Three years after one of the worst natural disasters in modern Turkish history, Hatay is once again inviting the world to its table. Daily News Hungary was among a group of international journalists, content creators and experts invited to attend the second edition of Sofra ve Miras (“Table and Heritage”), a two-day programme organised by the Directorate of Communications of the Republic of Türkiye in the southern province of Hatay.
The event explored how gastronomy can serve as a tool of diplomacy, cultural exchange and post-earthquake recovery. Through discussions, workshops and cultural visits, participants examined the role food can play in preserving heritage, strengthening international connections and supporting local communities.
Yet in Hatay, gastronomy cannot be separated from the city’s recent past.
Hatay’s recovery: rebuilding after the 2023 earthquake
The first thing that strikes visitors arriving in Antakya, Hatay’s historic centre, is not necessarily the aroma of spices or freshly baked bread, but the contrast between absence and renewal. Across the city, new apartment blocks rise beside empty plots where buildings once stood. Construction cranes dominate the skyline. Life has returned to the streets, but reminders of the devastating earthquakes of February 2023 remain impossible to ignore.
More than 50,000 people lost their lives across Türkiye and neighbouring Syria in the disaster. Hatay was among the hardest-hit regions. Entire neighbourhoods were reduced to rubble, historical landmarks suffered extensive damage and thousands of residents were displaced. Even today, mobile housing settlements remain visible across parts of the province.
Against that backdrop, the emphasis placed on food throughout the conference felt less like a tourism campaign and more like a discussion about identity, memory and recovery.
How Turkish cuisine is becoming a tool of diplomacy via the Sofra ve Miras initiative
Proceedings began with a minute’s silence for those who lost their lives in the earthquakes before speakers turned to a theme that would recur throughout the day: the idea that cuisine represents one of the strongest expressions of cultural continuity.
Hatay Metropolitan Municipality Secretary General Hayrettin Güngör described the dining table as a place where people exchange ideas and cultures meet. In a city shaped by centuries of coexistence between Muslim, Christian, Arab, Turkish and other communities, he argued that food has long acted as a common language.
“Hatay is at the crossroads of many civilisations,” he said, pointing to products such as künefe, olive oil and regional cheeses as examples of traditions preserved across generations. He described gastronomy as a form of soft power capable of opening doors internationally while supporting local producers and communities.
Governor Mustafa Masatlı expanded on that theme, presenting gastronomy as something far more complex than a collection of recipes.
“Gastronomy is multidimensional and multilayered,” he said. “People from different backgrounds recognise each other around the same table.”
For Masatlı, rebuilding Hatay means rebuilding not only homes and infrastructure but also the social fabric that gives the city its character. He repeatedly linked reconstruction efforts to the preservation of cultural heritage, praising the Turkish state’s response to the disaster and highlighting the support provided under President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s administration.
The governor pointed to initiatives such as the Antakya Gastronomy Bazaar, opened in 2024, which provides opportunities for local artisans, chefs and small businesses affected by the earthquakes. He also highlighted the growing number of geographically protected local products – increasing from 25 before the disaster to around 70 today – as evidence of efforts to safeguard Hatay’s culinary identity. With another 45 products awaiting approval, officials expect Hatay to rise from third place to become Türkiye’s top province for geographically indicated products, further strengthening its reputation as one of the country’s foremost gastronomic destinations.
Particular attention was given to women’s cooperatives, which officials described as central to preserving recipes and culinary traditions passed down through generations. According to local authorities, Hatay now hosts 53 such cooperatives, the highest number in Türkiye.
Emine Erdoğan: Anatolia’s table is a ‘memory of civilisation’
A video message from First Lady Emine Erdoğan provided one of the event’s most memorable moments.
“Turkish cuisine is one of the oldest archives of history, a vast ocean of culture and a memory of civilisation,” she said.
Describing Anatolia as a “geography of peace”, she argued that Turkish cuisine embodies centuries of cultural interaction and mutual enrichment.
“Boiling pots have produced not only food but also a language of civilisation that strengthens intercultural dialogue,” she said.
“People from different languages, religions and identities have become neighbours in Anatolia’s geography of peace, and tables have become spaces of love, respect and reverence.”
The message aligned closely with the broader concept of gastrodiplomacy promoted throughout the programme: the idea that food can communicate national values more effectively than traditional diplomacy alone.
