In Gaziantep, baklava is less a dessert than a point of civic honor, and the city's version is protected by a geographical indication tied to its local pistachios and clarified butter. Legendary houses have perfected paper-thin layers of pastry, finely ground green Antep pistachio, and just enough syrup, and watching trays slide from the ovens is half the pleasure. The pistachio itself, smaller and more intensely flavored than most, turns up everywhere, from savory kebabs to the beloved katmer, a crisp breakfast pastry folded around pistachio and clotted cream and best eaten hot in the morning. Serious eaters make a pilgrimage of it, sampling baklava by weight at rival institutions and cheerfully arguing over who does it best. Buy vacuum-packed boxes to take home, but eat the fresh trays and morning katmer on the spot, where they are incomparably better. For many travelers, this is the whole reason to come.
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