Turkish Sticky Ice Cream (Dondurma) in Turkey 2025

Ice-cream, called 'dondurma' in Turkish and translated as "freezing", doesn't always melt. A secret ingredient of Turkish summer dessert is mastic—a natural gum obtained from mastic trees grown widely in the neighbouring Greece, mostly on the island of Chios. This magical ingredient distinguished by pine-like flavour makes dondurma incredibly sticky, and that's rather convenient for particularly playful ice-cream Turkish vendors. Make your order, and you'll be carried away with what they can do with your ice-cream. Normally, a treat goes on a long journey before it finally gets to quite an embarrassed customer.

Naturally hot days between May and September are considered the best time to enjoy cool dessert. And that's the time when most of ice cream vendors fill the streets.