Origin
Gaziantep: the city of baklava.
Where our craft comes from – one of the oldest cities in the world, home of the pistachio and, for generations, of baklava.
When people in Türkiye talk about baklava, they think of Gaziantep. The city in the south-east of the country, close to the Syrian border, is considered one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. For centuries it lay on important trade routes between Anatolia, Mesopotamia and the Mediterranean – and its cuisine is still regarded as one of the richest in the country. In Türkiye the city is usually just called Antep.
Sketch: the “Çingene Kızı” mosaic print from our café – photographed straight on, in daylight, without reflections. To be used only once the image rights are cleared.
Zeugma
The girl in the mosaic
Not far from Gaziantep, on the Euphrates, lay the ancient city of Zeugma, founded around 300 BC. Its villas were decorated with magnificent mosaics. Many were rescued before a reservoir flooded large parts of the city, and they can be seen today in the Zeugma Mosaic Museum in Gaziantep.
The most famous piece shows a girl’s face with large, dark eyes, known in Turkish as “Çingene Kızı”. It has become the symbol of the city – and it also hangs in our café on Kottbusser Damm.
Pistachios
Home of the Antep pistachio
In Türkiye the pistachio is simply called “Antep fıstığı” – the pistachio from Antep. Around the city the trees grow on dry, sunny slopes, and the harvest comes in late summer. For baklava, early-harvested pistachios are prized for their especially green, aromatic kernels.
Our pistachios come from the Gaziantep region too. You can see it in the colour – and taste it.
Green baklava roll (Yeşil Burma): little dough, lots of pistachio – hence the bright green colour.
Craft
Copper, fire and patience
Gaziantep is also a city of coppersmiths. Baklava has been baked in round copper trays, called tepsi, for generations. The knowledge passes from master to apprentice – over years, not weeks. UNESCO recognises it too: since 2015 Gaziantep has been part of its Creative Cities Network for gastronomy.
And in Berlin
A piece of Gaziantep on Kottbusser Damm
Our master Ahmet Tarik Celik and his team come from Antep. In Berlin they bake the way they learned it there: every day, by hand, with pistachios from home.