Isot products that you can find at Şanlıurfa

Ladies and gentlemen, here we are at the end of our visit to Şanlıurfa... We should not return empty-handed from this unique city, which has cheered us up, tore our heart out with its hot spice, attracted with its streets, and appetized with its foods!

Alright, but what to take with you? You have already tasted, saw, and heard most of the city... But what should you buy for your loved ones, friends or yourself? We went over all alternatives... Our list was so long that we formed a small group of 10 people and specified just two products according to these groups' votes. You may, of course, prefer Urfa butter, copper items, rugs, carpets, water pipe materials, oriental pillows or local clothes...

Anyways, here is our spot-on suggestions...

İsot (Urfa Pepper)

İsot is a pepper grown specifically in Urfa. It is also the name of the dried pepper specific to the region. Therefore, the people of Şanlıurfa name both the red pepper and the sour blackish pepper as isot.

The chilli peppers grown in Şanlıurfa are cleaned off from their seeds and left for drying on flat and sunny surfaces. The harvested peppers are red on the first day, and they turn to purple on the second day, and they become black on the third day.

After turning into black, the peppers are crushed, and after adding some olive oil and salt, they get the form of isot. They are grown generally in August.

Also, isot has a red version that is the chilli pepper you use at home. The ones produced in Şanlıurfa are a little different. Because this spice is called "Silk İsot" as they are more oily. Keep this in mind.

İsot Marmalade

The peppers are cleaned off their seeds and sliced into 3-4 pieces. Then they are grounded in the grounding machine just like meat and left under the sun to dry out. They are mixed three times a day, in the morning, noon and evening. When they are completely dried out, the other ingredients are added and mixed. After leaving under the sun for one more day, they are filled in glass jars and kept cool. It is generally consumed in breakfast.

In Urfa dialect, the pepper paste is called isot marmalade.