Istanbul Day 4- Goodbye to Sultanahmet & Hello to Cappadocia

Day four was our last day in Sultanahmet which is the old part of Istanbul. We were to leave for Cappadocia later in the afternoon- so we had a few hours to roam around and do some shopping/eating. As we were researching for the restaurant from last night, we came upon a doner kebab place which was reviewed as the ‘best doner kebab in Sutanahmet’- well, we were sold. We decided to eat a relatively light breakfast and headed to the Grand Bazaar. We did some jewelry and shawl shopping- after which we looked for the place that didn’t have an address- just some directions posted online. We found it quite easily and noticed it was in one of the windy, cobblestoned streets- very quaint! It was one of the oldest restaurants there- well, actually it was not even a restaurant (Donerci Sahin Usta)

Doner Kebab Restaurant- Donerci Sahin Usta

– it was just a store front where people were lined up. We ordered two doner kebabs rolled in lavash. I noticed a jar of green, pickled peppers and asked them to add the delicious chilies to one of them. The kebab roll was delicious- the meat was tender and flavorful and the condiments including the chilies were lovely. We were quite satisfied and walked away and turned a corner. Right in front of us was another restaurant- this one was much bigger with people sitting outside under an awning. They had condiments sitting in front of them including some spices and the same chilies. The kebabs here were made with beef instead of lamb.

We decided to try these as well… these were yum as well!! We were quite satisfied with our finds and headed back to the hotel- but not before another glass of freshly squeezed pomegranate juice!

An hour on the plane brought us to Kayseri where we rented a car for our next destination- Cappadocia! We looked forward to the hot air balloon there and any regional cuisine we can sample!

We arrived in Cappadocia and checked into our beautiful cave hotel. We quickly unpacked and walked to a restaurant called Dimrit. On our way there, we passed a winery- we will definitely be visiting it tomorrow!! At the restaurant we ordered kebabs cooked in a clay pot- they were delicious.

Lavash

Lamb Cooked in a Clay Pot

All in all the meal was delicious- I had a yummy glass of wine as well. I am really looking forward all the food here!!