Trip Highlights:
Chef Host: Chef Ana Sortun of Oleana and Sofra Restaurants, Cambridge, MA
- Pot luck lunch in Gaziantep with dishes made from 29 home cooks
- Visit to Gaziantep’s Food Bazaar and Copper Market
- Visit to famous Mosaics Museum in Gaziantep
- Day-long excursion to Maras, known for peppers and dondurma (Turkish ice cream)
- Visit to famous Cagdas Baklava House
- Lunch with cooking demo by Ana Sortun in courtyard
- Visit to Archeological Museum in Gaziantep
- Sufi show with a Whirling Dervish Ceremony
- Tour of the market district of Kadikoy, an un-touristy section of Istanbul on the Asian side
- Lunch at Ciya (Ana’s favorite restaurant) with Chef Musa Dagdeviren
- Cruise on the Bosphorus to European side of Istanbul
- Visit to Taksim for a street-food-and-spice immersion with Ana
- Guided tour of the Hagia Sofia and Blue Mosque and Topkapi
- Cooking class with Ana Sortun and lunch at Istanbul Culinary Institute
- Accommodations in Anatolian house boutique hotels and Istanbul hotel next to the Hagia Sophia
- Special restaurant meals in Gaziantep and Istanbul
