The Slow Food movement continues to thrive in Türkiye with now five ‘Earth’ markets held across the country including this month’s edition in Muğla, held on Aug. 26, which will also be a

‘Wedding Dishes Festival’

Slow Food is an international movement focused on food and agriculture. It emphasizes the importance of consuming locally produced, traditional, and high-quality food, while also promoting sustainable farming practices and preserving cultural food traditions. Slow Food seeks to connect people with the sources of their food and foster a deeper appreciation for the culinary arts and local ecosystems.

Türkiye’s Slow Food community, which now has around 45 organizations across the country, continues to thrive, with two new “Earth Markets” (Yeryüzü Pazarı) opening this summer alone. This means Türkiye has 5 of the 95 “Earth Markets” of the entire global slow food organization.

The most recent Slow Food Earth Market opened in Muğla in July and will be held monthly in the Menteşe district’s historical Arasta region.

Wedding dishes festival

On Aug. 26, the Muğla Earth Market will showcase the traditional wedding dishes prepared in Türkiye and specific to the region in a very special festival to take place along the sidelines of the market.

The “Wedding Dishes Festival” (Düğün Yemekleri Festivali) will take place from 12:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. and will have seminars, workshops, and dance and musical performances. Some of the highlights of the event include a 48 Gong Keşkek party at 3:00 p.m. at Kurşunlu Meydanı İnsan Hakları Parkı.

This means the bells will ring 48 times in significance of Muğla’s province code after which Keşkek, a traditional wedding dish of wheat, rice and shredded chicken or meat will be distributed as per the customs at Turkish weddings.

Visitors will experience what traditionally happens at the groom and bride’s houses on the day of their wedding. The traditional Türkish groom’s house will be represented at the Yağcılar İş Hanı, where spectators will gather at 4:00 p.m. From there they will set off to the bride’s house around 4:30 p.m. located at the Zahire Market.

At 5:15 p.m., there will be a parade followed by a Zeybek Dance lesson at 5:45 p.m. at the Yağcılar İş Hanı. There will be an attempt to break a record with several participants in the traditional dance at 6:15 p.m. Followed by a concert at 6:30 p.m. at Kurşunlu Meydanı İnsan Hakları Parkı.

So, there you have it, not only will Saturday’s very special Slow Food/ Wedding Festival the event be a great opportunity to shop for locally produced products, but it will also be a chance to learn all about the traditions of Turkish weddings and discover the various locations of the Muğla center’s historical Arasta area.

Local producers’ market

The Slow Food Gökova organization holds a regular monthly market that showcases local producers and artisans. From gourmet, vegan, and gluten-free products to locally grown products and a wide variety of artisans engaged in making artwork, crafts, accessories, and more.

This market is a must-see for anyone visiting Türkiye. This special market usually takes place around the third Sunday of the month from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. at the Akyaka market space.

Known as a “local producers’ market”, keep in mind that many of the locals in the Gökova peninsula, which harbors the popular kite surfing town of Akyaka, are admittedly not necessarily from the region.

This area of Muğla, like many other popular holiday destinations, quickly transformed into towns that now house digital nomads, other professionals and urbanites from around the world. While this trend was already growing, this area became one of the hardest hit by the influx of urban-to-rural migration during the pandemic.

Nonetheless, this makes for a very entertaining local producers’ market as farmed produce will be available alongside home chefs and bakers preparing traditional Turkish snacks and new-wave cakes and cookies and top-notch artisans working with a variety of mediums will be showcasing their products.

Kastamonu’s spot

This summer, before Muğla became the fifth destination to hold a market with the Slow Food “Earth Market” (Yeryüzü Pazarı), Kastamonu became the fourth. That’s right, joining the ranks of Foça, Şile, and Tarsus, in June Kastamonu also became an “Earth Market” spot, which focuses on presenting vendors showcasing locally produced products and specialties from the region. The market will be held every two weeks in Cumhuriyet Square.

How to find one

Some of these markets have set dates and times such as in Izmir’s Foça, where the “Yeryüzü Pazarı” takes place every Sunday from 8:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Those in Istanbul can pay a visit to the Şile Yeryüzü Pazarı, which has been around the longest and is held on Fridays and Sundays from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., Dates can change and new events can be added, therefore your best bet is to check the social media accounts of the Slow Food organizations for the towns you specifically want to visit.