Gaziantep cuisine added to UNESCO list

PARIS – Anadolu Agency

Turkey’s southeastern province of Gaziantep has been added to the list in the gastronomy category of UNESCO’s Creative Cities Network. 

UNESCO recently announced the designation of 47 cities from 33 countries as new members of the network, which includes cities within its seven creative fields including Crafts and Folk Art, Design, Film, Gastronomy, Literature, Media Arts and Music.

Gaziantep Mayor Fatma Şahin praised the move, saying the variety and quality of Gaziantep’s cuisine had been registered by the world and the city had become one of the world’s “capitals of taste.” 

 “We received the Nobel of our own category. Now Gaziantep’s cuisine is recognized as one of the world’s most important cuisines,” Şahin said after the announcement.

Launched in 2004, UNESCO’s Creative Cities Network comprises 116 cities worldwide. It aims to foster international cooperation with and between cities committed to investing in creativity as a driver for sustainable urban development, social inclusion and cultural vibrancy.

“The UNESCO Creative Cities Network represents an immense potential to assert the role of culture as enabler of sustainable development. I would like to recognize the many new cities and their countries that are enriching the Network with their diversity,” said the Director-General Irina Bokova, as UNESCO celebrates in 2015 the 10th anniversary of the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions.