Local Flavors of Our Country, Famous Beyond Borders

Travel and food are two essential parts of our lives! We all tend to research what the famous dishes are in our vacation destinations so that we can taste each and every one of them when we arrive. Travelers love to pamper themselves. 

As we kick off the season, we wanted to write an article about the famous dishes from every region of our country. No matter where you travel, we hope you can taste some delicious dishes. We want to enrich your travel with fantastic flavors.

Our country's cuisine culture is so rich and deeply rooted that we now have internationally recognized and renowned dishes. Research shows that there are around 2200 different dishes in our country. There are common foods that nearly every region claims as their own, including dumplings, raw meatballs (çiğ köfte), and künefe. Most recently, Elazığ and Hatay have claimed künefe, and Urfa and Mardin for çiğ köfte. As for dumplings, although almost every region and even city has its own unique version, Kayseri Mantısı still leads, so famous that it's known even abroad. Moreover, many of our dishes are officially registered.

Gaziantep boasts the richest cuisine in our country. Imagine tables crowned with varieties of kebabs and the famous Gaziantep baklava! It is identified that Gaziantep has around 290 types of dishes and desserts. What more could you want! Gaziantep, the jewel of the Southeast, probably just moved to the top of your travel list!

Elazığ follows with more than 150 varieties. Maden köftesi, regional içli köfte, taraklık, sapana köfte, orcik, dolanger, and patila are just a few of the region's famous flavors. It is also known that our capital Ankara has a rich cuisine with nearly 100 different dishes, earning its title as the capital in kitchens too!

In the Aegean and Mediterranean regions, vegetable dishes cooked in olive oil dominate. In coastal cities, fish dishes and olive oil mezes, leaf wraps are prominent. However, you may also encounter various meat dishes and unique desserts in these regions.

As for the Black Sea region, there's no need even to mention it! The region boasts everything from fresh anchovy sweets to pies. Cornbread, corn flour, fish varieties, and dishes made from kale represent the region's unique and rich culture.

With such a rich culinary culture in our beautiful country, we'll never go hungry! Plan according to your travel destination this summer and try to taste at least two or three of the region's signature dishes. Worried about weight? What weight, dear, it's vacation time! :)