Dining etiquette in non-Arab countries of Middle East[edit]
Iran[edit]
In Iran, the term "daste shoma dard nakone" [literally 'may your hand not hurt' in Persian] is used to thank someone. Similarly, in Iranian Azerbaijan the term "eliz ağırmasın" is used, with the same meaning.
Typically, dishes are served according to savoury or sweet, rather than in courses. Food is served in various platters and dishes at a dining table, served in plates, and eaten with cutlery, as is the European tradition. In traditional Iranian restaurants, a large, low table lined with Persian rugs and with cushions around the sides is the setting for feasting; people sit cross-legged in a circle, and food is served in the centre, again eaten with cutlery in separate plates. Afterwards, tea will be served in "kamar baareek" glasses [literally 'narrow waist'] with sugar lumps, Persian sweets, and possibly a ghalyoun, enjoyed in the same communal fashion.
When entertaining dinner guests at home, it is seen as discourteous to one's guests to serve the sufficient amount of food for all guests, lest one appears miserly. For this reason, food is always prepared lavishly and in large quantities.
An important Persian concept that applies to food and also extends to other areas of daily life is the practice of "taarof"; this is an exercise of self-restraint, whereby if one is offered any food or drink, they will initially politely decline, regardless of how hungry or thirsty they might be. Once the host has insisted and offered repeatedly, they will help themselves. No food and drink is to be accepted upon the first time of being offered it, lest one appears greedy.
Turkey[edit]
Tea is usually served in little curved glasses that you hold not by the stem, but by the lip: you never add milk, but you can add water as you drink it to dilute the tea, which is sometimes still steeping when you get it. Coffee is generally available. The coffee is drunk carefully (there are grounds on the bottom); it is also thick and black, and each cup is individually brewed, often with the sugar already in it, and milk is usually not to be added. Since it is offered all the time and everywhere, it is a gesture of hospitality and you must always take the coffee or tea, even if you only put it to your lips or just take a few sips. Your cup will always be refilled if it is less than half full. Because you must never pour your own drink, you must always be alert throughout the meal as to whether your neighbor's cup or glass needs refilling. If it is less than half full, it needs refilling; alternately, if yours is less than half full, your neighbor is obliged to refill it. If he or she does not, do not refill it yourself, for this will cause him or her to lose face; instead, diplomatically indicate your need by pouring a little more drink into your neighbor's glass, even if it doesn't really need it.
If you are the honored guest, you will be expected to make a toast, usually soon after the host does or at the end of the meal, just before everyone departs.
Dining is done with forks and spoons and knives, Western style. The knife is held in the right hand, and the fork in the left. Do not switch hands for knives and forks.
Smoking is ubiquitous in Turkey. People smoke between courses during dinner.
The host sits at the head of the table, with the honored guest seated next to the host. In addition, the honored guest sits on the side of the table farthest from the door. (At business meetings, the key people sit in the middle, flanked on either side in descending order by their aides, with the least important people sitting at the ends of the table farthest from the middle, and closest to the door; the arrangement is mirrored on the other side.) Men and women eating at someone's home might dine in separate areas (and spend the entire evening separated) or at separate times, with the men dining first
Do'stlaringiz bilan baham: |