Güzelyurt Village Cooking & Tasting

Güzelyurt Village Cooking & Tasting is a hands-on culinary session hosted by Karamanlı Konağı, a restored Ottoman-era stone mansion in the centre of Güzelyurt (historically known as Gelveri), approximately 30 kilometres south of Aksaray city. The guesthouse has been operating for several years and is one of the few venues in the Aksaray province that offers structured cooking instruction to visitors. The three-to-four-hour session takes place in the guesthouse kitchen or its stone courtyard, depending on the season. Participants begin with mantı — tiny hand-folded Turkish dumplings stuffed with spiced minced meat — learning to mix and rest the dough, roll it to the required thinness, then fill and fold each piece into the characteristic pinched shape using a small wooden board and cutter. The second preparation is gözleme, a thin flatbread sealed around a filling of white cheese, potato, or spinach and cooked directly on a convex sacaç (cast-iron griddle) placed over an open flame. Both dishes are Central Anatolian staples with roots in the Karamanlı tradition — the culinary heritage of Anatolian Greek communities that lived in this region for centuries. The session concludes with a tasting of everything prepared: mantı served with village yoghurt, homemade tomato sauce, and butter browned with dried chilli — the classic Aksaray presentation — alongside warm gözleme. Recipe cards for both dishes are provided to take home. Groups are kept small, typically two to six participants, ensuring everyone spends time at the workbench rather than watching. The session is conducted primarily in Turkish, though the host family communicates in basic English. Vegetarian and gluten-conscious adaptations are available with advance notice at the time of booking.