Izmir’s cuisine is unmistakably local, shaped by centuries of Mediterranean influences from Greek, Sephardic Jewish, Armenian, Levantine, Kurdish and Cretan communities.

We’ll begin in an Ottoman-era tea garden with boyoz, slow-cooked eggs and local tulum cheese, followed by a taste from a third-generation helva maker. From there, we’ll sample traditional soups, freshly made lokma and spices while exploring streets layered with Roman and Ottoman history.

Later, we’ll eat our way through a neighborhood market, stopping for seafood, Bosnian-Turkish specialties, pide and homestyle dishes at one of the city’s classic lokantas. We’ll also try Izmir’s famous söğüş, made with poached sheep’s head, before finishing with şambali, a traditional semolina dessert, and Turkish coffee prepared from freshly ground beans.