Food And Drink in Nevşehir

The main local dish comes from the same clay that Avanos turns into pots. Testi kebabı is cooked in a sealed jar: meat, vegetables and spices go inside, the neck is closed with dough or foil, and the jar bakes for several hours. It arrives at the table whole and is cracked open with a knife along a scored line in front of the guest, releasing steam and smell at once. This is not a trick for visitors but the ordinary way of cooking on a plateau where the oven was lit once a day.

The second local line is wine. The vines grow here on volcanic soil and descend from stock cultivated since Hittite times; the white Emir grape is considered Cappadocian, while the red Kalecik Karası comes from neighbouring regions. Cellars occupy rooms cut into tuff, where the temperature holds steady all year without any equipment at all.

Excursion lunches work more simply: on the Red and Green tour routes the group eats in village restaurants — usually lentil soup, grilled meat, rice and salad, sometimes mantı or gözleme baked in front of you on a round griddle. Practical note: testi kebabı takes a long time to cook and should be ordered in advance, several hours before dinner; a portion is meant for one, but the jar is generous and splits between two without trouble.