Dishes you should try in Tuzluca: Tuzluca Tandır Kebabı, Kesme Çorbası (hand-cut noodle soup), Pekmezli Helva (grape molasses halva) and Bağa Yaprağı Salamura (pickled bağa leaves). This guide also covers the local products to buy and what Tuzluca is famous for.
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Lamb is slow-cooked for hours over low heat in a clay tandır oven. The soft texture and deep flavour produced by cooking in its own fat make it Tuzluca's best-known dish.
A traditional soup made with handmade pasta strips, broth and yoghurt. It is never missing from Tuzluca's tables on cold winter days.
Traditional halva made with flour, butter and grape molasses. In Tuzluca it is made especially in the winter months and on special occasions. This energy-rich sweet is served with tea.
Bağa leaf brine, made mostly in Tuzluca district and mountain villages in Iğdır province, has been used since ancient times in the treatment of open wounds as well.
These dishes are known throughout Iğdır province; see the provincial food guide for details.
A dish with a registered geographical indication, cooked with chickpeas, meat and vegetables.
A meatball dish with a registered geographical indication.
A soup with a registered geographical indication.
A jam with a registered geographical indication.
Salt mining in Tuzluca is a tradition that has lasted for centuries. The district was an important salt production centre in the Ottoman period and takes its name from this activity. Today the salt caves are used for both industrial and tourist purposes.
The ancient aşık tradition of Eastern Anatolia is kept alive in Tuzluca too. Aşıks who improvise poetry to the accompaniment of the saz bring local people together at weddings and festive celebrations.
Tuzluca is known for 4 local dishes, above all Tuzluca Tandır Kebabı, Kesme Çorbası (hand-cut noodle soup), Pekmezli Helva (grape molasses halva) and Bağa Yaprağı Salamura (pickled bağa leaves). Lamb is slow-cooked for hours over low heat in a clay tandır oven. The soft texture and deep flavour produced by cooking in its own fat make it Tuzluca's best-known dish.
Tuzluca is known for Tuzluca Tandır Kebabı, Tuzluca Rock Salt and Salt Mining Tradition. Its best-known sights include Tuzluca Salt Caves and Tuzluca Castle.
Local products and souvenirs to buy in Tuzluca include Tuzluca Rock Salt and Tuzluca Honey.