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The Diyarbakır Table and Its Geographically Registered Flavours

A traveller arriving in Diyarbakır first meets the city through its walls, and then through its table.

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The Diyarbakır Table and Its Geographically Registered Flavours

A traveller arriving in Diyarbakır first meets the city through its walls, and then through its table. A look at the registration records shows that cooking here is about much more than filling a stomach; it is knowledge handed down over generations. The Diyarbakır Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism writes that one of the qualities that make the city attractive is its rich culinary culture, and it links this richness to the civilisations the city has hosted and to its position on the Silk Road. This article covers the documented side of that cuisine, the dishes registered with geographical indications, and how to look for them in the city. There are no restaurant tips; instead there is a map that lets you sit down at the table knowing what you want.

What a geographical indication means at the table

A geographical indication officially records a product's link to a particular area. The Turkish Patent and Trademark Office keeps these records in two main types. A designation of origin is for products that take all their characteristics from the area. An indication of source is granted when the product's reputation or way of making is tied to the area. Almost all of Diyarbakır's dish registrations are indications of source, which means the recipe and the craft carry the city's name.

The local cuisine page of the Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism states that Diyarbakır has 55 gastronomic products registered with a geographical indication. A search for Diyarbakır in TÜRKPATENT's Geographical Indications Portal lists more than sixty records as of November 2026; most are registered and some are still at the application stage. To this list one adds products from within the provincial borders that do not carry the city's name, such as Karacadağ Rice and Çermik Pepper. Most of the applications were filed by the Diyarbakır Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Reading the list is a discovery in itself. Soups, grain dishes, meftune stews, stuffed vegetables, kebabs, pilafs and desserts have each been registered separately. Names such as kenger borani, hırçikli meftune, gendüme aşı, simindirik soup and pencegoşt pilaf form a new vocabulary for anyone from outside the province. Writing these names in a notebook and carrying it with you makes it easier to recognise the dishes you will see on a menu.

The watermelon of the Tigris banks

The oldest registered product of Diyarbakır cuisine is not a dish but a fruit. Diyarbakır Watermelon appears as a designation of origin on the directorate's list and was registered in the late 2000s. According to the registration document, the watermelon is grown mainly in villages along the banks of the Tigris and in the districts of Bismil and Çınar. The document notes that types called Sürme, Pembe, Beyaz Kış, Kara Kış and Ferik were once known, but that today only Sürme is produced.

What makes this watermelon famous is its size. The document gives an average fruit weight of between 20 and 30 kilograms. It also records that the traditional well method of cultivation produced far larger fruit. In this method, after the waters recede in spring, pits are dug in the gravelly, silty soil of the Tigris bank, sand is left at the bottom, and the pits are fed with pigeon manure. The document also mentions structures called borahane, built in the area solely to collect this manure.

Diyarbakır watermelon is a late ripening variety. According to the registration document it is harvested at the end of July and the beginning of August, and thanks to its thick rind it can be found in markets even in the autumn months. The document also mentions watermelon competitions, festivals and folk songs composed about the fruit. So the watermelon here is not only a fruit but a farming tradition. If you come at the end of summer, we suggest looking for these huge watermelons in the markets.

The kebabs of morning and noon

Diyarbakır Liver Kebab was registered as an indication of source in 2022. The registration document defines it with lamb liver, lamb tail fat, red pepper powder, salt, dried thyme, coriander and pounded sumac. Liver and fat are threaded in turn onto long skewers, the spices are sprinkled after threading, and the kebab is cooked by turning over a fire that is not too fierce. The document specifically notes that overcooking would dry the kebab out. It is served on flatbread without removing the skewers, and roasted tomato and green pepper may be added on the side.

Other records belong to the same family. Perdeli liver kebab, bone-in kebab and the aubergine pot kebab have each been registered. Diyarbakır Üsküre Kebab, also called Tas Kebab, is cooked not over a fire but in a pot. According to its registration document the dish is made with lamb, butter and Karacadağ Rice, and it takes its name from the copper bowls called üsküre in which it is cooked. Stuffed ribs are on the list too; the document describes lamb ribs filled with meat, rice and almonds and then cooked.

The rice grown in Karacadağ's cold water

Karacadağ Rice is one of Diyarbakır's products with a designation of origin and was registered in 2018. According to the registration document the paddy is grown in the Karacadağ basin, in Çınar, Hazro, Çermik and Kocaköy, and also in some districts of neighbouring provinces. What sets this rice apart is its environment. The document states that the soils of Karacadağ are of volcanic origin, stony and shallow.

