Nice one, Mikey! Took awhile to get it to congeal (the meta, not the gravy)... rabbit holes galore: thrown by
37D37DSome are early
[------] Some are early ... BIRDS?? or
12D Balkan citizen ... Part of Turkey is part of the Balkans; or
30A30AIt helped finance the construction of the Great Wall
[-------] : there
is a Great Wall of Turkey; or notions of Turkey Spam (
58D58DBand Weird Al parodied with "Spam"
[---] ) or Turkey Bacon (
36A36AAdd bacon to a cheeseburger, for example (at least in my opinion - don't tell my cardiologist)
[-------] )... or dare I say
15A15A"Wow, that describes me exactly"
[-------] "Wow, that describes me exactly" ... turkey??? I daren't

. But once it gelled (like cranberries) it was an elegant solve. Enjoyed it!!