Dishes you should try in İslahiye: İslahiye Kebabı, Analı Kızlı Çorbası (chickpea soup with meatballs and dough), Keme (earth mushroom) and İslahiye Biberi (İslahiye peppers). This guide also covers the local products to buy and what İslahiye is famous for.
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A regional kebab made by seasoning lamb with special spices and grilling it over charcoal. It is served in İslahiye's traditional restaurants.
Prepared with chickpeas, small meatballs and pieces of dough, this traditional soup is an essential dish on İslahiye's winter tables.
Keme mushrooms gathered in spring at the foot of the Amanos Mountains around İslahiye are eaten fried in oil or cooked with eggs.
A brand product that has become well known and is exported abroad.
These dishes are known throughout Gaziantep province; see the provincial food guide for details.
Made with green pistachios and clarified butter, the first Turkish product to receive EU registration, in 2013.
A registered dessert made with pistachios and clotted cream, eaten in the morning.
A spicy soup made with lamb, rice and garlic, drunk at breakfast.
A lahmacun with minced meat on thin dough, registered as a geographical indication.
A registered festive dish of yoghurt with chickpea-sized meatballs.
Kebab on a bed of yoghurt with smoked aubergine; registered as a geographical indication.
İslahiye is the settlement area of the Yörük Aydınlı tribe. Traditions from its nomadic past, handicrafts and oral cultural heritage make up the district's folkloric richness.
Major archaeological sites such as Zincirli and Yesemek show that İslahiye was a centre of the Hittite and Aramaean civilisations from the 2nd millennium BC onwards. This heritage makes the district an important destination for archaeology enthusiasts.
İslahiye is known for 4 local dishes, above all İslahiye Kebabı, Analı Kızlı Çorbası (chickpea soup with meatballs and dough), Keme (earth mushroom) and İslahiye Biberi (İslahiye peppers). A regional kebab made by seasoning lamb with special spices and grilling it over charcoal. It is served in İslahiye's traditional restaurants.
İslahiye is known for İslahiye Kebabı, İslahiye Biberi (İslahiye peppers) and Yörük Aydınlı Tribal Tradition. Its best-known sights include Zincirli Mound (Sam'al) and Yesemek Open-Air Museum.
Local products and souvenirs to buy in İslahiye include İslahiye Biberi (İslahiye peppers), İslahiye Olive Oil and Bay Leaf and Soap.