We went to Istanbul for a long weekend, leaving late Thursday night from Bucharest. It’s a short one hour flight. On the Friday morning we went to the Grand Bazaar, which I’ve been desperate to visit for years. It feels incredible to walk through a market place that has been trading for nearly 600 years. The floors are tiled and the ceiling is painted in yellow with beautiful blue and red mosaic patterns. There are 61 streets and over 4,000 “shops”. It’s easy to get completely lost, and that’s part of the fun.
In one of the many corridors of the Grand Bazaar
Once upon a time, this market was a treasure trove of exotic goods that had travelled along the Silk Road to this highly strategic point of trade. Today, the little stone enclaves are filled with all sorts of things: carpets, jewellery, brightly coloured glass lamps, herbs and spices, tea and coffee, rolls of lace and silk, pashmina scarves, antiques, chocolates, nuts, dried fruits, and of course, Turkish delight.
It is a complete sensory overload: the tastes, smells, sounds and textures. And it is wonderful, in the truest sense of the word.
The Turkish delight is unlike anything I’ve ever tasted before. Each bite is full of flavour and texture — the chewy outer coating which can be crushed nuts, coconut, powdered sugar or tiny little balls of chocolate, and the gooey sweet centre filled with the crunchiness of nuts (often pistachio or hazelnuts) and the sweetness of fruity flavours. The flavours are endless, and so is the choice as a consequence. If I had to pick though, my favourite was pomegranate and pistachio. Equally as good was the baklava. My favourite was the chocolate one, which I never knew was a thing. The combination of chocolate, pastry, honey and pistachio is to die for.
Some of the many sweet treats of Turkey
Our weekend was basically a food tour of Istanbul. Of course we saw some of the sites too — but it was the food that stood out for us. Apart from the endless supply of sweet treats, we also found this great restaurant the first night we had dinner there. It was so good that we ended up going back there the next night for fear of another choice not being as good.
We enjoyed hummus, kebab, and this incredible dish of smoked eggplant cooked with cheese and minced meat, but one of the specialities in Turkey is food cooked in a clay pot. A combination of meat, vegetables and herbs and spices are cooked inside a sealed clay pot over hot coals and fire.
It comes out from the kitchen balanced precariously on top of the flaming tray. To serve it, the waiter literally cuts the lid off the pot (which falls dangerously close to your feet) and pours out of the pot a hot, smoky stew that is full of delicious smells and flavours. It was as equally delicious as it was theatrical.
We were surprised how cheap Istanbul was. It was a lot cheaper than Bucharest, which has been the cheapest place we’ve been so far. Being more modern and a lot bigger than Bucharest, we’d expected it to be more expensive, but it was inexpensive.
One of the many cats of Istanbul
I had a spinach and cheese pide for lunch one day for about $1 (which was amazing). We had brunch on the Sunday at a local grimy place — Dylan had a plate of meat, chips and grilled veg, and I had shakshuka, all for only $8. And again, it was delicious. We drank lots of cups of tea and coffee as well, usually accompanied with a little something sweet on the side.
On the Friday after our visit to the Grand Bazaar, Dylan went back to the hotel to do some work, and I went for afternoon tea at a place which is meant to have some of the best Turkish treats in Istanbul. I tried a Turkish coffee and a couple of different types of baklava. I took Dylan back the next day for the baklava but skipped on the Turkish coffee — I prefer my coffee less like mud and more like milk.
Turkish coffee
After the afternoon tea, I took a ferry up the Bosporus strait towards the Black Sea. The Bosporus separates “east” from “west”, or rather, is the division between the European and Asian continents, and also of European Turkey from Asian Turkey. The boat provided a vantage point to see the beautiful architecture lining the edges of the waterway.
On the Bosphorus ferry
On the Saturday we went to Hagia Sophia, a beautiful ancient monument characterised by its massive dome. It was built on three separate occasions, with the last being constructed between AD532–537.
The outside of Hagia Sophia
During its time, it has been an Orthodox Christian cathedral, an Ottoman imperial mosque and is now a museum. It is incredibly beautiful inside, with exquisitely painted ceilings and seemingly floating candelabras. Istanbul is a fascinating fusion of centuries of architecture, religion and culture from across Asia, northern Africa, the Middle East and Europe.
Inside the Hagia Sophia
In the afternoon, we explored the Asian side of Istanbul. As we were walking across the Galata bridge, which joins the two sides of the city, we saw that it was lined from end to end with fishermen. As we later learned, this place has been frequented by fishermen for years, with both amateurs coming just for fun and seasoned goers there to earn their way. Despite the distinctly fishy smell, it was quite a beautiful image.
Fishermen on the Galata Bridge
As we explored the winding streets around the Galata tower, it started to rain so we took cover in a rooftop cocktail bar, with a nice panoramic view of the city.
It was a great long weekend away. Istanbul was probably the best place we’ve been so far for food (narrowly taking the lead from our food experience in the Dodecanese islands). And the luscious smell of Turkish delight lingering in the air on every street corner cannot easily be forgotten. Fortunately we were able to bring some vacuum sealed boxes of Turkish delight back with us. We look forward to sharing it.