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Best gifts and souvenirs to buy from Türkiye
Best gifts and souvenirs to buy from Türkiye
Best souvenirs to buy from 30 places in Turkey
1) Nazar amulet - This amulet is one of the most traditional Turkish souvenirs. Eye figures are accepted as a protector of evil in many traditional cultures. According to Turkish belief, a nazar amulet protects people from the evil eye. The beads can be found everywhere in Turkey, but the best place is Nazarköy (the village of Nazar) in the western province of İzmir.
Best souvenirs to buy from 30 places in Turkey
2) Baklava dessert - Baklava is one of the famous desserts of Turkish cuisine. It also has an important place in Middle Eastern, Balkan and South Asian kitchens. It made with nuts inside filo and sweetened with sugar syrup. While returning home, you can take a package with you, which keeps fresh for three days. Again, you can find it anywhere in Turkey, but the best place to buy is its capital: The city of Gaziantep, or simply Antep, in the southeast.
Best souvenirs to buy from 30 places in Turkey
3) Turkish carpets - If you are interested in traditional Turkish carpets, you should visit Hereke. The town is situated in the northwestern province of Kocaeli, which is close to Istanbul. It has the oldest carpet factory in Turkey. Most of the carpets in historic palaces in Istanbul were produced in Hereke.
Best souvenirs to buy from 30 places in Turkey
4) Turkish delight - Yet another delicious Turkish dessert... Hacı Bekir Efendi was the inventor of the lokum, which has been produced by his confectionery in Istanbul’s Bahçekapı neighborhood since 1777, according to the company.
Best souvenirs to buy from 30 places in Turkey
5) Miniature statues of Nemrut - Crowning one of the highest peaks of the Eastern Taurus mountain range in southeast Turkey, Nemrut Mountain is the Hierotheseion (temple-tomb and house of the gods) built by the late Hellenistic King Antiochos I of Commagene (69-34 B.C.) as a monument to himself. You can buy the miniature versions of the statues at the UNESCO World Heritage Site or from the nearby city of Adıyaman.
Best souvenirs to buy from 30 places in Turkey
6) Ebru art - Paper marbling is a method of aqueous surface design which can produce patterns similar to smooth marble or other stone. In the Turkish style called “ebru,” mordanting the paper or cloth is not needed. The Cappadocia region is one of the best places to find ebru art.
Best souvenirs to buy from 30 places in Turkey
7) İznik pottery - The İznik pottery featuring ceramics decorated by “çini” art lived its heyday from the 15th century to the late 17th. You should first visit Topkapı Palace in Istanbul to see the best examples and then travel to the northwestern town of İznik to buy some for yourself.
Best souvenirs to buy from 30 places in Turkey
8) Oltu stone - If you are around the eastern city of Erzurum, you should visit its historic Oltu district. The semi-precious stone known by this town’s name has traditionally been used in manufacturing rings, earrings, necklaces, bracelets, tie pins, smoking pipes, cigarette holders and prayer beads. Also known as black amber, this dense stone attracts, by way of static electricity, light substances like dust when rubbed, and also can burn, leaving only ash behind.
Best souvenirs to buy from 30 places in Turkey
9) Turkish coffee - Another taste you can find anywhere in Turkey. However, the most famous historic seller of it, Kurukahveci Mehmet Efendi, has its shop in Istanbul’s Eminönü neighborhood, near the Egyptian Bazaar.
Best souvenirs to buy from 30 places in Turkey
10) Cezve - If you buy coffee, you should buy its cooking pot, too. A cezve can be made from copper, zinc or aluminium. You can find one at the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul.
Best souvenirs to buy from 30 places in Turkey
11) Almond paste - Although marzipan is well-known around the world nowadays, it was introduced into Europe by Turks in the form of “badem ezmesi” (almond paste). According to tradition, its current form was developed during the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent. As it was at that time, the dessert’s most famous sellers are now in the former Ottoman capital of Edirne, particularly the shops of the Keçecizade and Arslanzade families.
Best souvenirs to buy from 30 places in Turkey
12) Mosaic glass lamps - Glass mosaics were another Ottoman traditional art that colored daily life. They can be bought from Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar, as well as other historic bazaars in a number of Turkish cities.
Best souvenirs to buy from 30 places in Turkey
13) Trabzon tea - Tea is an indispensable part of daily life in Turkey. Its main producer is the Black Sea region, where the city of Trabzon is located. In the shops of Trabzon, there are many kinds of tea which are not sold in Istanbul’s or Ankara’s supermarkets.
Best souvenirs to buy from 30 places in Turkey
14) Çaydanlık - If you need a good cezve to properly cook Turkish coffee, then you need a good çaydanlık (tea pot) to properly prepare Turkish tea. It consists of two parts. The upper part is used to boil tea and the lower part is for boiling water. It can be found in any store in Turkey but if you prefer to have a traditional-styled one, you can visit the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul.
