Istanbul, London- With temperatures up to more than 40 degrees Celsius, the Kahraman Marash governorate in southern Turkey offers its guests and visitors the Maras ice cream which competes with famous Rome-made ice cream.
Recently, tourist caravans from Turkey and abroad have been visiting Kahraman Marash, to taste its delicious delicacies.
The production of Maras ice cream dates back to the Ottoman era when it was served in palaces as an iced delight known as “Karsembaj”, prepared with milk, sugar, and orchid.
This ice cream is characterized by its special flavor, bright white color, and good melting resistance.
Maras ice cream, which is named after the governorate where it is made, has a special reputation among Turkish sweets. Its preparation requires great skills and professional people.
Talking to Anadolu Agency, Erdal Qanbour, one of Maras ice cream manufacturers, said he inherited this industry from his fathers and forefathers. He explained that this delicious ice cream has become a tool to lure national and foreign tourists and a contributor to boosting tourism in Kahraman Marash.
Qanbour added that the few past years saw a huge turnout of national and foreign tourists in the governorate to taste Maras, noting that these delights made in Kahraman Marash have acquired an international reputation.
Qanbour said: “the Italian ice cream is well known all over the world, and the ice cream we make in our governorate has won a similar position. In fact, the exceptional taste of our ice cream lured visitors from Rome who came to try Maras.
For her part, Sarab Jolak Maral said that she came to Kahraman Marash from the city of Istanbul for the first time, to taste the delicious ice cream.
Maral added: “I didn’t taste the Maras ice cream before, and I tried this taste because of my husband. I really liked it, and we especially came to Kahraman to have some of this ice cream, which is made of beneficial goat milk.”
Tourist Agman Fural said the extreme heat in the Adana state in southern Turkey pushed him to visit Kahraman Marash to have some of its ice cream. Fural added: “We ate from Kahraman Marash’s delight, and we bought some of it for our relatives in Adana who asked us to bring more on our way home.”