A meeting of flavors from Peru to Bursa, 8,800 kilometers away

In Bursa, a century-old bakery made a different variety of the city's geographically marked "Bursa tahini pide" with black sesame tahini imported from South America, and it was highly acclaimed. The "Bursa tahini pide," which was granted a geographical indication registration by the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office (TÜRKPATENT) in 2021, is among the top products loved and consumed especially for breakfast in Bursa. Those seeking the true flavor of tahini pide particularly request the ones made in historical bakeries, in stone ovens with wood fire. The operator of the century-old bakery in Bursa, Bülent Mertyürek, stated that the bakery was passed from its Greek owner in 1928 to the İnanç family, and that the oven had always been burning for many years. Mertyürek, who explained that his main profession is psychology and that he has a master's degree, said, "I am happy to serve in this precious place of Bursa, with its shrines of saints and princes, mosque, complex, and museum, ...