Adana - Gaziantep: Turkiye’nin iki buyulu gastronomi sehrinde mini bir tur! / Adana- Gaziantep: A small tour in Turkey’s two epic gastronomic cities!
Adana🔥🔥
Gecen yil (edit: artik onceki yil oluyor 2021 itibariyle uhuhu) Turkiye ziyaretimizi sonlandirirken donusumuzu Istanbul’dan epey bir ucuz oldugu icin Adana’dan yapmaya karar vermistik. Agustos ayinin sicaginda Adana’ya gitmek istemenin biraz delice bir secim oldugunu bilsem de, hem canim babamin goc ettigi ve calistigi ilk sehir olmasi hem has kebap yiyebilmenin dayanilmaz cekiciligi, baska bir muthis sehir Antep’e yakinligi sebebiyle bu secenegi hemen degerlendirmek istedim.
Adana’ya iner inmez sicagin delip gectigini hissediyorsunuz. Hakikaten eritecek bir sicaklik. Bol kiyafetler giymeden ve klimasiz hareket etmeniz cooook zor. Bunu kisa bir mesafeden park ettigimiz arabadan cok merak ettigim meshur Tas Kopru ve uzerindeki bici bici satan tezgahlara yuruyerek gidemeyecegimi anlayinca farketmistim ve tabi hayatimin ilk kapali ve klimali otobus duraklarini da gorunce de:)
Asagida gordugunuz yer, yemek yemek icin ilk duragimiz: Onbasilar Kebap. Seyhan Baraji’na yanibasindaki bir tepeden bakan bu mekan daha cok kalabalik gruplar icin tasarlanmis, koklu modern bir kebapci tarzinda. Kebaptan once siz hicbir sey soylemeden gelen salatalar, ikramliklar, mini pideler beni benden aldi, bayildim bu Adana comertligine! Fotograflara teker teker tiklayinca (asagida) goreceksiniz gelen ikramliklari, biz sadece kebap ve salgam suyunu soyledik. Salgam suyunun Adana’nin en iyilerinden biri olan Ali Goder oldugunu soylediler, ben kucuklukten beri hayrani oldugum bayilarak ictim. Acili veya acisiz secenekleri oldugunu hatirliyorum. Alkol secenekleri de var. Adanalilarin kebabi neden pilavla yemeye karsi olduklarini anladim, et hakikaten cok lezzetli, yaninda onden gelenlerle beraber hicbir seye ihtiyac duymuyorsunuz. Benim tek takildigim nokta, calisanlarin biraz aceleci ve fazla guleryuzlu olmamalariydi. Onun disinda, kebap, salgam ve mezeler gayet lezzetliydi.
Last year (2019) Murat & I decided to return to Sydney from Adana as the flights are way cheaper than flying from Istanbul, it’s home to the original kebab, it’s close to another beautiful city: Gaziantep, plus my father grew up there and I have only been once when I was two years old. We knew it was going to be really hot in August, but when we parked the car and couldn’t walk to the old famous bridge of Adana, and saw air conditioned bus stops, only then did we totally appreciated how hot this city can get ☺
The photos below were taken from our first food stop: Onbasilar Kebap. The restaurant is located next to the Seyhan Dam where you can have a beautiful view of the water while eating from the top of the hill. As soon as you sit down, they serve salads, mezes, mini lahmacun and pide (traditional flat bread with spiced mince and bread filled cheddar) without even ordering anything. How generous!
We ordered shalgham juice (a savoury purple carrot juice, traditionally made in Adana) and the famous Adana kebab. I really loved how they serve the kebab. Unlike in Istanbul, the kebab is served on its own with no rice or sides to really emphasise flavour of the meat itself. It was a tasty kebab with tasty meat and I understood why people from Adana are against serving kebabs with rice in other cities!
The only unpleasant thing there were the staff as it felt it was a bit rushed when serving and they didn’t a have smile. Maybe it was such a hot day that even they couldn’t handle it :)
P.s. To see all photos click click the below photo gallery!!!
