Dishes you should try in Ulukışla: Ulukışla Tandır Eti (tandır-baked lamb), Tarhana Çorbası (dried yoghurt and wheat soup), Keşkek (wheat and lamb porridge) and Kiraz (Darboğaz) (Darboğaz cherries). This guide also covers the local products to buy and what Ulukışla is famous for.
Last updated:
Prepared by slowly baking lamb in a clay tandır oven for hours. It is a traditional dish of the mountain villages. The meat takes on a unique aroma as it absorbs the earthy smell of the tandır.
A soup made from tarhana, which is yoghurt, tomato and wheat flour dried together. It is essential to winter tables.
Prepared by boiling cracked wheat and lamb for a long time until it becomes a porridge. Keşkek is an essential dish at weddings and is prepared in a communal spirit.
Cherries grown in Ulukışla have been promoted for 16 years through a cherry festival organised by the district governorship in Darboğaz village.
These dishes are known throughout Niğde province; see the provincial food guide for details.
A pan-cooked dish with a registered geographical indication.
A local dish with a registered geographical indication.
A tahini pastry with a registered geographical indication.
A dessert with a registered geographical indication.
Gülek Pass is a strategic passage crossed by many armies, from Alexander the Great in the 4th century BC to the Crusades. This historical importance forms the basis of Ulukışla's cultural identity.
The Baghdad Railway crosses the Taurus at Ulukışla. The tunnels and viaducts built at the start of the 20th century are considered engineering marvels.
Ulukışla is known for 4 local dishes, above all Ulukışla Tandır Eti (tandır-baked lamb), Tarhana Çorbası (dried yoghurt and wheat soup), Keşkek (wheat and lamb porridge) and Kiraz (Darboğaz) (Darboğaz cherries). Prepared by slowly baking lamb in a clay tandır oven for hours. It is a traditional dish of the mountain villages. The meat takes on a unique aroma as it absorbs the earthy smell of the tandır.
Ulukışla is known for Ulukışla Tandır Eti (tandır-baked lamb), Ulukışla Apple and History of the Cilician Gates. Its best-known sights include Bolkar Mountains and Çiftehan Hot Springs.
Local products and souvenirs to buy in Ulukışla include Ulukışla Apple and Bolkar Mountain Honey (Bolkar Dağı Balı).