By Nazlan Ertan
Sucuk (noun- pronounced suˈdʒuk): semi-dried beef-based sausage mixed with salt, pepper, garlic, sumac, and other spices made by a dry-curing process. In Turkey, the cities of Kayseri and Afyon battle over which has the better sucuk. It is known as sudzhuk in Bulgaria and Russia, suxhuk in Albania, and soutzouki in Greece.
This succulent - and scandalously expensive - sausage often creeps into the political scene as the bone of contention. This time, it was a sucuk feast held by AKP deputies at the opening of a high-altitude sports camp in Kayseri. “Sucuk is our local food, so of course we served that,” Memduk Büyükkılıç, the Kayseri mayor from the AKP, said in defense. “What were we supposed to serve at the opening - toasted chickpeas?” (Toasted chickpeas are the specialty of the nearby town of Çorum.)
“Given that most Turks cannot afford to buy sucuk at 1,000 TL, it is shameful that the representatives of the people felt comfortable feasting on sucuk before the cameras,” remarked Fatih Portakal of Sozcu TV. Main opposition leader Özgür Özel said that the feast symbolized the lavish lives and corruption of the AKP.
Sucuk had become an issue between the AKP Kayseri Municipality and the CHP during the time of Ozel’s predecessor, Kemal Kıllıçdaroğlu. Kılıçdaroğlu had publicly accused the municipality of corruption in 2018, and its mayor, Mehmet Özhaseki, successfully sued Kılıçdaroğlu for libel, getting the opposition leader to pay 37,000 TL. “I will use the money to distribute sucuk to the people of Kayseri,” pledged Özhaseki, and did just that when he won. However, the Constitutional Court reversed the decision, and Özhaseki had to pay Kılıçdaroğlu the money back.
