Diyarbakır, the largest city in Türkiye’s southeast, now has an official gastronomy route of 48 designated "Taste Points" (Lezzet Noktası), launched during the city’s Culture Road Festival, NTV reported on 18 October.
The addresses were selected under the Taste Point project run by the Türkiye Tourism Promotion and Development Agency (TGA), the state body that markets the country abroad. The businesses carry signage and are promoted on social media so visitors can find them more easily.
Sour flavours and Karacadağ rice
Chefs and food writers invited to the city highlighted sumac sour (sumak ekşisi) and sour cherry paste as the defining ingredients of local cooking. Chef Gamze Cizreli of the BigChefs chain said the use of these sour flavours is what sets Diyarbakır’s cuisine apart from neighbouring provinces.
Dishes recommended by participants included duvaklı pilav, a domed rice dish made with Karacadağ rice, spiced mince and almonds; aubergine and courgette meftune, a tangy stew; stuffed lamb ribs (kaburga dolması); and burma kadayıf, a rolled shredded-pastry dessert with walnuts.
Who is on the route
Among the named Taste Points are two women’s cooperatives founded in 2024. The Hevsel Women’s Cooperative started with seven women and now employs 13, cooking içli köfte, stuffed vegetables, mantı and hand-rolled gözleme and selling Karacadağ rice and bulgur. The Key Ma Women’s Cooperative, part of the Diyarbakır Gastro Innovation Centre, makes grape molasses and şileki, a local sweet.
Long-established family businesses are also on the list, including a liver kebab house in the Dağkapı area run by a second-generation owner since 1982, and a kadayıf maker whose family has been in the trade since the 1960s.
Michelin Guide inspectors and chefs including Ömür Akkor and Çiğdem Seferoğlu were among the visiting group, alongside food writers.
A festival city
The Diyarbakır Culture Road Festival, organised by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, ran from 10 to 18 October with 249 events at 14 venues. The festival series has now moved on to Mardin, where the Culture Road Festival runs until 25 October, less than two hours’ drive away, making the two cities easy to combine on one trip.
Diyarbakır is known for its basalt city walls and the Hevsel Gardens, inscribed together on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2015. Autumn, with milder temperatures than the region’s very hot summers, is a good time to visit.
For readers weighing up food and everyday budgets around the country, our cost of living in Turkey 2026 guide compares prices across regions, while seasonal bargains such as Istanbul’s cheap bonito show how much food costs depend on what is in season.
Sources
- Diyarbakır’da lezzetin sırrı sumak ekşisinde: 48 lezzet noktasıyla gastronomi rotası (NTV)
- Diyarbakır Kültür Yolu Festivali başladı! 9 günde 249 etkinlik (Dünya)
Photo: Dosseman / CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
