MOSUL, Iraq, Nov 30 (AFP) - Forget stuffed aubergines and baklava, Turkish chefs flip hamburgers, make hot dogs and dish out mashed potatoes with gravy to hundreds of US soldiers at one of the largest military bases in northern Iraq.
The chefs are part of a virtual colony of Turkish workers, estimated at 2,000, that cook, collect garbage, clean toilets, build new structures and provide telecommunication and security services at Forward Operating Base Marez and the adjacent airport in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul.
The compound was known as Al-Ghazlani during the rule of former strongman Saddam Hussein.
Most work for Turkish companies subcontracted by US military contracting giant Kellogg Brown and Root (KBR). Many of them hail from the southeastern Turkish city of Adana.
Yusuf Garip, 52, is supervisor at the main dinning hall where 150 of the 200 workers are Turks, all employees of the Adana-based Serka Group.
He has been working in Iraq for 17 months and worked for 22 years before that at Incirlik air base outside Adana which is home to about 1,000 US military personnel.
"I am used to working with the Americans," says balding Garip driving a pickup truck up muddy roads.
"They are straightforward and honest."
The chefs have to follow precise recipe books to prepare all the food to make the soldiers feel at home, he says.
Over a thousand US soldiers and army engineers live on the base.
On Thursday the cooks whipped up turkey, sweet potatoes, corn and all the trimmings for a traditional Thanksgiving meal as hundreds of soldiers waited in line to be served.
Another dining facility is being built down the road by Turkish company Akfen. Turkish construction workers are busy laying blocks and driving forklifts at the site.
Across the street another Turkish company, Akcell, provides long distance telephone and Internet services to soldiers.
Buses blaring Turkish music trudge up and down the base transporting US soldiers to the dining hall, the cinema or the gym.
One of the drivers, Ahmet Ozcan, 53, talks about missing his family and having to come to Iraq out of economic necessity.
The only corner of home for Turks on the base is Mujdat`s restaurant which serves lentil soup, hard boiled eggs and flat bread for breakfast and kebabs of all kinds for lunch and dinner.
The place is also popular with US soldiers.
"Everyday it is the same thing, wake up at eight and go to bed at midnight," says a young man identifying himself as Yilmaz, 28, as he bags kebab sandwiches for waiting soldiers and Turkish truck drivers.
None of the Turks on the base have ever ventured out.
Turkish security guards clad in navy blue military fatigues stand at checkpoints at the entrances of the base along with US soldiers to help them deal with the daily stream of Turkish trucks delivering supplies and fuel.
In recent months Turkish drivers have been the target of kidnapping and killing by insurgents.
Few now brave the trip from the border, kilometers from Mosul, on their own without a US military escort.
11/30/2004 13:28 GMT - AFP