Antalya

History & landscape

Antalya’s wider provincial landscape reaches beyond the modern coastal city. At Xanthos, in Antalya province, Lycian funerary monuments and inscriptions offer evidence of an ancient culture shaped by encounters with the Greek world. Together with nearby Letoon in Muğla, the site preserves layers of Anatolian, Greek, Roman and Byzantine history. These are regional landmarks, not monuments within Antalya city itself.

Living culture

A local dish can reveal as much as a landmark. Antalya’s köfte-piyaz shops have their own approaches to tahini dressing: some emphasise sesame richness, others acidity. The Ministry of Culture describes piyaz as a main dish locally, whereas bean piyaz elsewhere is often served as a salad. That distinction is part of the experience of eating it here.

Food & ingredients

Small beans and tarator dressing distinguish Antalya piyaz. Tahini, lemon, vinegar, garlic and olive oil form its characteristic sauce. The provincial food landscape also includes citrus, goat-milk cheese and pumpkin served with tahini and walnuts. These examples describe a local repertoire rather than a single menu shared by every household.

How our recipes connect

Our Antalya-style piyaz is connected to this documented local tradition. It is an adaptation for the home kitchen, not a claim to reproduce every shop’s recipe or satisfy a protected product specification. Follow the recipe’s own ingredient notes and sources.

Sources & further reading

• Ministry of Culture: Antalya Piyazı

  Antalya’s tahini-tarator bean dish, local serving customs and differences between preparations.

• UNESCO: Xanthos–Letoon

  Lycian heritage across Antalya and Muğla; inscriptions, funerary architecture and successive cultural influences.

• GoTürkiye: Mediterranean food traditions

  Vegetables, legumes, olive oil, Antalya citrus and regional differences along the Mediterranean coast.