Best souvenirs to buy from 30 places in Turkey
15) Statuette of the Maiden’s Tower - The Maiden’s Tower on the Bosphorus has been one of Istanbul’s symbols since the medieval Byzantine period. The interior of the tower has been transformed into a popular café and restaurant, with an excellent view of the former Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman capital. You can buy a statuette either from here or from the Üsküdar neighborhood across the water.
Best souvenirs to buy from 30 places in Turkey
16) Pişmaniye - Yet another Turkish dessert and yet another speciality from the northwestern town of İzmit... Pişmaniye, a sweet in fine strands made by blending flour roasted in butter into pulled sugar, has been made since the early 15th century.
Best souvenirs to buy from 30 places in Turkey
17) Lüle stone - First discovered by a German mineralogist in the mid-19th century, this white stone has become the symbol of the central-western city of Eskişehir. With high proportions of magnesium and silicon, it is turned into various objects, including stylistic pipes.
Best souvenirs to buy from 30 places in Turkey
18) Rose water - The southwestern province of Isparta is the land or roses. Rose water, produced from the extract of roses, has many health benefits. It is used as a natural tonic to clean your face, and also to aromatize foods, such as güllaç (the rose dessert).
Best souvenirs to buy from 30 places in Turkey
19) Statuette of the Trojan Horse - If you visit the ancient site of Troy in the Çanakkale province in northwestern Turkey, you may want to buy a scale model of a Trojan horse as a souvenir. According to legend, the Greeks constructed a huge wooden horse and hid a select force of men inside to conquer Troy after a fruitless 10-year siege.
Best souvenirs to buy from 30 places in Turkey
20) Spices - As a crossroads between three continents, Turkey has been a hub of trade for centuries. Spices have always played a key role. The Egyptian Bazaar in Istanbul is the traditional marketplace for the best spices.
Best souvenirs to buy from 30 places in Turkey
21) Dried fruits - The eastern province of Malatya produces 85 percent of the apricots in the world. If you are around there, you should try dried apricot, as well as other dried fruits, to see why millions of Turks love them.
Best souvenirs to buy from 30 places in Turkey
22) Silk foulards and towels - Turkey has one of the largest textile sectors in the world. The former Ottoman capital Bursa was the historic center of sericulture, fabric and weaving. Denizli replaced it recently in the world markets. If you are in Bursa, you can go to Kozahan to try silk foulards and shawls. If you are in Denizli, go for the towels.
Best souvenirs to buy from 30 places in Turkey
23) Höşmerim - Another traditional dessert, this time from the northwestern Balıkesir province. Höşmerim, widely known as a summer dessert thanks to its lightness, contains semolina and cheese. The famous 17th century Ottoman traveller Evliya Çelebi describes it as a Türkmen dessert. Visit Balıkesir’s Havran district to buy some höşmerim, which they have been producing for more than 500 years.
Best souvenirs to buy from 30 places in Turkey
24) Porcelain - Kütahya is the most famous Turkish city for porcelain production. If you are around this inner Aegean city, you may consider buying some porcelain kitchenware.
Best souvenirs to buy from 30 places in Turkey
25) Chestnut candy - Yet another dessert and again from Bursa. Chestnuts from the Uludağ Mountain region are boiled in sugar syrup. Some are covered by chocolate. Chestnut candy (kestane şekeri) is the favorite family gift for Turks who return from Bursa.
Best souvenirs to buy from 30 places in Turkey
26) Eye of the Nightingale - “Çeşm-i Bülbül” means “eye of the nightingale.” This traditional kitchenware is produced by melting slim and colorful glass sticks at high temperature. It was devised by an Ottoman glass master who was sent to Venice by Ottoman Sultan Selim III.
Best souvenirs to buy from 30 places in Turkey
27) Maraş ice cream - If you visit the southeastern city of Kahramanmaraş, or simply Maraş, its local ice cream is a must-try. It was invented by accident while producing the sahlep drink from orchid seeds. It is made of goat milk and can be carried on the road for up to three days thanks to dry ice.
Best souvenirs to buy from 30 places in Turkey
28) Telkari - An ancient art of Mesopotamia, today, handmade silver art is accepted as a special art of Mardin, a historic southeastern town in Turkey. Telkari is made by slim silver wires knit together. This art is also used for embellish jewellery and ornamental goods.
Best souvenirs to buy from 30 places in Turkey
29) Safranbolu lokum - If you have already tried the historic Turkish delight in Istanbul and if you happen to be in the Black Sea town of Safranbolu, then you should enrich your taste of lokum. This historic town, known for its UNESCO-lauded and beautiful houses, also has its own kind of Turkish delights. It has a distinct saffron aroma with pistachio and coconut.
Best souvenirs to buy from 30 places in Turkey
30) Copperware - You may have already bought a copper cezve in Istanbul, but if you are in the eastern city of Erzincan, you still can’t skip the Bakırcılar Çarşısı (Coppermaker’s Market). Here you can find handmade ornamental goods and kitchenware in copper.
Best souvenirs to buy from 30 places in Turkey
Are you traveling in Turkey and not sure what souvenir to buy or what local speciality to try in which place? We have a list for you, inevitably dominated by traditional art and food
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