Turkish cuisine is one of the most diverse and richest in the world. This is easily seen when we trace its roots throughout history. From Central Asia to the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) to Europe, the influence of the noteworthy experiences of Turks in their historic journey can be observed in today’s modern Turkish culture. As a result, these diverse transcultural footprints are clearly present in Turkish cuisine. This supra-regional extent of diversity is particularly evident in the numerous spices, different dairy products, various vegetables, and the generous use of olive oil and rice in the dishes in each region. The unique selling points, to name just a few, include the rich breakfast, the large meze selection, main dishes such as sarma, mantı, fish dishes and kebab variations, but also an array of desserts like baklava and tulumba.
The flavor and choices of dishes vary considerably in Turkey from region to region and sometimes even from province to province. While in the western and southern provinces, the light Mediterranean cuisine dominates the food culture, in the more southeastern provinces, more meat and dairy products are consumed. In the northeastern provinces, fish predominates. The reason for these differences lies in the regional flora and fauna since people in Turkey attach great importance to the consumption of local and seasonal products. This means that different foods are consumed, or at least preferred, at different times of the year, depending on what nature has to offer in the respective region in terms of food at that time. This has a particular impact on the consumption of fish, which is also severely restricted due to the legal fishing season, and also on seasonal vegetables and fruits, which may be unavailable for menus in some seasons.
This inevitably leads to the conclusion that Turks attach as much importance to a healthy and sustainable diet as they do to eating regional dishes, from which a high awareness of tradition can be derived. This conscious consumption, on the one hand, offers many health benefits as well as supports the local culture and certainly also promotes the environmental consciousness of the population. While on the other hand, it also negatively affects the marketing of Turkish dishes and gastronomy in general. It’ll be difficult for a tourist to enjoy all of Turkey’s delicacies if, for example, he or she travels to sparsely populated provinces at a certain time of year due to these peculiarities.
In big cities with millions of inhabitants such as Istanbul and Antalya, which are melting pots and tourist hot spots accommodating people from all parts of the world and from all provinces of Turkey, different dishes from various regions are easy to find at any time of the year. However, in other provinces, such as the eastern Black Sea coast, there are mainly restaurants serving regional dishes, so tourists often miss the opportunity to try all of the specialties from many regions in Turkey.
The unknown for tourists
Tourists may not be able to enjoy and learn about the various dishes and desserts of a region either, as restaurants do not offer every regional dish at a given time, depending on the season and the extent of the selection. Tourists also have no way of learning about the dishes the region is famous for as the information is not widely available. For example, products such as the famous honey from Anzer, a village in the northern province of Rize, which is said to have miraculous healing powers and can only be bought from the producer, remain unknown to tourists, as it cannot usually be found in restaurants and is only available at a few retail stores. The same applies to various pastes, dairy products and types of bread in different regions.
The cuisine centers
These barriers outline the need for good international marketing of Turkish dishes through “gastronomy bazaars” or as they are called in the West, gastro-markets. The most famous gastronomic markets are the Borough Market in London, the Mercato Centrale in Florence and the Mercado San Miguel in Madrid. The main difference between such gastronomic markets and traditional fresh food markets, which can also be found everywhere in Turkey, lies in their alignment.
These markets do not offer fruits and vegetables but ready-made meals and street food, desserts, as well as national drinks and products. The second factor that differentiates them from traditional bazaars is the atmosphere. At their center, guests can often find tables and chairs and space for mini-concerts where they can enjoy food while listening to live (traditional) music. Thanks to the protected space, gastronomy markets are usually real hot spots for families, young people and tourists to go out or dine together at any time of the day or year.
For tourists, the main advantage of such markets is that they offer a variety of regional dishes, so they can simultaneously get acquainted with different regional dishes and try them. Since the concept of the bazaar is widespread and historically rooted, gastronomy markets in Turkey could also be called gastronomy bazaars. These bazaars could feature functionally heavier traditional architecture along with street-style concerts playing classical Turkish music.
This could lead to the revival of one of Tukey’s most valuable assets, its cuisine, which has the potential to take visitors on a journey to the country’s glorious past, comprising multiethnic states led by Turkish dynasties. It would allow tourists to delve into the country’s diverse history. This would also help to promote traditional Turkish cuisine and encourage its consumption, protecting it from threats posed by changing consumer habits such as an orientation toward junk food.
Furthermore, it is well known that the first lady of Turkey, Emine Erdoğan, is particularly committed to preserving the Turkish food culture and has carried out important projects to protect it. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan himself also attaches special value to gastronomy, which is reflected in his ambitions to strengthen gastronomic tourism in Turkey. And he has succeeded.
After all, the cities of Afyonkarahisar, Kayseri, Gaziantep and Hatay have been part of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network in the gastronomy industry for a few years now. It is a tremendous achievement considering the fact that only 49 cities worldwide belong to this network. Nevertheless, it should be noted that other cities in Turkey that are particularly rich in gastronomy such as Adana, Bursa, Edirne, Erzurum, Izmir and Trabzon also deserve to be included in the list, and these cities should also get their due attention.
The share of gastronomic value added in Turkey’s tourism industry has grown strongly in the last decade in particular. However, the measures taken so far seem to have had only limited success, as Turkey is behind the United States and Sweden in the global gastronomic tourism value-added comparison, although the cuisine offered by these countries is not nearly as diverse as that of Turkey.
Proposal for the future
In order to maximize tourism potential, facilitate the inclusion of more Turkish cities in the Creative Cities Network and preserve the cultural heritage, i.e., the diverse Turkish cuisine, the establishment of gastronomy bazaars in Turkey would be highly advisable. It is also important to note that gastronomy bazaars would create new jobs and new points of attraction for residents and tourists, which would boost the local economy in addition to the tourism sector itself. It would be advisable to implement such gastronomy bazaar concepts first in those cities that are particularly rich in food and are visited by many tourists anyway so that their potential for success can first be assessed and introduced accordingly in other cities. Finally, it should be noted that successful implementation cannot be achieved solely through the ambitions of the Turkish government. There is also a need for the commitment of the respective municipalities for a promising rollout.
