Turkish baklava makers busy ahead of Eid

GAZIANTEP, Turkey

Pastry-makers in Turkey’s southeastern city of Gaziantep are hard at work at their ovens making the world-famous Turkish dessert of baklava ahead of Eid al-Adha, the festival of sacrifice.

Production of the sweet is nonstop in Gaziantep, officially registered in UNESCO "Creative Cities Network" for its culinary and cultural treasures.

Levent Aktas, board chairman of a major baklava maker in the city, told Anadolu Agency that they were happy with the increasing demand for baklava before Eid.

"We’re getting orders not only from Turkey, but also particularly from Europe as well as the Middle East and Far East," Aktas said, adding that shifts had doubled in the firm in order to meet "huge demand".

"While seven to eight tons of baklava are produced in the city in a regular day, this number has tripled before the Eid," he added.

Ahmet Faruk Senel, another baklava maker in the city, said that orders have begun to come in from a wider area, thanks to online ordering.

"In the past, we would take the orders only by phone. Now, we’re getting more online orders from social media," he said.

Turkey's Gaziantep baklava is the first Turkish product registered in the EU Commission list of protected designations.

Baklava is a rich, sweet pastry featured in many cuisines of the former Ottoman countries. It is made of layers of filo dough filled with chopped walnuts or pistachios and sweetened with syrup or honey.

*Writing by Rabia İclal Turan