Ayni gun birkac saatligine Adana’nin yanibasindaki guzel sehir Mersin’e gittik. Hayalimde Mersin’e bir gun gidebilirsem mutlaka o muthis denizine girmek ve tantuniyi asil memleketinde yemek de vardi. Maalesef birkac saat icinde geri dondugumuz icin ne denize girebilme ne de tantuni yiyebilme hayalimi gerceklestirebildim ama bir firsatini bulup “kerebic” tatlisini deneyebildim. Irmikle ve ic dolgusu fistikla yapilan ve kendine ozgu kremasi ve bol tarcinla servis edilen degisik bir lezzet.
The same day we arrived, we visited the nearby city of Mersin. I always dreamed of swimming in Mersin’s beautiful turquoise waters and having real tantuni (a traditional spiced lamb wrap) if I go there one day but unfortunately it didn’t happen because of our limited time there. I did have the chance to try “kerebic” dessert made from semolina filled with pistachio and served with its special cream and cinnamon.
Antep. Bir ruyanin bir gune sigan gercekligi. Antep fistiginin, susam kebabinin, lahmacununun, baklavanin, beyranin, kahkenin, yuvalamanin ve daha coklarinin evi, gitmeyi hep dusledigim sehirlerden biri. Bir restoranin onunde gordugum yazi Antep’i soyle anlatiyordu: “Eger dunya bir ev olsaydi, mutfagi Antep olurdu.” Herhalde Antepli olsaydim ben de bunu durmadan soylerdim:)
Bir hafta kalmayi, daha cok kesfetmeyi, yemeyi cok dilerdim ama bu pandemi doneminde anladim ki o kadarcik firsati bile degerlendirmek inanilmaz onemliymis. Bu fotograflarda goreceginiz yer Antep’in meshur Bakircilar carsisi, sokaklari, yemeni denilen geleneksel ayakkabilarin satildigi yerler. Ben bir tane modern gorunumlu olanlarindan kendime aldim bu el yapimi guzelliklerden, ve tabi cezve ile hala bayilarak kullandigim mis baharatlardan da!
Antep. A dream can come true for a day! A sign I saw in front of one of the restaurants described Antep like this: “If the world was a house, Antep would be the kitchen.” We all know that there are crazy beautiful cuisines all around the world, this is just a beautiful compliment to Antep’s deep, rich, flavourful kitchen. The birthplace of baklava, famous for its pistachios, sesame kebap, lahmajun, beyran soup and many more. I would love to have stayed more, discover more, but as I said in the beginning we had very limited time.
These photos were taken in the streets of the famous Coppersmith Bazaar and where traditional handmade leather shoes “yemeni'' are made. Of course I bought one of those modern looking Yemenis and some spices for my Sydney kitchen.
Imam Cagdas’in methini her zaman duymustum, hatta Antep’teki mekaninda baklavasini yemeden once Sidney’de Somer Sivrioglu’nun restorani Anason’da tatma sansim da oldu. (Evet haftanin belli bir gunu Antep’ten Sidney’e baklava gonderiliyor Imam Cagdas’tan!) Ayni zamanda kebaplarinin da -ozellikle Ali Nazik ya da Ala Nazik- denenmesi gerektigini duymustum bu yuzden Antep’te ilk ugradigimiz yer Imam Cagdas oldu. Mekan artik iyi bilinip tanindigi icin epey bir kalabalikti ama buna ragmen bir masa bulup hemen siparislerimizi verdik. “Antep’te lahmacun yemeden sakin doneyim deme.” diye babamdan da uyari aldigim icin, Ali Nazik, lahmacun ve simit kebabi soyledik ve elbette tatlimiz baklavaydi. Ozellikle lahmacunu cok begendim, hakikaten Antep lahmacununun ozel bir tadi var. Ali Nazik icin de kuzu etli olanini onerdiler, et yumusacik ve lezzetliydi. Baklavasinin da fistiklari iri cekilmis disi citir ici daha yumusakti. Genel olarak her seyi begendik, ama durust olmak gerekirse benim icin menumuzun yildizi o muhtesem lahmacunuydu. Bir de mekanin icinde kucuk bir tur atarken gordugum arka avluya ba-yil-dim. (Tum fotograflari gormek icin, fotografa tiklayin.)
I was always hearing beautiful things about Imam Cagdas restaurant’s baklava and kebabs, so I had to go and try the food there. Funnily enough, I had my first Imam Cagdas baklava here in Sydney at Somer Sivrioglu’s meze bar Anason located in Barangaroo. They bring baklava from Antep to Sydney, yes!
