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Flavors · Denizli

Denizli kebabı

Lamb under one year old roasted for two to three hours in a brick oven with an earthen floor, cut with a butcher’s cleaver and served with pide bread, onion and tomato, to be eaten with the hands.

Traditional dish from Denizli, Denizli

Also known as: Denizli tandır kebabı, kuyu kebabı, Denizli kebabi

Updated October 2026

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Denizli kebabı — Denizli, Turkey — Denizli kebabı

Denizli kebabı — Denizli, Turkey

The Denizli kebabı, also called tandır kebabı, is the city’s dish next to the white terraces of Pamukkale. The lamb, under one year old, is split in halves and then into eight pieces, which are placed on iron skewers over two copper trays with water, without touching the liquid, in a brick oven with an earthen floor. There it roasts for at least two hours, with no marinade.

When it comes out of the oven, the meat is cut with a cleaver, into bone-in pieces, and served on pide bread, with onion and tomato. The custom is to eat with the hands, without fork or knife. Pilaf and ayran may be served alongside.

Denizli masters usually roast in the morning and serve until midday, while there is meat; afterwards the oven only works again the next day. Kebab houses are concentrated in Bayramyeri Square, in the old town. The tradition is attributed to the 19th century, in a version told by the masters themselves.

The name "Denizli Tandır Kebabı" was registered as a traditional product name (G3) in 2020, at the request of the Denizli Chamber of Commerce. That category protects the traditional preparation method and differs from a geographical indication.

Where it comes from

Denizli , Denizli
Kebab houses concentrated in Bayramyeri Square, in the old town of the city.

Ingredients

Lamb under one year old, in eight bone-in pieces. Served with pide bread, onion and tomato.

How it is eaten

With the hands, on the pide bread, with onion and tomato. Pilaf and ayran may accompany.

When it is eaten

Year-round; typically served from morning until midday, while there is meat.

Your questions

Questions about Denizli kebabı

Why is Denizli kebabı eaten with the hands?

It is the city custom: the meat comes cut with a cleaver, bone-in, on pide bread, and is eaten without fork or knife. Picking up the meat with the bread is part of the local way of eating it.

What time is Denizli kebabı eaten?

Ovens usually roast in the morning, and the kebab is served until midday, while there is meat. In the afternoon it may already be finished. Check before you go.

Is Denizli near Pamukkale?

Yes. Pamukkale, with its white terraces and the ruins of Hierapolis, is in Denizli province, near the city, and many people combine the two visits.

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