Dishes you should try in Sakarya: Adapazarı Islama Köftesi (bread-soaked meatballs), Adapazarı Dartılı Keşkek (keşkek with dartı), Adapazarı Kabak Tatlısı (white squash dessert) and Sakarya Kazımpaşa Köftesi. This guide also covers the local products to buy and what Sakarya is famous for.
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Meatballs with a registered geographical indication, served on bread soaked in meat broth.
Keşkek, a wheat and meat dish, with a registered geographical indication.
A dessert made with white chestnut squash and carrying a registered geographical indication.
Meatballs with a registered geographical indication.
A dessert with a registered geographical indication.
A hot sauce from Abkhaz cuisine, with a registered geographical indication.
Minced meat kneaded with bread and spices and grilled. Served dipped in (islanmış) tomato sauce, it is a well-known flavour of Akyazı.
Wheat and meat boiled and pounded for a long time. Keşkek is the traditional dish at weddings and special occasions in Akyazı.
Because of the influence of the region, mantı is common in Akyazı too, served with yoghurt and a butter sauce.
Made with minced meat, bread filling and spices, the meatballs are dipped in tomato sauce. Widely eaten in Arifiye too, this dish is the signature food of Sakarya.
Boiled chicken meat served with a sauce made from walnuts and bread filling. It is common in Arifiye because of the influence of the local Circassian population.
Sakarya's famous ıslama köfte is also prepared with the traditional recipe at the köfte shops in Erenler. The köfte, dipped in tomato sauce, is served with pide bread.
The traditional cheese of the local Abaza community, made by hand-shaping fresh milk. It is an indispensable part of breakfast tables.
Sakarya's traditional ıslama köfte is also common in Ferizli. The meatballs are dipped in tomato sauce and served with piyaz.
Made from fresh corn, this soup is a traditional autumn favourite in Ferizli.
Prepared by marinating lamb in special spices and cooking it over a wood fire. Served in Geyve's local restaurants.
Apple cookies and apple pie made with Geyve's famous apples, an important part of the district's sweet-making tradition.
Made by slow-cooking wheat and meat and then pounding them together, keşkek is the traditional dish of wedding and holiday tables in Geyve.
A geographical indication quince grown in the Geyve Plain, juicy yet firm in texture.
Islama köfte, a traditional flavour of Sakarya, is also commonly eaten in Hendek. Meatballs dipped in tomato sauce are served with pide bread.
Chestnut candy, made from chestnuts gathered in the Hendek forests, is an important part of the district's sweet culture.
Karapürçek Cennet Hurması Pekmezi was registered as a protected geographical indication on 8 May 2023 (TÜRKPATENT registration no. 1354). Product group: processed and unprocessed fruit and vegetables and mushrooms. Registered by: Karapürçek District Governorship.
Made by slow-cooking wheat and meat and then pounding them together, keşkek is the traditional dish of wedding and holiday tables in Karapürçek.
Mantı made with hand-rolled dough, served with yoghurt and a butter sauce. A favourite winter dish in Karapürçek.
Fresh fish from the Black Sea are served grilled or pan-fried in Karasu's seafront restaurants. Anchovy, horse mackerel and whiting are the most preferred species.
The signature dish of Sakarya, Islama köfte is also widely served in Karasu. Prepared using recipes passed down from generation to generation, it is an important part of the region's culinary culture.
Bread made from cornmeal and baked on a sač griddle. In Karasu it is the traditional accompaniment to fish dishes.
Hazelnuts, Karasu's most important agricultural product, form the main source of the district's economy, and a variety of hazelnut products are on offer.
Sakarya's traditional ıslama köfte is also widespread in Kaynarcı. Meatballs dipped in tomato sauce are served with pide bread.
Made by slow-cooking wheat and meat and then pounding them together, keşkek is an essential dish at weddings and holiday tables.
Fresh fish from the Black Sea are served grilled or steamed in Kocaalı's seaside restaurants.
Bread made from maize flour and cooked on a griddle is the traditional accompaniment to fish dishes in Kocaalı.
Chestnut honey registered under the name of Kocaali.
Sakarya's signature dish, ıslama köfte, is also prepared in Pamukova using the traditional recipe.
Made by slow-cooking wheat and meat and then pounding them together, keşkek is an essential dish at wedding tables.
Carp, sea bass and pike from Sapanca Lake are served grilled or steamed in the lakeside restaurants.
Sapanca is famous for its spread-out breakfast (serpme kahvaltı) with a lake view. Local cheeses, honey, kaymak clotted cream and village eggs form the basis of breakfast tables.
Sakarya's signature dish, ıslama köfte, is also served in Sapanca using the traditional recipe.
A white bread baked in Sapanca with the charitable prayer of a dervish, whose name became widely known.
Islama köfte, the signature dish of Sakarya, is served in the restaurants of Serdivan using the traditional recipe.
A serpme kahvaltı can be enjoyed at lakeside venues in Serdivan with views of Lake Sapanca.
Sakarya's traditional ıslama köfte is also widespread in Söğütlü. This dish, which has an important place on local tables, is prepared using traditional recipes.
Made by slow-cooking wheat and meat and then pounding them together, keşkek is an essential dish at wedding tables. Prepared in a spirit of community, it is indispensable at weddings.
Taraklı Şimşir Kaşık was registered as a protected geographical indication on 9 August 2021 (TÜRKPATENT registration no. 830). Product group: handicrafts other than carpets, kilims and textiles. Registered by: Sakarya Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Food traditions kept alive by Abkhaz, Bosniak, Georgian and Balkan migrants.
The making of spoons and combs from boxwood in Taraklı.
The harvest held in August in Hendek, Karasu and Kocaali.
Sakarya is known for 6 local dishes, above all Adapazarı Islama Köftesi (bread-soaked meatballs), Adapazarı Dartılı Keşkek (keşkek with dartı), Adapazarı Kabak Tatlısı (white squash dessert) and Sakarya Kazımpaşa Köftesi. Meatballs with a registered geographical indication, served on bread soaked in meat broth.
Sakarya is known for Adapazarı Islama Köftesi (bread-soaked meatballs), Geyve Ayvası (Geyve quince) and Migrant cuisines. Its best-known sights include Sapanca Lake and Justinian Bridge (Beşköprü).
Local products and souvenirs to buy in Sakarya include Geyve Ayvası (Geyve quince), Pamukova Kavunu (Pamukova melon), Sapanca Cevizi (Sapanca walnut) and Kocaali Çamdağı Kestane Balı (Kocaali Çamdağı chestnut honey).