Gaziantep

Last update October 6, 2026

Gaziantep, which the locals still refer to as Antep, has genuinely earned its status as a UNESCO City of Gastronomy. It is indeed Turkey’s food capital and as a result people travel from both Istanbul and Ankara just to eat. The Antep baklava has EU Protected Geographical Indication status and the reason why it tastes better in this area is geographical: since the region grows the country’s pistachios, the baklava is delivered fresh from the source rather than being sent in from elsewhere. Imam Çağdaş, one of the city’s oldest kebab and baklava restaurants, is the name that everyone mentions first, although with food of such a high quality the smaller restaurants in the neighbourhood are also able to compete.

The Zeugma Mosaic Museum is not only the city’s most popular attraction but also genuinely of world-class standard. The ancient city of Zeugma was situated about fifty kilometres away, and in 2000, when the Birecik Dam posed the threat of flooding it under the rising waters of the Euphrates, archaeologists quickly moved to save the mosaics before the water reached the site. The “Gypsy Girl”, which is the museum’s most well-known item, attracts visitors on its own, and if you want to see more after going through the main collection there is a separate annex containing Eastern Roman church mosaics.

Gaziantep Castle forms the focal point of the old town, is illuminated after sunset and has now been turned into the Gaziantep Defense and Heroic Panorama Museum. The roads leading up to the castle in the Şahinbey district contain mosques, examples of Ottoman architecture and the Bakırcılar Çarşısı bazaar, where coppersmiths still work in full sight of the people passing by. Visit the Emine Göğüş Culinary Museum nearby if you want to learn more about all the food you’ve been eating, and have the menengiç coffee, which is made from wild pistachio terebinth, at Tahmis Kahvesi, a historic coffeehouse that has been serving it for generations.

If your visit lasts long enough, allow two full days to Gaziantep: one day for the castle, the bazaar and the old town and another for the Zeugma Museum as well as a proper food tour of the city’s bakeries and kebab shops. The food here is spicier than that of western Turkey, so make sure you keep some water with you if you’re not used to such heat. Very few cities in Turkey offer such a large amount of real history and such genuinely good food all within the same walkable area.