There are countless reasons to visit Çanakkale in summer. Crystal-clear coves invite travelers into the cool waters of the Aegean, while the Gallipoli Peninsula offers a journey through one of Türkiye's most solemn chapters of history. From the Çanakkale Epic Promotion Center and the restored Hilal-i Ahmer Hospital to the Kilitbahir Castle Museum, every stop leaves visitors with a profound sense of gratitude.

After exploring the peninsula's scenic beaches – Güneyli, Suvla, Mavi Hamam, Fatma Kadın and Morto Cove – a craving for something sweet led me to the streets of Gelibolu's old bazaar.

A modest pastry shop, its vintage storefront more inviting than the line outside, seemed like the perfect place to stop. I ordered the town's famous cheese halva, only to be met with an unexpected question: "Regular or baked?"

Seeing my hesitation, the young server smiled and brought half a portion of each.

The dessert was unlike any cheese-based sweet I had tasted before. Curious, I asked whether they would share the recipe.

"It belonged to our late grandfather," came the reply.

When they learned I was a journalist visiting from Istanbul, they insisted I stay for tea. Moments later, a man approached my table.

"My name is Süleyman Burak Batır," he said. "Gelibolu cheese halva is part of our family's heritage. It's a geographically registered product and I'd love to tell you its story."

Only later did I learn that Batır also serves as Gelibolu's deputy mayor. Somehow, discovering that the grandson of a local shopkeeper now helps run the town made the story even more meaningful.

Recipe that crossed into Europe

According to Batır, the history of Gelibolu cheese halva stretches back around 700 years, although the recipe itself is likely even older.

The story has survived not through written records alone but through generations of oral family history. Batır says he learned it from his great-aunt, Hikmet Ersan, who inherited the family's memories from previous generations.

Their ancestors were connected to the Aydınoğulları Beyliği in western Anatolia. During the Ottoman expansion into Rumelia in the 14th century, families were resettled across what is now called the Çanakkale Strait as part of an organized settlement policy. Batır's family first settled in Çardak before moving to what is now Cevizli village near Gelibolu when Gazi Süleyman Paşa established Ottoman rule in the region in 1354.

As nomadic livestock breeders, the family relied on sheep and goats for their livelihood, preserving milk by turning it into cheese. Over time, they began sweetening that cheese with honey or molasses, creating an early form of what would eventually become Gelibolu's signature dessert.

"The dessert's connection with Gelibolu goes back more than seven centuries," Batır said.

Protected by tradition

Although cheese halva is produced in many parts of northwestern Türkiye, Batır believes Gelibolu's version stands apart because of what it leaves out.

While recipes elsewhere may include semolina, eggs, clarified butter, starch or even food coloring, authentic Gelibolu cheese halva contains only three main ingredients: fresh unsalted white cheese, a small amount of wheat flour and beet sugar.

That simplicity became the foundation of its geographical indication registration, a process that took nearly a decade.

Batır recalls that obtaining official recognition was challenging because oral history was initially given little weight during the application process. Regulatory changes later made it easier to document products whose histories had largely been preserved through family traditions.

Today, the geographical indication helps preserve consistent production standards while giving consumers confidence that the dessert they are buying follows its original recipe. Periodic inspections by provincial agricultural authorities ensure those standards continue to be met.

Why less sugar isn't an option

At a time when consumers increasingly seek reduced-sugar desserts, Gelibolu cheese halva remains resistant to change – for practical rather than nostalgic reasons.

Sugar, Batır explains, is not simply added for sweetness. It plays a crucial technical role in creating the dessert's characteristic fibrous texture. Reducing it causes the mixture to become doughy, while replacing it with artificial sweeteners alters the structure entirely.

"Reducing the sugar goes against the very nature of this dessert," he said.

More than cheese halva

Despite being closely associated with the famous sweet, Batır believes Gelibolu's culinary identity extends far beyond a single dessert.

If there is another food that truly captures the spirit of the town, he says, it is sardines.

Far more than an everyday catch, sardines reflect Gelibolu's multicultural past, shaped by generations of Turkish, Greek and Jewish merchants who shared the narrow streets of the old town and influenced the region's cuisine.

Wrapped in vine leaves and grilled, preserved in salt or canned for export, sardines remain one of the defining flavors of the northern Aegean.

"When we tell the world about Gelibolu," Batır says, "we shouldn't present it only as a place marked by war. It is also a living town with a vibrant marketplace, a rich culinary culture and extraordinary seafood that deserves to be discovered."