I knew that it was quite a famous place, and when I stepped in and saw it in person, I understood exactly how famous it was. It was pretty crowded but we manage find a table and ordered Antep’s lahmajun. My father said “Do not dare go back to Sydney without having real Antep lahmajun!” Ali Nazik kebab (lamb kebab served with eggplant, garlic yogurt, chilli flakes and butter), simit kebab (kebab made from lamb and sesame seeds) and baklava as dessert. I loved the lahmajun it was the best lahmajun I have ever had. The Ali Nazik was also great and the different types of baklava too! The pistachios in the baklava were coarsely grated, emphasising the quality of the nuts they used. It was crispy on the outside and softer between layers. We absolutely loved everything they served but to me, the star of the table was the lahmajun!
Dunyanin en buyuk mozaik muzesinin Antep’te oldugunu biliyor muydunuz? Turkiye’de en ama en cok gormek istedigim yerlerden biriydi Zeugma. Tanrilar, tanricalar, kendi karanlik ve ozel odasinda ziyaret ettigim meshur cingene kizi mozaigi, antik zaman hikayeleri, ince dusunulmus, ince islenmis sanat parcalari. O tum hizli gezinin icinde harika bir durakti. Ben susayim asagidaki fotograflar konussun biraz da.
Did you know that the world’s biggest mosaic museum is in Antep? Zeugma Mosaic Museum was on my “places to visit” list in Turkey and I am so happy to put a tick next to it! All those ancient gods, goddesses, the gypsy girl and ancient stories depicted on mosaics were spectacular. Maybe I should stop writing at this point and simply direct you to the photos below!
Zeugma’dan sonra ugramak istedigim bir iki yer ve yine cok az vaktimiz vardi. Kahvesini icemesem de methini cokca duydugum Tahmis Kahvesi’nden hem kendim icin hem de hediyelik taze cekilmis kahvelerimi alip gun biterken Antep’in meshur beyran corbasini denemeden Adana’ya donmeyelim dedik. Beyran pirinc, kuzu eti, kemik suyu ve has aci biberli bir corba cesidi. Ilk gittigimiz mekanda corbayi damak tadima uygun bulamamistim o yuzden hemen Adana’daki kuzenimi arayip yardim istedim ve onun da onerisiyle kendimizi Sakip Usta’da bulduk. Oteki mekanla karsilastiramayacak kadar misafirperver, duzenli ve bol ikramli Sakip Usta’yi begendik. Ama tadacaklara onerim bu corbanin kuzuyla yapildigi ve kuzu etinin o kendine has kokusunun hissedildigi gercegini kabul etmeleri:)
We had a very short time left after visiting the Zeugma Museum so before we were back off to Adana, I wanted to stop by Tahmis Kahvesi where you can sit in a beautiful and traditionally decorated café, and have your Turkish coffee, or grab your freshly grounded coffee and continue your day. I purchased ground coffee for myself and friends in Sydney and started to search for a place where I could have one of the most famous soups of Antep: Beyran.
Beyran is a type of soup that has rice, shredded lamb meat / broth and spices in it. All the ingredients are prepared in advance to be cooked on a high heat and served warm. The first place we tried didn’t turn out so great but we found a good restaurant with the help of my cousin on our second attempt.
Sakip Usta was an organized, clean and generous place. We both liked the soup, but just a reminder for those who wanted to try it: lamb broth & meat has its own particular smell as always, so if you don't mind it, give it a go!
Adana borekcileri artik Istanbul’da deli gibi meshur, Istanbul’da boreklerden yedigimiz de oldu ama her seyi yerinde denemek lazim diyip, Adana’ya cok gec saatte donmemize ragmen- ben sabahki borekcinin saatini ( Levent Borekci) kaciracagimi bildigim icin- gece yarisi Borekci Riza’nin yolunu tuttuk. Kucuk bir porsiyon soyledik ama o citir disi, akiskan peyniri, tazeligi beni benden aldi, bayildim bittim. Yeri biraz sapa, daha dogrusu ara sokaklarda; acikcasi aksamin erken saatlerinde gidilirse daha rahat edilebilecegini dusunuyorum. Kesinlikle bu iki borekciden biri denenmeli; sabah vakit varsa Levent yoksa Riza Börekçisi.
