Les plats traditionnels de Tarsus sont transmis pour l’avenir

Mersin Metropolitan Municipality, through the Department of Culture and Social Affairs, has initiated the ‘Tarsus Regional Food Stories’ project under the Tarsus Value Adding Committee (TADEKA) to preserve cultural richness and local flavors for the future.

As part of the project, the traditional ‘analı-kızlı’ dish specific to the region was cooked at the Tarsus Municipality Gastronomy Center located in Siptilli Market. The dish, cooked under the culinary expertise of Ayşe Aydın, a vendor at the Yeryüzü Pazarı, received support from TADEKA Tourism and Gastronomy members as well as women from Mersin.

In the first phase of the project, aiming to cook the dishes in their original recipe just like in the past, colorful scenes were experienced. The ‘analı-kızlı’ dish, prepared using bulgur, meat, chickpeas, and various spices, received high praise from TADEKA committee members and other participants.

“Our goal is to pass down Tarsus’ traditional dishes to future generations”

Esin Erkoç, a member of TADEKA Tourism and Gastronomy Committee and President of the Tarsus Regional Food Culture Research and Development Association, expressed her happiness regarding the implementation of such a project. She stated, “We thought of passing down Tarsus’ regional dishes to future generations. We wanted to start this by conducting a survey and inventory study. Our colleagues are currently working on this inventory study. Our goal is to document the traditional dishes of Tarsus visually and compile them into a booklet for future generations.”

“I am very happy to introduce regional dishes”

Ayşe Aydın, a chef and member of the Regional Foods Association, mentioned their efforts to promote regional dishes. She said, “Today, we are making the ‘analı-kızlı’ dish as our first project. The ‘analı-kızlı’ dish is a main course in Tarsus, not a snack. This dish is usually prepared for gatherings. We have a variety of dishes reflecting Arab, plain, and mountain cultures. I am familiar with mountain dishes as I grew up in a mountain village, but I also researched plain dishes. Some ingredients we use are not used in the plain areas, or their names are different. For instance, what we call ‘yüzük çorbası’ is referred to as ‘börek çorbası’ by plain villagers. ‘Yüzük çorbası’ is prepared as a wedding meal in our mountain villages.”

“It is impossible to separate tourism and gastronomy today”

Murat Topçuoğlu, a veterinarian and spokesperson for the TADEKA Tourism and Gastronomy Committee, pointed out the intertwined nature of gastronomy and tourism today. He said, “We have been working on gastronomy and tourism for a long time. We have previously organized events related to tourism. We revisited tourism routes, tested them firsthand, and examined them. Our other focus was gastronomy. We believe that Tarsus has a significant gastronomic heritage, and we aim to bring this heritage to light.”

Topçuoğlu mentioned the various aspects of the project, stating, “We aim to extract the recipes of Tarsus’ established dishes, present them, and raise awareness among the public. Our work on this will continue. It is impossible to separate tourism from gastronomy today because they are intertwined. Therefore, we aim to bring forth both the touristic spots of Tarsus and its gastronomic heritage.”