Is it worth going to Gaziantep just to eat?

I ask everyone this question.

Is it worth going to Gaziantep just to eat kebabs and baklava?

Let me give you the answer at the beginning that I would have given at the end.

In my opinion, it is not.

I went to Gaziantep for work.

I had never seen Gaziantep until this age. It wasn't that I wasn't curious.

To those who say, "What about those kebabs?" To those who order kilos of sweets. To those who, before you even go, tell you over and over that you cannot return without eating in Gaziantep.

I went to Gaziantep early in the morning on a Turkish Airlines flight.

Turkish Airlines has 9 flights to Gaziantep during the day. A Jet has 3, and Pegasus has 4. The number of daily flights from Istanbul to Gaziantep is 16. This is a very significant figure.

Ticket prices range between 4 and 6 thousand liras for a round trip.

Before I went, everyone told me that Gaziantep is a very large city and that it is impossible to get from one place to another without a car.

I listened to them. I rented my car from the airport. I paid 2 thousand 180 TL for a daily rental for an automatic transmission car.

As for the hotel price, it was 5 thousand TL per night.

I set off for the Gaziantep city center in my car.

The distance between the airport and the city center is 20 km.

My first stop was Metanet Restaurant.

I came to drink Gaziantep's famous Beyran Soup. To be honest, it was a bit heavy for the morning. But even in the morning, the tables were full.

Beyran Soup is very filling. It's like a main course.

I paid 290 TL and moved on to Metanet Katmer, which is right across the street.

I love Katmer, and I was going to eat it on the spot. They make it right in front of your eyes. But for 1 person like me, it's not just big, it's very, very big. Unfortunately, there is no small portion. I had to order 1. I could only eat about a fifth of it. The rest came back to Istanbul with me as a package.

The taste of the katmer, for which I paid 600 TL, was a bit light compared to what I have eaten in Istanbul. I can say that the place where I eat Katmer in Istanbul is much better. I won't give the name of the place. If you ask, I can tell you.

After finishing my work, I went to the place everyone says you must visit: Kebapçı Halil Usta.

The menu that Kebapçı Halil Usta gives to first-timers is a bowl of cubed meat, küşleme, minced meat, accompanied by a spoon salad and ayran. The price of this trio is 820 TL.

The meat felt a bit tough to me. I have eaten better ones in Istanbul.

Of course, my next stops were the baklava shops.

Everywhere is full of kebab and baklava shops.

But 2 of them are the most famous: İmam Çağdaş and Koçak.

I did a tasting at both. İmam Çağdaş is a step ahead. Both in terms of the shop's structure and location, and in terms of taste.

As for the prices, a kilo of classic baklava is 1,500 TL. A kilo of that famous carrot-slice baklava is 1,750 TL.

When you eat in, a portion of classic baklava is 300 TL, and the carrot slice is 175 TL.

The thing that surprised me the most in Gaziantep was the valet fees.

When I went to drink Beyran Soup, I paid 100 TL to the parking lot there.

Valet fees at the places I went for work were as expensive as in Istanbul.

180 TL per hour. 250 TL for 2-3 hours. 350 TL for over 3 hours.

Don't you think these prices are high for Gaziantep?

While you are in Gaziantep, you should definitely see the Zeugma Mosaic Museum and the Coppersmiths' Bazaar.

Of course, I would also say you must go to Göbeklitepe, which is 154 km away.

As I said at the beginning of my article.

You don't go to Gaziantep just to eat kebabs and baklava.

But you do go to Gaziantep to see its history and visit the surrounding provinces.

And of course, you can't come back without eating its kebabs and desserts while you are there.