ABSTRACT

This study aims to identify the areas where gastronomy-themed recreational activities are carried out in Karaman province and to determine the impact of these areas on people. In this regard, a mixed method was used in the research conducted with volunteer participants in Karaman city center. In the qualitative method, the archive-document analysis method, also known as document review, and the structured interview technique were used. In this context, firstly, a literature review was conducted and interviews were held with relevant institutions and organizations. Later, the 8-question interview form developed by Kargiglioğlu and Temür (2022) was applied to a total of 30 participants, 16 male and 14 female. The obtained data were analyzed using descriptive and content analysis methods and gastronomy-themed recreational areas were discovered. In the quantitative method, a 30-question survey developed by Düner (2016) was applied to a total of 189 participants, 101 male and 88 female. These survey results revealed the impact of recreational areas in the city center on people. The data obtained as a result of the research were analyzed using the SPSS 23.0 package program. The information obtained from the survey is given as frequency and percentage. In Karaman, restaurants, fast food, patisseries and dessert shops, tradesmen’s restaurants, stews, kebabs, doner, wrap businesses, institutional guesthouses and golden days were found as indoor areas; recreation areas, parks, dams and water-themed areas were found as outdoor gastronomy-themed recreation areas. At the end of the research, information was given about the recreation areas in Karaman province and suggestions were made to the relevant institutions and organizations to improve the hygiene and sanitation conditions of these areas, provide security and transportation facilities, and develop the areas and increase their number.