Yörük tents are usually found at the entrance of Cennet-Cehennem Cave in Silifke, and many Yörük people see selling breakfast as a profitable new source of income for the summer months. The number of Yörük families who have joined this new sector has increased.Mehmet Gönülbal, a member of one of the last Yörük families in Turkey, criticized hotel managers, saying, “Yörük-style breakfast belongs to us; we are the true owners of this breakfast.''
The traditional Yörük breakfast is best known for being all natural. Butter, different flavors of jam, cheeses and many others items are made by Yörüks in the mountains of this Mediterranean province. Their unique bread, which is cooked in special ovens, and Yörük buttermilk, a kind of ayran that is prepared with yogurt and butter, are indispensable parts of a Yörük breakfast.
The tents are managed by family members, who efficiently divide the labor. The children serve as waiters, whereas the mother works in the kitchen preparing breakfast. Gönülbal said he works with his brothers, children and relatives of his wife in his tent.
The cost of a true Yörük breakfast is very inexpensive when compared to those offered in exclusive hotels, especially since Yörüks produce all the food naturally. A breakfast costs only TL 8 in the Yörük tents, and people can each as much as they want, until they are full.
