In the gastronomy city of Gaziantep south-central Türkiye, peppers, zucchinis, eggplants and cucumbers dried in the sun create a vibrant spectacle on the city's high hills.
Among the important flavors of Gaziantep cuisine, included in UNESCO's Creative Cities Network in gastronomy, are the dried vegetables used for stuffed dishes.
In the district of Oğuzeli, eggplants, peppers, cucumbers and zucchinis gathered from fields are hollowed out by women in the streets and then strung up on strings to be hung up.
Arranged on wooden racks set up in the city's highlands, the vegetables are left to dry in the sun for about a week.
As the vegetables naturally dry, they acquire their unique flavor, while creating a colorful scene in the city's elevated areas.
Mehmet Karayılan, the provincial director of agriculture and forestry, told Anadolu Agency (AA) that the drying season has begun, stating: "In Gaziantep, Oğuzeli is particularly known for its geographical indication products, including dried peppers, eggplants, zucchinis and cucumbers. These products represent our city very well. Processing them is not easy, but where women's hands are involved, there is always prosperity, and here, too, there is very fine work."
Gaziantep 2nd in pepper production
Describing the natural preparation of dried vegetables, Karayılan continued: "Under the heat of sun and air, peppers turn from green to red. In Gaziantep, about 15,000 hectares are planted with eggplants for stuffing, yielding 45 tons annually. Cucumbers are grown on approximately 6,000 hectares, yielding 15 tons."
"We expect about 3 tons from zucchinis grown on approximately 2,000 hectares. We have 5 tons of yield on 6,000 hectares dedicated to pepper production in Gaziantep, where we rank second in pepper production in Türkiye and first in cucumber production. There is significant effort involved here, contributing greatly to the economy of both Türkiye and our city," he added.
Gülistan Alpfidan, one of the workers, also said: "Every summer, we hang the vegetables, every job has its difficulties, of course, our job is tough, but we've gotten used to it, so it's easier now. We start hanging peppers early in the morning and continue until night. We carefully string them up one by one. The vegetables dry in about two weeks, and then we pack them in groups of 10."