Antakya cuisine in the context of cultural sustainability and food culture: An analysis of the local künefe eating experience as a ritual

This thesis is a descriptive study examining the production, presentation, and consumption processes of künefe, a traditional dessert unique to Antakya, within the context of cultural sustainability. Due to the absence of comprehensive prior research on the subject, the study aims to document the current state of künefe regarding its cultural value and its production, presentation, and consumption stages in detail. Accordingly, an ethnographic design, one of the qualitative research methods, was adopted. Within the scope of the fieldwork, semi-structured interviews were conducted with producers, consumers, and an expert resource person, and the process was supported by non- participant observation and visual data collection techniques. The obtained data were analyzed using thematic analysis and content analysis methods to identify common patterns and conceptual relationships regarding cultural sustainability. Research findings indicate that the cultural identity of künefe is shaped through manual labor, craftsmanship knowledge, material qualities, presentation tools, and consumption rituals. Furthermore, the sensory, semantic, and emotional dimensions of künefe were analyzed within the framework of product experience. In conclusion, by revealing the tangible and intangible cultural heritage values of künefe, this study presents evaluations regarding the potential contributions of the industrial design discipline to the sustainability of this practice.