The Family Restaurant

For three generations, the Aksoy family has run a small restaurant near the harbor in Mersin. Today, twenty-five-year-old Emre manages the kitchen, just as his grandfather used to many years ago.

Emre's grandfather opened the restaurant in 1968, when this area used to be a quiet fishing neighborhood. "My grandfather used to wake up before sunrise to buy fresh fish directly from the boats," Emre explains. "The recipes he created back then have stayed almost the same until today."

Over the decades, the neighborhood has changed dramatically. Tall apartment buildings have replaced most of the old fishing houses, and tourists now visit the harbor regularly. However, the restaurant's kitchen has kept its traditional character. "We have never used frozen fish," Emre says firmly. "That rule hasn't changed since my grandfather's time."

When Emre was a child, he used to sit in the kitchen and watch his father cook. "I used to think cooking looked like magic," he remembers, laughing. Now, Emre has taken over most of the daily responsibilities, while his father slowly prepares to retire.

Recently, Emre has introduced a few small changes. He has added some new dishes to the menu, although the classic ones remain untouched. "I have learned that respecting tradition doesn't mean staying exactly the same," he explains. "We have simply grown with the neighborhood around us."

Many customers have been coming to this restaurant for decades. An elderly man named Rıza Bey has eaten here every Friday for thirty years. "This place has never disappointed me," Rıza Bey says. "The taste has stayed the same, even though the city has changed so much."

Emre hopes that one day, his own children will continue this tradition. "My grandfather used to say that food connects generations," Emre says. "I have understood this more deeply every year I have worked here."