Komşuyla köfte ve ikramlaşma sohbeti

What does 'ikramlaşma' mean in Turkish culture?

İkramlaşma is Turkish for mutual hosting. The Turkish verb ikram etmek means to offer or to treat (food, drink, hospitality). The reciprocal suffix -laş- turns it into a back-and-forth: ikramlaşma is the social ritual where one neighbor sends a plate of köfte over, the other returns it later with börek on top. The plate never goes back empty.

This clip stages ikramlaşma in 20 seconds. One sister hands a small plate over: « O komşunun, ama onlar bizle paylaşmadı » (it’s the neighbor’s, but they didn’t share with us). The other sister: « Olsun ablacım, biz onlarla paylaşalım » (let it be, sis, we’ll share with them). Then: « Köfte yaptım da size de getirdim » (I made köfte and brought you some).