Gaziantep Travel Guide, Turkey

Gaziantep, Travel guide – Location

Gaziantep is a Turkish city located in southern Anatolia near the eastern shores of the Mediterranean Sea with cities like Konya and Adana nearby. Gaziantep travel guide will introduce you the wonderful places within and nearby the city.

Gaziantep, Travel guide – Geography

The city is set in a hilly region with an average elevation of 895m.These geographical features strongly influenced the architecture of the buildings and the structure of the streets. The scenery is dominated by the Nizip Hill, one of the highest nearby points and by the impressive agglomeration of Mediterranean houses split by numerous narrow stone paved streets.

The climate in this side of Turkey is Mediterranean with some continental influences making the summers hot and quite dry and winters humid but above the freezing level. The rainiest month is December when show occurs and may last until March while the driest is August. The wind is also a common presence in the area blowing with 93km/hour in June and July and almost inexistent in January and August.

Gaziantep, Travel guide – Flora and Fauna

The flora found in Gaziantep is made up mainly of cultivated species, this region being very popular for the pistachio nuts, olives, cotton, tobacco and vine cultures. Besides these cultivated species, one still can admire the Black Pine, Scotts Pine, Lebanon Cedar, Kermes Oak, Turkish Pine, Red Pine and maquis bushes. Numerous parks and green areas house besides tree species also ornamental flowers and bushes like tulips, lilies and roses.

Fauna is also well adapted to the local climatic conditions and topography and is represented by domestic animals like sheep, goats, donkeys but also pheasants and deer. For a better understanding of the local fauna one can visit the city zoo where along with numerous exotic animals tourists can admire many local animals.

Gaziantep, Travel guide – Transport

The city is quite easy reachable due to the well developed transport infrastructure in the area represented by modern highways, railroads and an international airport. If you arrive from inland then driving would be a good option, giving you the opportunity to visit the historic tourist attractions along the way. The railways are also modern and reliable, the city being connected with all the other important locations in Turkey.

Within the city tourists can travel by bus or taxi, even if places like the old city centre can be visited on foot.

Gaziantep, Travel guide – Population and Economy

Gaziantep is among the first ten largest Turkish cities, housing about one million inhabitants. The dominating religion in the city is Islam with about 98% of the population, the rest being Orthodox and Jews. The locals speak mostly Turkish with few exceptions like Arabic, Bosnian and other languages.

The crowded city located on old commercial routes is it still flourishing due to the active economic activities developed here. Crafts and metallurgic industry are among the most active economical sectors along with textile industry, exporting important amounts of carpets, agriculture, producing pistachio, olives and wine, tourism and commerce.

Gaziantep, Travel guide – Cuisine

Local cuisine in Gaziantep is characteristic for the entire Turkey and is influenced by the numerous immigrants and also by the nearby Syrian cuisine. The unique taste of the local dishes is given by the saffron, yoghurt and garlic used with almost every occasion. Many traditional specialties are baked, fried, boiled and originally dried in the sun like the Pusuruk corbasi, which is dough balls dried in the sun and then used in a soup, tas kebabi, which is lamb meat cooked with vegetables and served with rice, kelle, which is a stew made of lamb meat with garlic and lots of pepper also served with rice. Numerous dishes are made with yoghurt and mint or saffron like the siveydiz which is a vegetables stew with green onions and garlic. Musakka is also a famous treat in the Balkans, and is made with slices of zucchini, eggplants, tomatoes and potatoes.

Locals are also famous for their desserts like the sweet rice pudding called sutlac, sesame or nut halva and other such treats usually made with grape syrup, honey, wheat starch and different types of nuts like pistachio, walnuts and peanuts.