Two Iranian sisters with two Turkish partners open in Estepona the first restaurant on the Costa del Sol and in Europe specializing in Turkish breakfast.

Their entrepreneurial spirit has led them to start businesses from a young age in Iran, their home country, also in the United Arab Emirates since the beginning of this century, and now in Spain, where they manage the first Turkish restaurant on the Costa del Sol specializing in unlimited Turkish breakfast, "eat all you can," as well as offering gozleme and mezze menus and an evening menu with various traditional Turkish dishes.

They are the twin sisters Salmeh and Sarah Moravvej, born in Iran in the 70s, students of graphic art, interior design, and photography, professional volleyball players, and raised in a culture of entrepreneurship following their father's footsteps, with a very open-minded mother, as they themselves tell SUR. Since last week, they have been welcoming curious diners, brunch explorers, and followers of Turkish cuisine to their new project, Bazlama restaurant, located on Isla Verde Street in Benamara-Estepona, very close to San Pedro de Alcántara.

"Seven years ago, we discovered the Bazlama brand on one of our trips to Istanbul and were fascinated by the large number of people who breakfasted daily in their restaurants and the quality of the food. We were also struck by how they made the customers feel, extending the familiar, friendly Mediterranean culture that welcomes everyone, with which we fully identified," they assert.

The space is bright, spacious, colorful, and features a large terrace highlighting turquoise and bougainvillea pink as the main colors, the brand's colors, and a decor they designed themselves, abundant with Turkish evil eyes in every corner, the traditional amulet against bad energies. "Our goal is to offer a relaxed atmosphere, to eat without hurry, with family or friends, and enjoying every bite," they assure.

The first idea was to open one in Dubai, where Sarah still has residence, but the project did not materialize. The fact that Salmeh has been living in Marbella for 12 years encouraged them to revisit the idea. "We are very excited about this project; we like working together and everything we have undertaken this way has been very satisfying," assure the two sisters who, as true twins, even caught Covid on the same day during the pandemic despite living in different countries.

The power of two

"We feel a very special energy that unites us, the connection between twins exists and we like to call it 'the power of two,' an energy that drives us to work and create beautiful projects together, with which we want to contribute to a better world and they have always gone well for us," they both affirm with a special sparkle in their eyes and a smile on their face that never fades during this interview.

The care with which they have set up the restaurant is also reflected in the training of their staff, a total of 19 people. A chef and his team have come from Turkey to teach them how to work the preparations and how to attend to customers, following the original philosophy of Bazlama.

"The quality of the food is higher here in Spain because we have local suppliers for absolutely everything, there is a lot of food preparation beforehand and of course, we also make the bread here," they comment. As an example, they show us the 37 different types of jams, available according to the season and all homemade in the establishment itself.

Moreover, they have adapted the restaurant's hours to Spanish culture, since in Turkey and the Emirates, Bazlama restaurants close at 5 PM. "Although we are all Mediterranean, Spanish culture also includes going out to dinner and sharing those moments with family and friends and even serving alcohol to our European customers," they detail.

They advance that the brand will soon open another restaurant in London and they are already thinking about leading its expansion in Spain, specifically, Málaga, Valencia, Madrid, and Barcelona are the chosen cities, not necessarily in that order.