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Turkish Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy visited the “Lezzet Noktasi,” or Taste Point, at the Mersin Culture Route Festival, where locally registered regional dishes are being promoted as part of Türkiye’s wider cultural festival program.
Ersoy said the ministry aims to bring back local dishes that are close to being forgotten and keep them alive with their original flavors.
“We aim to ensure that regional dishes that are on the verge of being forgotten are once again included widely on menus and preserved with their original taste, both today and for future generations,” Ersoy said.
The Taste Point presents gastronomic products from Mersin, including dishes with geographical indication registration, a system that protects foods linked to a specific region and traditional production method.
Ersoy said gastronomy was once seen as a supporting element in tourism but has increasingly turned into a central reason for travel over the last eight to nine years.
He noted that some tourists now choose their routes specifically for food, rather than treating cuisine as an extra part of a sea, sand and sun holiday.
The minister said similar Taste Points are being set up in every city hosting the Culture Route Festival this year, with commissions made up of well-known food writers, chefs and local opinion leaders.
The Mersin Culture Route Festival, the third stop of this year’s Türkiye Culture Route Festival, will continue until May 17.
The program includes concerts, exhibitions, talks, photomarathons, workshops and gastronomy events across the city.
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