Dishes you should try in Aladağ: Keşkek (wheat and meat porridge), Tarhana Çorbası (tarhana soup), Arabaşı (chicken and yoghurt soup) and Bazlama (flatbread). This guide also covers the local products to buy and what Aladağ is famous for.
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This traditional dish is made by boiling cracked wheat and meat for a long time and then pounding them together. In the mountain villages of Aladağ it is a must at wedding and festival tables. It is served with butter.
Tarhana dough is prepared in the district in the summer months and dried to be stored for winter. Drunk piping hot in Aladağ's harsh winter climate, this soup has its own distinctive flavour from a blend of yoghurt, tomato and spices.
This local soup is made by adding a mixture of flour and yoghurt to chicken broth. It is a staple of winter tables in the mountain villages of the Taurus. Served with shredded chicken meat.
This traditional bread is cooked on a sač griddle and is an inseparable part of Aladağ's plateau culture. It is eaten at breakfast with fresh butter and honey.
These dishes are known throughout Adana province; see the provincial food guide for details.
Made from hand-minced meat of a male sheep, tail fat, chilli flakes and salt; no other spice is added. It is cooked over embers and served with lavaş, sumac onions and greens. It is a product with a geographical indication registered by the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office.
A slightly sour drink made by fermenting black carrots and turnips in salted water; it comes in hot (acılı) and mild (acısız) versions. Adana şalgam has received a geographical indication not only in Türkiye but also from the European Union.
A summer dessert made of shaved ice, starch pudding, icing sugar and rose syrup. Adana bici bici is registered with a geographical indication; it is found at street vendors and cafés.
Skewers of lamb liver cooked over embers, the classic breakfast of Adana mornings; they are found at the liver restaurants (ciğerci) that open early.
Lamb tripe filled with spiced rice stuffing and boiled, served with cumin at street stalls in the evening.
A Çukurova dish in which large stuffed bulgur dumplings (the mother) and small unfilled ones (the daughter) meet in a sour soup with chickpeas.
Organised by Adana Governorship and Aladağ Municipality, this festival aims to raise awareness of nature conservation and to make nature-related issues visible through art. It features local and national artists.
The migration of lowland people from Çukurova to the Aladağ plateaus during the hot summer months is a tradition that has continued for centuries. This seasonal migration forms one of the cornerstones of the region's cultural identity.
The Yörük tradition, still kept alive in the mountain villages of Aladağ, carries traces of a nomadic livestock culture. Felt-making, kilim weaving and traditional tent life are important elements of this culture.
Aladağ is known for 4 local dishes, above all Keşkek (wheat and meat porridge), Tarhana Çorbası (tarhana soup), Arabaşı (chicken and yoghurt soup) and Bazlama (flatbread). This traditional dish is made by boiling cracked wheat and meat for a long time and then pounding them together. In the mountain villages of Aladağ it is a must at wedding and festival tables. It is served with butter.
Aladağ is known for Keşkek (wheat and meat porridge), Mountain Honey and Aladağ Nature and Art Festival. Its best-known sights include Meydan Castle and Küp Waterfalls.
Local products and souvenirs to buy in Aladağ include Mountain Honey, Tarhana and Goat's Cheese.