Dishes you should try in Efeler: Aydın Piyazı (bean salad), Çine Köftesi (Çine meatballs), Keşkek (wheat and meat porridge) and Kabak Çiçeği Dolması (stuffed courgette flowers). This guide also covers the local products to buy and what Efeler is famous for.
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Aydın piyazı, prepared with dried beans, onion, parsley and tahini, is the best-known flavour of the city. Unlike piyaz in other regions, it uses plenty of tahini.
Çine köftesi, made from finely minced meat kneaded with spices and grilled, is the most loved meat dish of Aydın cuisine.
Made by boiling and pounding cracked wheat and meat for a long time, keşkek is the traditional dish of weddings and festivals in Aydın. It is on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list.
Prepared by filling courgette flowers with a rice filling and cooking them. This dish, one of the elegant flavours of Aegean cuisine, is made with fresh flowers in the summer months.
These dishes are known throughout Aydın province; see the provincial food guide for details.
Dried and fresh figs grown in the Büyük Menderes basin, registered with a designation of origin.
A registered Söke soup made with small pieces of dough.
A Germencik dish with a registered geographical indication.
A registered speciality of Ortaklar in which small pieces of meat are cooked on thin skewers.
A Nazilli dessert with a registered geographical indication.
In the 14th century, Aydın was the centre of the Aydınoğulları Principality. The mosques, madrasas and khans from this period are important examples of the city's Turkish-Islamic architecture.
The zeybek, the emblematic folk dance of the Aegean Region, is performed at weddings and festivals in Aydın. Zeybek, with its slow and dignified movements symbolising manliness and heroism, is part of the region's cultural identity.
Efeler is known for 4 local dishes, above all Aydın Piyazı (bean salad), Çine Köftesi (Çine meatballs), Keşkek (wheat and meat porridge) and Kabak Çiçeği Dolması (stuffed courgette flowers). Aydın piyazı, prepared with dried beans, onion, parsley and tahini, is the best-known flavour of the city. Unlike piyaz in other regions, it uses plenty of tahini.
Efeler is known for Aydın Piyazı (bean salad), Aydın Fig and Aydınoğulları Principality Heritage. Its best-known sights include Tralleis Ancient City and Aydın Museum.
Local products and souvenirs to buy in Efeler include Aydın Fig, Olive Oil and Chestnut.