Gaziantep City Guide

Gaziantep is bordered to the east by Urfa, to the northeast by Adıyaman, to the north Kahramanmaraş, to the west Adana and Hatay and to the south by Syria. The soil in the region, which has a transition climate between the Mediterranean and eastern Anatolia, is suitable for agriculture. You can see olive, pistachio, fruit and vegetable gardens, vineyards, cotton and wheat fields all around Gaziantep. Pine, cedar and small oak forests can also be seen in the mountainous parts of the region.

Province of Gaziantep is comprised of 9 districts, 2 of which are metropolitan districts- Şahinbey and Şehitkamil. The rest are Araban, İslahiye, Karkamış, Nizip, Oğuzeli, Nurdağı and Yavuzeli.

Gaziantep is the only cuisine taking its name from the city. Moreover, Gaziantep succeeded to be a member of “Creative City Network” of “United Nations, Education, Science and Culture Organization (UNESCO” in gastronomy branch. Besides baklava, among the local delicacies of this city are katmer (pastry with ground pistachio nuts and plenty of cream), Beyran Çorbası (a local lamb and rice soup), turpentine coffee, Alinazik kebab (a type of kebab with yoğurt), batma kaymak ( a dessert made of milk cream),patlıcan kebabı (aubergines with meatballs on skewers), lahmacun ( a very thin Turkish pizza covered with seasoned minced meat onions), yuvalama soup ( a local soup with meat and yogurt), kahke ( a type of salty cookie), Ayva kebabı ( a kebab with quince),Elma Kebabı ( a kebab with apple),Nohut dürüm (wrap with chickpeas), Firik pilavı (pilav with bulgur wheat and lentil), simit kebabı ( a kebab with simit and minced meat), içli köfte (stuffed meatballs), Şekerli börek with pistachio (a sugary pastry), şam (damascus) dessert and pistachio.