Sensory Anthropologist · Writer · Researcher
A sensory anthropologist and food culture researcher specializing in Mediterranean and Anatolian cuisine. Author of Kala Afiyet, compiling 500 years of Bozcaada recipes. Her PhD research mapped the sensory landscape of Istanbul's Grand Bazaar through the method of sensory walks.
Guided sensory experiences through Istanbul's Grand Bazaar and beyond. Not a tourist visit or cultural tour, but a different way of engaging with space: smelling the spices, feeling the textures, listening to the rhythm of the bazaar.
Documenting and preserving the food culture of Bozcaada, a small Aegean island where Turkish and Greek culinary traditions have intertwined over centuries. Olive oil, wine, wild herbs, and the sea.
Research and writing on the relationship between food, identity, memory, and place across the Mediterranean and Anatolian geography. Workshops, talks, and collaborative cooking sessions.
500 years of island recipes from Bozcaada, compiled together with the women of the island. Olive oil, wine, wild herbs, fish, and other sea creatures: the island's culinary memory preserved for future generations. First published 2003 by Chiviyazıları Yayınevi, second edition by Troya Yayınları. Republished 2015 by Chiviyazıları.
For sensory walk bookings, workshop inquiries, press, or collaboration requests.
@umithamlacibasi on Instagram