@silkroad40: Turkish Manti - a common culinary specialty of the silk road

Thanks to @manncpt I discovered the adventure and technology project of @silkroad40. The adventurer @silkroad40, Philipe, is currently following the footsteps of the legendary traveler and explorer Marco Polo on his pan eurasian tour to China, known as the 'Silk Road'. For sure this journey will be mindblowing and challenging for Philipe as it was for Marco Polo and challenges make people hungry;-)

So, @silkroad40, if you ask yourself what flavours you will get to taste while travelling along the silk road, I can definitely tell you about one dish which you can find as a signature dish throughout the countries along the silk road. I'm talking about stuffed dumplings, which are called "manti" in Turkey (similar to the Chinese 'man tou) and look like italian tortellini. "While the etymological link between man tou and mantı is debated, there is agreement that the recipe was carried across Central Asia along the Silk Road to Anatolia by Turkic and Mongol peoples."
(cited from: https://wikivividly.com/wiki/Manti_%28dumpling%29)

Source: By E4024 [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], from Wikimedia Commons

The traditional turkish manti consists of seasoned ground beef wrapped in homemade pasta, served with garlic yoghurt and topped with either a caramelized tomato sauce or smoky chilli butter. The process of making homemade manti is labour intensive. It is required to make thin sheets of dough and cut them into squares of 1,5 cm, then put the filling in the center of each square and seal the dumplings by wrapping the dough into sophisticated bundles.

The most famous manti is produced in Kayseri, which was one of the most significant commercial centers of the Silk Road and still today is an important and rich trading center in Turkey.
[//]:# (!steemitworldmap 38.609401 lat 35.470199 long d3scr)
(Source: http://silkroad.unwto.org/content/kayseri-4000-year-old-commercial-hub)
Source: By Turan kaya [Copyrighted free use], from Wikimedia Commons

I prefer to eat homemade manti prepared by my mom but according to my friends and relatives in Istanbul the best place to eat turkish manti in Istanbul are following places:
http://bodrummanti.com.tr/siparis/hamur-isleri
https://mado.com.tr/urunlerimiz/cafe-lezzetleri/taze-hamur-isleri/kizarmis-manti/

Should you happen to try this dish during your silk road trip through Turkey I would love to read your feedback dear @silkroad40;-)