A Gaziantep tradesman's shop on Uzun Çarşı serving mutton kebabs and pistachio baklava since 1887.
İmam Çağdaş traces back to 1887, when Hacı Hüseyin Efendi, who had come from Aleppo, opened a shop in Gaziantep's Maarif district. The business moved to Uzun Çarşı, the city's emerging commercial hub, in 1898. İmam Usta, who took over from Hacı Hüseyin Efendi and gave the shop its name, ran it until his death in 1964; his son Talat Çağdaş and grandson Burhan Çağdaş have carried on the family business since. A sign on the wall states plainly that the kebabs are made from mutton. Alongside its kebabs, the menu includes pistachio baklava, şöbiyet, kadayıf and tray sweets, since the shop doubles as both a restaurant and a baklava workshop. Counted among the city's oldest tradesman businesses, İmam Çağdaş's own history notes visits from presidents, foreign officials and public figures over the decades. For visitors to Gaziantep, it remains a common stop for tasting kebab and baklava in one sitting.
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