Dishes you should try in Kilis: Cennet Çamuru (Kilis Kaymaklı Kırma Künefe, clotted-cream kadayıf dessert), Kilis Tava (minced-meat tray bake), Kilis Ekşili Kebabı (sour kebab) and Kilis Katmeri (layered pastry). This guide also covers the local products to buy and what Kilis is famous for.
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A dessert made with crumbled kadayıf, clotted cream and pistachio, with a registered geographical indication.
A dish cooked in a tray with minced meat, tomatoes and peppers, with a registered geographical indication.
A kebab with a registered geographical indication.
A katmer with a registered geographical indication.
A variety of içli köfte with a registered geographical indication.
Oruk, made by shaping bulgur dough around a filling of minced meat, walnuts and spices and then frying it, is one of the indispensable flavours of Kilis cuisine.
Ekşili dolma, made by cooking rice and minced meat filling wrapped in vine leaves with pomegranate molasses, is a dish specific to Kilis.
Cold mezes prepared with Kilis's abundant olive oil, especially artichokes and green beans cooked in olive oil, form the basis of the city's culinary culture.
Lahmacun, a thin dough topped with a mixture of minced meat, onion, tomato and pepper and baked in a stone oven, is an indispensable flavour of Southeastern Anatolia.
Oruk, made by shaping bulgur dough around a filling of minced meat and walnuts and then frying it, is Musabeyli's most loved dish.
Peppers filled with minced meat, rice and spices and baked in the oven. It is one of the classic flavours of South-eastern Anatolian cuisine.
Cold meze made by cooking fresh artichokes with olive oil, lemon and spices. It is a good example of Polateli's tradition of olive oil dishes.
The anniversary of the end of the French occupation in 1921.
The harvest held in October–November and the tradition of freshly pressed olive oil.
The cultural heritage kept alive by the Kilis Mevlevi Lodge.
Kilis is known for 5 local dishes, above all Cennet Çamuru (Kilis Kaymaklı Kırma Künefe, clotted-cream kadayıf dessert), Kilis Tava (minced-meat tray bake), Kilis Ekşili Kebabı (sour kebab) and Kilis Katmeri (layered pastry). A dessert made with crumbled kadayıf, clotted cream and pistachio, with a registered geographical indication.
Kilis is known for Cennet Çamuru (Kilis Kaymaklı Kırma Künefe, clotted-cream kadayıf dessert), Kilis Zeytinyağı (Kilis olive oil) and 7 December Liberation Day. Its best-known sights include Oylum Höyük and Kilis Museum.
Local products and souvenirs to buy in Kilis include Kilis Zeytinyağı (Kilis olive oil), Kilis Horoz Karası Üzümü (Horoz Karası grapes), Kilis Kahvaltılık Toz Zahter (breakfast zahter spice mix) and Kilis Yorganı (Kilis quilt).