From künefe to olive oil: protecting Antakya’s traditional products
The panel discussions that followed examined how that vision might translate into practical outcomes.
Abdullah Dinç, Hatay’s provincial director of culture and tourism, argued that gastronomy should be integrated more closely into the province’s tourism strategy. The objective, he said, is not merely attracting visitors but encouraging them to stay longer, explore more sites and engage more deeply with local culture.
Hatay’s UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy designation remains a central part of that ambition. Since joining UNESCO’s network in 2017, the city has increasingly positioned itself as one of Türkiye’s most distinctive culinary destinations. Speakers repeatedly stressed that visitors are not simply tasting food in Hatay; they are experiencing centuries of coexistence and cultural exchange.
Academic participants highlighted another emerging dimension: sustainability.
Assoc Prof Dr Sait Doğan of İskenderun Technical University explained that gastronomy education increasingly incorporates themes such as zero-waste practices, ethical sourcing and environmental responsibility. Future chefs, he argued, must understand not only how to prepare dishes but also how to communicate the cultural and historical stories behind them.
That emphasis on storytelling resurfaced repeatedly.
Local pastry producer Fevzi Kit discussed efforts to strengthen the global recognition of Hatay’s famous künefe while protecting traditional production methods. Chefs Ahmet Uçman and Eren Demirci similarly argued that local ingredients, seasonal harvests and regional narratives should form the foundation of Hatay’s international culinary identity.
“If you say Hatay anywhere in the world,” one panellist remarked, “people should immediately know it as a gastronomic centre.”
The city certainly possesses the historical depth to support such ambitions.
Experiencing the region beyond its famous cuisine
While the panel discussions explored the theoretical dimensions of gastrodiplomacy, the Sofra ve Miras programme was designed to be far more than a conference. Over two days, journalists, content creators and experts were invited to experience Hatay’s culinary and cultural heritage first-hand through a series of workshops, tastings and guided visits across the province.
Participants explored Antakya’s historic centre, visited the Habib-i Neccar Mosque wandered through the Antakya Gastronomy Bazaar and took part in culinary workshops showcasing local ingredients and traditional cooking techniques. Tasting sessions introduced guests to some of Hatay’s best-known specialities, while local chefs and producers shared stories behind recipes that have been passed down through generations.
The programme also included a visit to the Harbiye Waterfalls, one of the region’s best-known natural attractions nestled among lush greenery just outside Antakya. Long associated with ancient legends, the waterfalls have attracted visitors since Roman times. Today, the cascading waters, riverside cafés and shaded terraces provide a tranquil escape and a reminder that Hatay’s appeal extends beyond its renowned cuisine and historical landmarks.
Museum Hotel Antakya showcases two millennia of history
Among the programme’s highlights was a visit to the extraordinary archaeological site beneath the Museum Hotel Antakya. What began as a hotel construction project evolved into Türkiye’s largest archaeological excavation in almost a century, revealing Roman baths, ancient banquet halls, thousands of artefacts and the world’s largest known single-piece floor mosaic. Today, visitors can walk above the excavated remains and observe nearly two millennia of history preserved beneath the modern structure, offering a striking reminder of the layers of civilisation that have shaped Hatay through the centuries.
Nearby is St Pierre Church, a cave church carved into the mountainside and widely regarded as one of the earliest places of Christian worship. According to tradition, it was here in ancient Antioch that St Peter preached to some of the first Christian communities, helping establish the city’s place in the history of the faith. Designated a pilgrimage site by the Vatican in 1963, the church continues to attract visitors from across the world. Each year on 29 June, the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul is marked with a special Mass attended by pilgrims and clergy, a reminder that in Hatay, the past is not merely preserved but still very much alive.
Türkiye’s gastrodiplomacy strategy puts Hatay on the world stage
By the programme’s conclusion, one message had become clear. Türkiye’s gastrodiplomacy strategy is about more than promoting kebabs, olive oil or künefe abroad. In Hatay, it is also about demonstrating resilience.
The city remains a work in progress. Construction sites are everywhere, and the scars of the earthquake have not disappeared. Yet through its markets, restaurants, museums and family kitchens, Hatay continues to tell its story.
And increasingly, Türkiye hopes that story will resonate far beyond its borders.
Explore our wider coverage of Türkiye for more reports, interviews and features from across the country.
