Spring is here, which means it is time to celebrate the long-awaited agricultural festivals held in a number of beloved towns in Turkey. Starting this week is the Alaçatı Herb Festival, known as the Alaçatı Ot Festivali in Turkish, which encompasses four days of festivities centered on local produce, featuring seminars, cooking demonstrations and competitions, exhibitions and concerts by Turkey’s leading performers.
The Alaçatı Herb Festival, which starts this Thursday, March 24, is hands down the most popular harvest festival to take place annually in Turkey. This year will be the 11th edition of this four-day festival that celebrates the wild herbs and greens the Aegean region is famous for. Taking place from March 24 to March 27, the festival hosts dozens of stands displaying local products and dishes prepared with the over 125 different wild herbs that grow in the region. In addition to stands offering tastings of different dishes prepared with the herbs as well as selling local products and handcrafted gifts, the Alacati Herb Festival actually also has exhibitions, seminars and concerts that take place on the sidelines throughout the duration of the festival. Thus, this already stunning town is transformed into a gastronomical wonderland for what is literally the best festival in Turkey, as it has been awarded the “Best Festival” title by Shining Star, Turkeys’ top entertainment and recreation award.
Alaçatı is a holiday town located in the province of Izmir that gained fame for being a windsurfing haven just a few decades ago. Since then, the quaint town of Alaçatı, located a few kilometers inland, has been transformed into a boutique holiday destination that is in high demand by the famous and wealthy and the paparazzi photographers that follow them. The town itself has spectacular character with windy cobblestone streets adorned with renovated traditional stone homes transformed into boutique hotels and upscale restaurants. In summer this town is nearly inaccessible. While the area is saturated with boutique hotels, the demand is high in season as Alaçatı is clearly considered to be one of the most upscale and fun destinations to be in Turkey – and arguably in the world!
In summer, it is barely feasible to even walk the streets, never mind book a room or restaurant. I don’t mean to exaggerate, but if you haven’t yet seen Alaçatı you must. This is a sentiment shared by many in Turkey who, despite not being windsurfers, come out just to enjoy the beach clubs, shops, chic cafes and gourmet restaurants. Luckily, during the Alaçatı Herb Festival, almost everything will still be open and it is a more pleasant time to visit and discover the town, if not simply for this month’s more mellow weather. The number of visitors in the past has exceeded the million mark, with people flying out for these four-days of festivities from all over the world.
Every year, the Alaçatı Herb Festival highlights a particular indigenous wild edible green that is featured in dishes prepared in cooking competitions and on menus in restaurants throughout the town. This year’s herb of honor is “labada,” which is also referred to as evelik and appears to be a type of dock, a species in the buckwheat family.
This year’s highlights include a parade on Friday, March 25, which will conclude with a performance by Ayhan Sicimoğlu and the Latin All Stars. Ayhan Sicimoğlu is a talented musician who is also well-known as an extremely charming and entertaining host of travel shows. A lesser-known fact is that Sicimoğlu is that he is actually one of the founders of the festival, so this is a special treat to watch this wonderfully uplifting performer and percussionist and his likewise talented group of musicians shine. Meanwhile, not to be outdone, on Saturday, March 26, Kenan Doğulu, one of Turkey’s most famous pop singers will be taking the stage after famous model and television personality Çağla Şikel hosts a cooking competition that will take place during the day.
Just some of the other highlights include an olive oil tasting, a seminar on ayurvedic uses of regional herbs and a panel introducing mushrooms to beginners led by mycologist Jilber Barutçıyan. Other talks include tea making with herbs, how to prepare different regional herbs and how the Alaçatı Herb Festival came to fruition. There will also be multiple cooking demonstrations taking place on the sidelines on how to incorporate herbs in cuisine, including a class on making Turkey’s famous köfte meatball with wild herbs. There will also be an organized hike and bike ride and a whole afternoon on Saturday devoted to children, which will feature music, ceramics and other fun party favors.
Don’t fret if it is too late to book a room in Alaçatı itself as Çeşme is just a five-minute drive away and is a region that used to take the forefront with holiday-goers in the past before Alaçatı ’s pristine windsurfing conditions had even been discovered. Urla is yet another popular vacation destination that is also conveniently located between Alaçatı and the city center and is definitely an excellent option for overnight accommodation.
Mark your calendars for late April as well, as the Urla Artichoke Festival is yet another special chance to discover this quaint town that in summer is beginning to rival in demand its previously more popular neighbor (Alaçatı). Similarly this festival draws out participants from all over the world and involves multiple days of entertaining events, including talks, panels, cooking shows and concerts.
