ERBIL, Kurdistan Region -Tens of thousands of guests gathered on Sunday for a massive feast in Turkey’s eastern Kurdish Van province, celebrating World Breakfast Day with a sprawling event that showcased the region's world-famous Kurdish culinary traditions.
The traditional Van breakfast is an elaborate, expansive morning spread typically featuring 20 to 30 natural, locally sourced dishes. This culinary legacy was officially cemented when the city secured a Guinness World Record for the largest attendance at a breakfast event in June 2014 for hosting 51,793 guests.
Among the dignitaries present at this year's iteration were top provincial officials from the Kurdistan Region, who attended at the invitation of the Van commerce chamber.
“Annually, the breakfast is held on the first Sunday in June,” Omed Khoshnaw, Erbil’s governor, told Rudaw, noting that the delegation utilized the recently opened Zet border crossing to travel. Located nearly 170 kilometers north of Erbil, the international gateway has significantly cut travel times between the Kurdistan Region and Van since its inauguration in 2023.
“Our goal is to strengthen cultural and national relations because we are the same people,” Khoshnaw added.
For his part, Ali Tatar, Duhok’s governor, emphasized that the visit is not about the breakfast but it aims instead to expand broader social, economic, and historical ties linking the Kurdistan Region with both Van and neighboring Hakkari (Jolemerg).
“For a few months out of the year, Kurdistan - and specifically Van and Jolamerg - are more beautiful than Europe,” Tatar remarked, pointing to the region's dramatic seasonal transformation.
The geography of the area is defined by extreme climate variations. While winters are notoriously harsh, with temperatures in the surrounding alpine zones frequently plummeting to -30 degree celsius and heavy snow burying mountain passes, the brief summer window offers a stark, magnificent contrast.
The aesthetic centerpiece of the region remains Lake Van, Turkey's largest endorheic body of water. Because its deep turquoise waters are highly saline and alkaline, the lake rarely freezes even in the depths of winter, creating a striking sapphire oasis against the snow-covered volcanic peaks of Mount Suphan and Mount Artos.
