Much more than one of Türkiye’s top summer destinations, Antalya is steeped in history and a food culture that stretches from its rich marine life to the verdant bloom of its orchards. Endemic grape varieties and traditional recipes also abound in this Turkish province of significance at the foot of the mighty Taurus Mountains.

Usually synonymous with sun-drenched beach vacations, the Antalya province and its eponymous capital city possess a rich tale that goes back around 2,000 years as the seat of grand civilizations from the Roman to Seljuk and Ottoman times, resulting in a culinary diversity that is one of its most attractive attributes. Here one would find a food culture, dependent entirely on the region’s abundant natural resources, the freshness of its harvests and the culture of its indigenous peoples.

Start your journey at the prosperous rural periphery of Antalya, in a town and district named Elmalı, located off the beaten path on a small plateau that is graciously surrounded by the peaks of the western Taurus Mountains. Apart from its beautiful historic town, where Ottoman architecture takes centre stage, this area of Antalya is important for another reason: wine. The vineyards here, which have been around since antiquity, produce the famed and award-winning regional wines with a respect for the local grapes, especially endemic varieties, which were resurrected to be enjoyed once more. The Acıkara grape, for example, which had been on the precipice of extinction due to a very low yield, was brought back to life thanks to the hard work of local wine experts who took samples from the more than 200-year-old vine and replanted them. For visitors, a tour of these vineyards is a once-in-a-lifetime experience to dabble in wine culture far away from the usual routes.