her daughter in labor because she didn’t want the turkey to burn while helping her child deliver the baby.

“I’m like, ‘What are you doing with the turkey? We got the baby,’” Africa McCalop told the Boston Herald. “She didnt know what to do. Shes like, ‘I got to go get the turkey baster.’ Im like ‘For what?’”

The infant weighed six pounds.

Officials Nab Turnpike Turkey

A wild turkey that’s taken up residence at a New Jersey tollbooth and spends its days scooting around 18-wheelers won’t have to dodge Thanksgiving traffic.

State Fish and Wildlife officials netted the bird Wednesday after failed attempts during the weekend.

The turkey had been trotting around the busy toll booth since the spring, weaving around traffic at the 14B interchange in Jersey City.

“Apparently, this turkey decided to make Jersey City her home, alongside of one of the top five busiest toll roads in America,” said turnpike spokesman Joe Orlando. “She didn’t want to leave, she was a regular, and to be honest with you, she probably had better attendance than a lot of the employees.”

Wildlife officials believe the 11-pound female turkey may have taken a wrong turn out of Staten Island and become disoriented. She spent her days causing stunned truck drivers to slam on their brakes and prompting some spectators to run across several lanes of traffic to pose for pictures with her.

Toll collector Robin Bonner and her colleagues have nicknamed the scraggly bird “Tammy the Turnpike Turkey.”

“I’m going to miss her when she’s gone,” said Bonner, who has been feeding the turkey Cracker Jacks and sunflower seeds. “Tammy has become the hit of the turnpike, she’s a good bird.”

Turnpike officials finally decided to have Tammy removed after complaints from drivers intensified.

The turkey kept wildlife officials at bay for nearly an hour Wednesday, as they crept around behind her with a net gun to try to capture her. After a few more trips back and forth across several lanes, she was scooped up, placed in a cardboard box, and driven to the Popcorn Zoo in Lacey Township.