’Baracklava’ has its own message
Güncelleme Tarihi:
by Gül Tüysüz
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Nisan 07, 2009 00:00
ISTANBUL - Perhaps the sweetest expression of Turkey's attitude toward U.S. President Barack Obama comes from Istanbul's famed baklava store, Karaköy Güllüoğlu.
The shop, a pit stop for everyone with a sweet tooth, has taken baklava, added a bit of Obama to it and voila Ğ the product is Baracklava.
This is not just a cheesy play on the U.S. president’s name. This is, in fact, a work of art. The medium? Baklava, made up of layers and layers of phyllo dough, sweet sherbet and one heavy-duty oven. The artists? Five master baklava chefs who poured over this baklava portrait for two days straight. The end result? A tray of baklava that is the spitting image of Obama’s now iconic hope image.
Looking at the Baracklava is a lot like looking at a bizarre-o world Chuck Close painting Ğ photorealism through baklava. From a distance, it is hardly improbable to see the Barack Obama portrait as just a reprint of the Hope poster. But, at a closer look, the familiar flaky phyllo dough crust that defines Karaköy Güllüoğlu’s baklavas is visible. Finally the sweet medium of art is clear. "A country is as much its cuisine as anything else. I try to introduce people to Turkey through our sweetest dessert, the baklava," said proprietor Nadir Güllü Saturday. Next to Baracklava is Güllü’s previous artwork: Fatih Sultan Mehmet, the 15th century conqueror of Istanbul, and Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the modern Turkish Republic. It seems odd that Obama would stand side by side with these pivotal and legendary figures in Turkish history. But Güllü said Obama’s baklava portrait is both to honor him and send him a message, "Let us eat sweet so that we may speak sweetly to each other."
This is not just a cheesy play on the U.S. president’s name. This is, in fact, a work of art. The medium? Baklava, made up of layers and layers of phyllo dough, sweet sherbet and one heavy-duty oven. The artists? Five master baklava chefs who poured over this baklava portrait for two days straight. The end result? A tray of baklava that is the spitting image of Obama’s now iconic hope image.
Looking at the Baracklava is a lot like looking at a bizarre-o world Chuck Close painting Ğ photorealism through baklava. From a distance, it is hardly improbable to see the Barack Obama portrait as just a reprint of the Hope poster. But, at a closer look, the familiar flaky phyllo dough crust that defines Karaköy Güllüoğlu’s baklavas is visible. Finally the sweet medium of art is clear. "A country is as much its cuisine as anything else. I try to introduce people to Turkey through our sweetest dessert, the baklava," said proprietor Nadir Güllü Saturday. Next to Baracklava is Güllü’s previous artwork: Fatih Sultan Mehmet, the 15th century conqueror of Istanbul, and Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the modern Turkish Republic. It seems odd that Obama would stand side by side with these pivotal and legendary figures in Turkish history. But Güllü said Obama’s baklava portrait is both to honor him and send him a message, "Let us eat sweet so that we may speak sweetly to each other."