Dishes you should try in Ortaköy: Arabaşı Çorbası (chicken and flour soup), Tandır Kebabı (tandoor-baked lamb), Mantı and Tarhana Çorbası (dried yoghurt and grain soup). This guide also covers the local products to buy and what Ortaköy is famous for.
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Prepared by adding a mixture of flour and yoghurt to chicken broth, arabaşı is the traditional winter soup of Ortaköy's tables.
Prepared by slow-cooking lamb in a clay tandır oven, tandır kebabı is the most loved meat dish in Ortaköy.
Small pieces of dough filled with minced meat and cooked, then served with yoghurt and a garlic sauce. Its preparation with fresh, natural ingredients makes it a healthy choice.
Tarhana dough is prepared in summer, dried and stored for winter. It is an indispensable flavour of Ortaköy's winter tables.
These dishes are known throughout Aksaray province; see the provincial food guide for details.
A regional dish in which tomatoes, capia and green peppers, garlic and plenty of meat are mixed with spices and baked in a clay pot with butter.
A dessert of thin filo layers sprinkled with walnuts, hazelnuts or almonds, baked and soaked in syrup; it received its geographical indication on 17 October 2019.
A tahini-filled pastry registered as a protected geographical indication on 25 May 2021.
A traditional foam halva made by whisking soapwort root (çöven otu) with sugar and water; it has a geographical indication.
Acemhöyük was one of the most important centres of the trading colonies that Assyrian merchants established in Anatolia around 2000 BC. This 4,000-year-old heritage makes Ortaköy one of the important points in the history of civilisation.
With its fertile plain, Ortaköy has been the centre of farming culture for centuries. Traditional events held during the harvest season keep this culture alive.
Ortaköy lay on the Silk Road route during the Seljuk period. The castle and building remains from this period enrich the historical fabric of the district.
Ortaköy is known for 4 local dishes, above all Arabaşı Çorbası (chicken and flour soup), Tandır Kebabı (tandoor-baked lamb), Mantı and Tarhana Çorbası (dried yoghurt and grain soup). Prepared by adding a mixture of flour and yoghurt to chicken broth, arabaşı is the traditional winter soup of Ortaköy's tables.
Ortaköy is known for Arabaşı Çorbası (chicken and flour soup), Wheat and Assyrian Trading Colony Heritage. Its best-known sights include Acemhöyük Mound and Ortaköy Castle.
Local products and souvenirs to buy in Ortaköy include Wheat, Sugar Beet and Dairy Products.