Emriye Gül Abdik, 78 years old, who originated from Trabzon in the Black Sea region, has lived in Istanbul since 1958. She has known baklava since her childhood. She has made it (both in a twisted shape or the classical one) for her family since the early days of her marriage. She learned how to make it from her mother and the older people in her family. Baklava is a dessert prepared on the occasion of religious feasts and festivals. She still continues to prepare baklava for these special days and makes it in the Black Sea region style. She prefers to use hazelnuts as a filling instead of walnuts or pistachios. She also recommends using hot milk with sugar instead of syrup for soaking baklava, as is done in Trabzon.
