Mardin: The city of Stone, Faith, and Flavor

Seminar on Turkey’s Regional Culinary Cultures and Traditions was held at YESAM May 17th, 2012

Nedim Atilla, a journalist and food culture researcher gave a presentation titled: “Mardin: The city of Stone, Faith and Flavor”  at YESAM (Culinary Arts Center) to a packed audience who sampled traditional Turkish dishes prepared by Guler Yazicioglu, including sumac juice and wine produced by Assyrian clergymen.

At the beginning of his speech, Nedim Atilla invited attendees to taste “klice,” a type of bread that – according to Atilla – captures the essence of all civilizations that once flourished in Mardin.

As Murat Dilmen’s verse goes:
“Mothers smell like spices, saffron flavored puddings smell like mothers…”
Among the traditional dishes sampled were:
Etli Ekmek (Lahmi) – Break with meat
Erik Yemeği (Haluciye) – Plum dish
Haşlanmış İçli Köfte (İkbebet) – Poached raw meatballs
Senbusek – A type of “lahmacun”
Kıtkat – Layered phyllo dough sweetened with yogurt and walnut
Sumak Şerbeti – Sumac Sherbet
Süryani Şarabı – Assyrian wine

Lecture video is in Turkish.