Adana has a wonderful type of layered pastry, filled with gooey cheese. The general name of these types of pastry dishes is “borek” and the “Adana Boregi” has become very famous in Istanbul and all over Turkey. So while there, I wanted to check it out.
There are two very famous “borekcis” in Adana, the first one is Levent and the other is Riza Borekcisi. Because we arrived back in Adana late and knew that we wouldn’t make it on time to Levent, we decided to go to Riza Borekcisi.
I absolutely loved and adored that crispy outside. Melting cheese inside, overflows out as you bite into it resulting in a flavour overdose that wants you screaming for more! I could not get enough of this Borek and it is a must have. Everyone says, “In Adana have Levent Borekci’s borek, if not go for Riza Borekcisi, but have at least one!”
The place was in one of those shady back alley streets though so I recommend visiting there during the day or if you have time, early in the morning.
Ertesi gun Adana’daki son gunumuzdu ve muzlu sutuyle meshur Kazim Bufe’ye ugramak ve acikcasi muzlu sutun nesinin bu kadar meshur oldugunu anlamak istiyordum. Hakikaten dedikleri kadar varmis, smoothie mantiginin cok iyi cozuldugu bir yer. Istanbul’da bir subesinin acilmamasina ayrica sasirdim ve sevindim de. Giderseniz mutlaka bu sutu icin ve acsaniz tostlarindan siparis verin.
The next day was our last day in Adana and Turkey and I still had a few things to do on my list. One of them was to have a banana milkshake at Kazim Bufe. I had heard it a lot and didn’t' understand why a banana milkshake was so famous. When I tried it, although I don’t particularly like bananas and milk, I understood completely.
It was the most delicious smoothie I had ever had. I was a little surprised how they did not open a branch in Istanbul and glad at the same time to be honest. I would definitely go there again and it's a specialty of Adana. If you go there you must try it and if you are hungry don’t miss out their special toasties!
Adana’da en son yapmak istedigim sey Tas Kopru’sunde yurumek ve bici bici tatlisini yemekti. Ama sicaktan kopruye kadar bile yuruyememek diye bir sey varmis, mecburen bunu bir kis gunu yapacagimiz ziyarete kadar erteledik. Oglen Kebapci Mesut’ta bir mola verdik ve saniyorum Adana’da en cok begendigim kebap da o oldu. Lezzetine bayildim.Mutlaka orada Adana kebap yenmeli. Aksam Adana’da yasayan kuzenimle yemekte bulustuk ve yine bir kebap seansi yasandi elbette ama bu sefer artik rakimizla birlikte sohbetimiz her seyi tamamladi. 5 Ocak Kebap’i da gerek servis gerek lezzet olarak epey begendik.
Yogunlastirilmis Adana- Antep turumuz boylece tamamlandi. Tadi damagimizda, tum o muthis lezzetler, yeni yerler aklimizda dunyanin obur ucundaki evimize dogru biraz huzun cokca iyi ki ile ucuverdik.
The last thing I wanted to do in Adana was to walk on the famous Tas Kopru (Stone Bridge) and have bici bici (a dessert famous in Adana made from starch and serve with crushed ice and syrup) but unfortunately I wasn’t able to walk over the bridge because of the heat (+40C in the shade) and the bridge is pedestrians only. So we delayed this experience until our next visit, most probably in winter.
I wanted to try another kebab (still) at another place, “Kebapci Mesut”. It was very tasty and I think I liked this kebab the most. They have two branches and we went to the first one they opened. You can’t beat the original. You can see photos of all the famous people who have eaten here on their walls and I am not kidding, literally all of them including actors, musicians, journalists and even country leaders!
Later that evening, my cousin gave me a call for dinner together. We met at 5 Ocak Kebab restaurant, we had kebab again (haha I know twice in one day and four in three days!), but this time with raki and a good heart to heart talk. We really liked it there too, the service, presentation and flavour of everything was fantastic.
We thanked my cousin for the beautiful dinner and we thought about all the great food / places and experiences we had. As we were leaving for another home, Australia, we definitely felt that we were so lucky to be a part of this rich, deep and beautiful culture.
