User:Jillnorman1/sandbox

Nevin Halici, was born in Konya, Turkey, in XXXX. Her family had moved there from eastern Turkey some years before her birth. Her 3 brothers, Feyzi, Mehti and Hassan and sister Nerme remained a very close family, fully supportive of each other. Her father left most of his property to her on his death because she was single and had to look after herself in the world; the sons were able to support themselves and her sister married. This was a most unusual step within Turkish society; it would have been more usual for her to be supported by one of her brothers. Her independence enabled Nevin to train to teach cookery and domestic sciences in Turkey, and this she did for many years. With her brothers she also helped run the Konya tourism office in the 1970s and 80s. Konya has a close link with Sufism and Rumi, whose shrine includes a splendid kitchen. They invited food writers from America and Europe to visit Konya, the shrine and learn about local cuisine. Nevin now started to write about food in Turkey, and wrote Nevin Halici's Turkish Cookbook, published in 1989, and translated into German in 1990. Since that time she has travelled all over Turkey, visiting village women, local food teachers and experts to record traditional foods before they disappear. She has published xx volumes in Turkey on the food of different regions. Respected and revered by chefs, food producers and writers throughout Turkey she still continues her regional work, promotes Turkish food abroad and has written Sufi Cuisine, published in 2005 (Saqi Books)