Dishes you should try in Besni: Besni Çiğ Köftesi (spiced raw bulgur kofta), Besni Peyniri (sheep's milk cheese), Keme Dolması (stuffed wild keme mushrooms) and Tırşik Çorbası (dried vegetable and yoghurt soup). This guide also covers the local products to buy and what Besni is famous for.
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Made by kneading fine bulgur with isot pepper and spices, Besni çiğ köftesi is the best-known flavour of the area. The distinctive aroma of Adıyaman isot gives this kofta its characteristic taste.
Made from sheep's milk by traditional methods, Besni cheese is salty and firm and is indispensable on breakfast tables. It matures for months to acquire its distinctive sharp aroma.
Prepared by filling wild keme mushrooms, gathered in spring, with rice and spices, this local dish is one of the seasonal specialities of Besni cuisine.
Tırşik, made from dried vegetables and fermented yoghurt, is a traditional soup often eaten in Besni's winter months. Its sour flavour offers a different taste experience.
One of the vegetable dishes specific to the Besni area, it is a local pan dish recipe that also features in Adıyaman cuisine.
These dishes are known throughout Adıyaman province; see the provincial food guide for details.
Meat-free çiğ köfte, made by kneading fine bulgur, isot (dried hot pepper) and spices for a long time, was registered as a protected geographical indication on 12 July 2018; it is served with lettuce and pomegranate molasses.
An Adıyaman pastry in which a filling is placed inside thinly rolled dough and cooked on a griddle (sac).
A local dessert prepared by cooking thinly rolled dough and sweetening it with butter and syrup.
Pestil (fruit leather) made from the molasses of Besni grapes is one of the region's traditional winter preparations.
Held every year in the summer months, this festival is Besni's liveliest cultural event, with folk dance performances, concerts and local product exhibitions.
Isot pepper production has been a tradition in Besni for centuries. Drying the peppers laid out on rooftops in summer and the sweating process are an inseparable part of the region's daily life.
Traditional crafts such as kilim weaving and coppersmithing are still kept alive in Besni's villages. These handicrafts are tangible examples of the region's cultural heritage.
Besni is known for 5 local dishes, above all Besni Çiğ Köftesi (spiced raw bulgur kofta), Besni Peyniri (sheep's milk cheese), Keme Dolması (stuffed wild keme mushrooms) and Tırşik Çorbası (dried vegetable and yoghurt soup). Made by kneading fine bulgur with isot pepper and spices, Besni çiğ köftesi is the best-known flavour of the area. The distinctive aroma of Adıyaman isot gives this kofta its characteristic taste.
Besni is known for Besni Çiğ Köftesi (spiced raw bulgur kofta), Adıyaman Besni Üzümü (Besni grapes) and Besni Culture and Arts Festival. Its best-known sights include Besni Castle and Old Besni (Eski Kahta) Ruins.
Local products and souvenirs to buy in Besni include Adıyaman Besni Üzümü (Besni grapes), Adıyaman İsot (isot pepper), Besni Üzümü (Besni grapes) and Ceviz (walnut).