Istanbul

The Food Of Turkey-Restaurants in Istanbul

January 21, 2013
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Last but not least, we get to my favorite part of travel, food! I know I’ve said it a million times, it’s all about the food, and thankfully Turkish food did not disappoint. If you’re interested in food markets, then you may want to check out my post on my other blog about the Markets in Istanbul; Kadikoy Food Market and Galata Bridge Fish Market. Here, I’m going to share with you some of our favorite restaurant experience in Istanbul. Click here see where we ate in the maze of the Grand Bazaar and here for some of the food available in Selcuk (Ephesus).

In researching where to eat in Istanbul, one place kept coming up over and over again;  Ciya Sofrasi (Guneslibahce Sokak 43, Kadikoy; 90-216-330-3190; www.ciya.com.tr). This restaurant actually has 3 separate store fronts on the same Kadikoy street. We took the ferry over to the Asia side of the city, to the Kadikoy stop (a fun trip in itself). The restaurant has both a menu in English, and steam tables where you can just point at what you want. One of the options is the mezze plate, where they weigh the plate after you select your choices to determine what you pay. I think all the cold mezze are vegetarian, so this restaurant is a good choice for those who don’t eat meat. We ordered from both and got a delicious selection of food.

 

I read about Ficcin in the Istanbul Eats: Exploring the Culinary Backstreets book. Dumplings filled with meat covered with a yogurt sauce and chili oil? I’m sold! And yes, they were as good as they sound. According to the book, this is a dish from the Caucasus mountains. Ficcin is in lower Beyoglu, off Istiklal Caddessi at …

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The Other Side of Istanbul; Istiklal Caddesi, Galata Tower, Beyoglu

October 1, 2012
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There’s more to Istanbul than the old quarter’s Grand Bazaar, Blue Mosque and Topkapi Palace. Take just a short walk across the Galata bridge and find another, more modern world.

Don’t be tempted to power walk across the Galeta Bridge. Take your time, slow down, and look around, there’s a whole lot going on along the way. Restaurants line the bridge on a lower level and up top, there are almost always a group of men standing, smoking and fishing.

 

 

Once you’re on the other side of the bridge, look  to your left and below you’ll see a fish market. If you have the time, head down there, take a look and maybe grab a fish sandwich or some fried anchovies.

At this point you have two choices; walk up to see the Galeta Tower or take the historic Funicular to Istiklal Caddesi.

Look up with your back to the bridge and you can’t miss the Galeta Tower which dates back to the 6th century. You’ll walk up some very picturesque, but steep and winding streets, before you get to the tower’s base. By the time we got there it was late (ok, we were winded) so we didn’t climb the tower for the view.

 

 

Another option, instead of walking up the hill, is to take the funicular up to Istiklal Caddessi, Istanbul’s main pedestrian shopping street. The entrance to the funicular is down by the fish market at Karakoy, so taking it will bypass the Galeta Tower. Built in 1875 by the French, it’s worth it to take once, of only to see the beautiful tile work and ride in the historic underground railway.

Once at the top, head out of the funicular station to your right and you’ll be on Istiklal Caddesi which …

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Riding the Ferries in Istanbul and a Bosphorus Cruise

September 11, 2012
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One of the best parts of hanging out in Istanbul is riding the ferries to get from one part of the city to another. Where else in the world can you go from one continent to another, still be in the same city, and not even need a passport? This is just one of the many things that make Istanbul so special.

The Commuter Ferry

There are many options for getting on the water in Istanbul. The first is to simply spend 2TL and get on one of the many daily commuter ferries which shuttle kids to school, the local population to and from work, and tourists to the various sights around the city. Think of it as a big bus on the water.

On one of our days in Istanbul, we took the ferry from Karakoy to Kadikoy to check out the food market there (this is the trip which took us from Europe to Asia in half an hour). We picked up the ferry on the Northeast side of the Galeta bridge and bought tickets from a machine at the dock. Along the way we were treated to excellent views of all of Istanbul including the distinctive domes and minarets of the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sofia in Sultanhamet.

The ferry makes one stop at Haydarpasa train station on the way over, but did not stop here on the return. If I were to do it again, I would have gotten off here to check out this old train station, the terminus for trains coming from Eastern Turkey and points farther East. From there I would have walked over to Kadikoy. We tried to walk over there along the waterfront after lunch in the market, but it’s not possible to get all the way there that way and …

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Visiting the Suleymaniye Mosque in Istanbul

July 30, 2012
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During the planning process for this trip I did a lot of reading, both online and in the DK Eyewitness Istanbul guidebook. I also discovered Rick Steves’ app which I downloaded to my phone and then listed his podcasts on Turkey (and Italy) in my car. I’ve never been a huge fan of Rick Steves’ books or TV shows, but I’ll admit I really enjoyed listening to the podcasts. On one of the podcasts he interviews the couple who wrote his Istanbul guidebook. One of the things which stayed with my from listening to that program was that Lale Aran said she thought the most beautiful mosque in Istanbul is the Suleymaniye Mosque. So of course, I made it a goal for to see if for myself while we were there.

We walked to the Mosque after walking through the Spice Market. While a part of the walk is uphill, it’s not difficult and we wandered though a neighborhood which sells (wholesale) all the trinkets sold in the tourist areas (note, this is a great place to buy a set of 10 key chains for the same cost as 1 or 2 in the grand Bazaar, but more on this in a later post). I believe this street is called Uzuncarsi Caddesi, and if you stay on it, it will take you right to the Grand Bazaar.

We arrived late in the afternoon, right as the call to prayer was happening. View the video to hear the call to prayer and see the outside of the mosque where the fountains are for ablutions.

We checked out the courtyard and then entered the mosque from the main entrance as there was not separate visitor’s entrance.