The most surprising detail is the water. While cultivated rice is usually irrigated with warm water, Karacadağ paddy is watered with snowmelt that fills the ponds in winter and with spring water. The document gives the temperature of this water as between 5 and 10 degrees. The rice does not fall apart or turn mushy when cooked, and it absorbs water well. The document also notes that cooked rice has a distinctive smell recalling mint and thyme. It is recorded that the rice is also known locally as sarı çeltik and karakılçık.

This rice goes beyond pilaf on the Diyarbakır table. The registration document for tas kebab names Karacadağ Rice directly as an ingredient. Duvaklı pilaf, kenger bulgur pilaf and pencegoşt pilaf are separate registrations as well. When you taste a pilaf, asking which rice it was made with is the easiest way to see this layer of the local cuisine.

Braided cheese and village milk

Diyarbakır Braided Cheese was registered as an indication of source in 2013. According to the registration document the cheese is usually made in spring from raw sheep's milk and takes its name from its shape, which resembles a woman's braided hair. The curd is scalded in hot brine, kneaded, stretched like a rope and braided. The document writes that the cheese can be pulled apart into threads by hand and that its taste lies between white cheese and kashar.

The document states that the milk giving the cheese its taste comes from Karakaş, Karacadağ Zom and Awassi sheep that graze on the province's pastures. It also mentions an old storage method. In places without cold storage, the cheese is buried in its packaging in the damp soil under trees facing north and taken out in autumn. When you see braided cheese on a breakfast table, remember the knowledge behind that work.

Grain dishes, stuffed vegetables and festive food

Diyarbakır's home cooking is strongly represented on the registration list as well. The document for Diyarbakır İçli Köfte writes that the dumpling is prepared with fine bulgur, a pounded wheat called simindirik, lamb and spices, boiled in water, and that its outer dough contains coriander. It can also be served on yoghurt with butter poured over it, flavoured with tomato paste or pepper flakes.

Nardan aşı is the sour and lively taste of the table. Its registration document describes the dish with pomegranate, fine bulgur, walnut, onion, tomato paste, chickpeas and meat, and states that it appears on tables prepared for special days such as holidays and weddings. The list also includes many vegetable and meat dishes such as sour stuffed vegetables, dried stuffed vegetables, stuffed spleen, and courgette and aubergine meftune. These dishes are often cooked at home; you may need to ask for them at a table serving local cuisine in the city.

Another product from within the province is Çermik Pepper. Registered in 2021 as a designation of origin on the application of the Çermik District Governorship, its document writes that the pepper is hot but at a level that does not overwhelm. It appears as an early crop in mid June and is seen more often in markets from mid July.

Burma kadayıf and the sweet table

Diyarbakır Burma Kadayıf was registered as an indication of source in 2017. According to the registration document, production of this dessert began in Diyarbakır in the 19th century and the knowledge of making it was passed from master to apprentice. The pastry strands are cooked on a rotating copper tray, then rolled into a twist around walnuts or pistachios. The document writes that clarified butter is used and that grape molasses gives the dessert its caramelised orange colour. After both sides are baked the kadayıf is rested and syrup is poured over it.

The list of sweets does not end there. Pear dessert, cimili dessert, lebzüniye, also known as almond paste, and incaz compote are registered too. If you are asked to choose a dessert at the end of a meal, do not hesitate to ask for these names.

From Hevsel to the table

It is hard to separate Diyarbakır cuisine from the city's geography. The world heritage page of the Diyarbakır Governorship describes the Hevsel Gardens as a fertile oasis on the bank of the Tigris that has existed as farmland for thousands of years, and writes that these gardens show the ancient history of the city's agriculture and irrigation. The walls and the Hevsel Gardens were inscribed together on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2015. When you see the green strip by the Tigris from the top of the walls, you also see the bond between the vegetables and fruit on the table and this soil.

Practical tips

Travelling by season is a good method. According to the registration documents, the watermelon is harvested at the end of July and the beginning of August, Çermik Pepper reaches the market from mid June, and braided cheese is usually made in spring from sheep's milk. If you want to take something home, Karacadağ Rice and braided cheese travel well; you can check whether the packaging carries the geographical indication emblem. Keep the names from this article with you to recognise the dishes, and do not hesitate to ask at the table. You can find the full list of geographical indications on the directorate's page and on TÜRKPATENT's portal.

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