Gaziantep / Turkey

Gaziantep, previously and still informally referred to as Antep, is a city in the southeastern part of Turkey and it is among the oldest perpetually inhabited cities in the world. "Antepliler" literally means people who originally come from Antep, which is the name of our restaurant. Gaziantep was formerly called Ayintab or Aïntab, and later Antep.

The origins of this name are unknown, but there are several theories. "Aïntap" may have derived from "Khantap", meaning "king's land" in the Hittite language. It may also mean "full of springs" translated from the Persian language. "Aïn" is an Arabic (and Aramaic) term meaning "spring". And the word of praise "tap" may have combined to form the name "Ayin ţaba", meaning "good spring" in Aramaic.

The Crusaders called Antep and its castle "Hantab", "Hamtab" or "Hatab". In February 1921, the Parliament of Turkey honoured this city with the title "Gazi" which means "warrior for the Faith or Islam" or "war veteran" and commemorated the city's resistance to the French during the 1st World War and the Turkish War of Independence. The name of the city was officially changed in 1928 to Gaziantep. The history of Gaziantep goes back to the Hittites. Gaziantep was ruled by Akkadians, Mitannis, Hittites, Neo- Hittites, Assyrians, Urartians, Babylonians, Persians, Macedonians, Parthians, Commagene, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, along with being a key spot on the famous Silk Road. 

There are more than 400 dishes in the city. 291 species of them have already been registered. 

We cannot talk about Turkish food without mentioning Antep's famous kebabs. And of course, Gaziantep has it's very own traditional kebab dishes, too. Gaziantep has a huge reputation for its delicacies. If you know nothing about Antep’s famous cuisine, Antepliler in Haringey, London should be at the top of your To-Go list.

One of the secrets of Antep’s delicious cuisine is spices! Known for its spicy food, Antep's cuisine was heavily influenced by the Silk Road trade. There are more than 400 dishes that traditionally belong to this region. 291 dishes have already been officially recognised and registered to belong there. The numerous dishes in the Gaziantep cuisine are recognised with different methods. Variety of edible products used in cooking and culinary techniques are the main classification traits used. It is seen that these are decisive factors in the definition different meals.

In the year 2015, Gaziantep was crowned as European Destination of Excellence in tourism and local gastronomy. Gaziantep is also included in UNESCO's list of Creative Cities Network in the field of gastronomy.