Türkiye's Çorum aims to introduce the ancient Hittite cuisine to local and foreign tourists visiting the city, especially Hattusa, the capital of the Hittites, with the dishes set to be prepared based on the recipes obtained from the Hittite tablets dating to 2000 B.C. unearthed during archaeological excavations.
Ömer Kartin, secretary-general of the Istanbul Travel Agencies Promotion and Development Association, stated that everyone in Türkiye knew about the Hittite civilization.
"We will gradually develop this. We will hold meetings on this. Hittite cuisine will be a valuable product of Hattusa and Boğazkale of this Hittite region, together with its gastronomy. I hope that in a few years, local and foreign tourists who come here will also come to taste Hittite cuisine," Kartin said.
Travel agency owner Cem Polatoğlu stated that recipes are written on ancient tablets in museums in countries such as Spain, Italy and Malta, and this was the case in Hittite tablets found in Hattusa as well.
Polatoğlu said they want to serve Hittite cuisine to tourists who come here from now on, as in Europe.
"This is an event that will revive both Turkish gastronomy and Anatolian gastronomy. I hope we will be successful. According to the countries we have seen, Türkiye, that is, Anatolia, is much richer than European countries. You go to Rome; you eat Byzantine food in a museum in Rome. However, when you come (to Anatolia), you can find the dishes of many civilizations, including Roman, Byzantine and Hittite. Therefore, I don't think they can find this richness anywhere in the world."
Travel writer Yaprak Gürdal stated that Hattusa is one of Türkiye's well-known and must-visit cities.
"I especially like to give importance to the UNESCO-listed places and ancient cities and to promote them. Hattusa has a very important place among the UNESCO-listed places. Çorum is an incredible geography. Its people are beautiful, hospitable; its food is magnificent," he said.
Mayor Halil Ibrahim Aşgın emphasized that Çorum is a hidden treasure waiting to be discovered in terms of gastronomy.