Suleymaniye Mosque

It really is stunning inside. Built between 1550 and 1557, the mosque is a memorial to …

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A Visit to Istanbul’s Topkapi Palace and Harem

July 24, 2012
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Visiting the Topkapi Palace is like peeling back the layers of an onion. No, wait. It’s more like one of those Russian dolls, with one inside of another getting progressively smaller. Ok, sort of but not really, but you get my point, don’t you?

Most people enter through the Imperial Gate which is located behind and to the right of the Hagia Sofia. You then walk through the walled exterior palace grounds until you reach the ticket booth and along the way pass by the Hagia Eirene and the Archaeological Museum. At the time we went, admission tickets were 25TL per person.

The next layer peels back after passing through the crenelated Gate of Salutations which looks straight out of Disney movie. Be forewarned, you must go through airline style security to get inside (bags are x-rayed).

Once inside there’s a large grassy area and a number of pavilions and buildings. Many of the pavilions have been turned into exhibit rooms showing items from the Sultan’s treasury as well as imperial clothing and the Sultan’s arms and armor (this exhibit was particularly well designed).

While I enjoyed seeing all the bejewled and bedazzled kaftans, scabbards, even a baby’s crib, I was particularly fascinated by the Pavilion of the Holy Mantle which holds many holy relics of Islam and the Prophet Mohammed’s mantle. Twenty four hours a day there are holy men chanting the words of the Koran over the mantle through a microphone. Unfortunately none of these exhibits allowed photographs inside.

After visiting most of the exhibits, we headed for the Harem which requires a separate admission fee of 15TL at the time of our visit. Fortunately, with the price of admission, photographs are allowed inside.

The first thing you will learn when reading about the Harem is that “harem” means “forbidden” in Arabic and that the …

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The Cats of Turkey

July 16, 2012
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It’s no secret both David and I love our kitties. When we travel, we’re always on the search to get our fix because we so miss our three cats back home. Turkey was heaven for us. Every time we stepped outside it took less than 2.3 seconds to spot a cat, and most of the time they were friendly, willing recipients of a head scratch or belly rub.

Turkey even has its own breed of cat, the Van (in top photo). This one, complete with one blue eye and one green eye, typical of the breed, spends her days in a shop on a walking street in Selcuk goes home with the shop’s owner at night. According to the man, she’s “famous” (there was a sign up about her and her sister who had recently been killed by a car). We never came across another Van cat on our trip, and certainly not one roaming the streets. Perhaps if we’d traveled in the eastern part of the country, near lake Van where they are from, we would have seen more of them.

Some of the first cats we saw were at the Blue Mosque:

Cat at Blue Mosque

Cat in Istanbul

It’s been theorized that Turkey is a cat lover’s paradise because the koran lists dogs as “unclean” and does not say the same as for cats. There is also a myth that Mohammed himself loved cats and cut off a piece of his own cloak (or vest depending on the story you read) rather than disturb the cat sleeping on it.

Istanbul Kittens

Regardless of this, there are cats everywhere in Turkey and even the ones without homes seem very well cared for. In fact, I saw a mama kitty with 3 kittens who had blue thread on her side where she’d had a wound stitched up. Even though she …

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Visiting the Blue Mosque in Istanbul Turkey; Tips and Photos

July 9, 2012
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Determined to make the most of our sightseeing time while staying in Sultanahmet, we made sure to visit the Blue Mosque on one of our days there. Like the Hagia Sofia, the Topkapi Palace, and the Basilica Cistern, the Blue Mosque is on just about every tour and must-see list of the city and there’s a good reason why; it’s flippin’ magnificent.

The dome or the minarets can be seen from just about anywhere in the area. The entrance to the courtyard in front of the mosque is through the Hippodrome, once a giant Roman stadium, now a public square.

Blue Mosque

Non Muslim visitors are asked to enter the mosque not through the entrance inside the courtyard, but from one outside and on the right. Women are asked to cover their heads (scarves are provided) and everyone is asked to remove their shoes at the entrance. Plastic bags are provided for your shoes, but they’re tiny.

Tip #1: Bring one of those lightweight reusable shopping bags, the kind which fold up into about a 1″x2″ pouch, to slip your shoes into (wish I’d thought of this before going). The bags they gave us were small and broke easily. We could have used the reusable bags when visiting other mosques as well.

There is a large central area in the front of the mosque reserved for men’s prayers and tourists are asked not to walk through there. In the back of the mosque, behind carved wood screens is the women’s area. The visitors area is in the back, in front of the women’s space, and visitors are allowed to sit on the floor or walk through.

Tip #2: Don’t just walk through quickly, especially if you are there during prayer time. Take a seat on the carpet, listen to the Imam chant, and …

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Istanbul At Night

July 2, 2012
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Cities always have a different feel at night. Some, like Naples, can be intimidating when you first set out in the dark, but also show their quirky side.

Istanbul lights up its most famous monuments, the Hagia Sofia and the Blue Mosque, which makes photos at dusk and dark tempting. So tempting we were willing to pay for overpriced drinks on our first night just to sit outside on a rooftop bar with a great view.

No, I have no idea why it’s there. I looked it up and it gets horrible reviews, but then again, why would anyone eat at a Mexican chain restaurant in Istanbul?

There was a full moon while we were there. Both David and I tried to get a photo of the moon itself but were unsuccessful. David took the photo above and the lower moon is a reflection in the camera lens. Oddly enough, that’s the one with the detail of the moon’s surface.

Each time before a trip I tell myself I will take more night photos and each time it’s a struggle to get that perfect shot. I really need to have a tripod, but I just can’t be bothered to carry one. This time I brought a monopod but frankly I’m not sure it was worth the weight because I never carried it. Do you carry a tripod? What are your tricks for good night shots?

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