Tag: Istanbul
Istanbul Day 3- A Palace, Crispy Potato And Grilled Lamb
Day three started with some wind, rain and a delicious Turkish breakfast. We bundled up and headed to the Topkapi Palace, which was walking distance to our hotel. We spent a few hours viewing the Blue Mosque and the Palace. Somehow walking around in museums, etc makes me hungry. We came out and immediately started looking for somewhere to warm and eat. On the way, we found a vendor selling crispy potatoes. He had a machine to cut the potato open onto a stick. He then fried the whole thing and sprinkled it with spices and salt- it was delicious! We stood there for several minutes devouring many sticks of potatoes. 
We also had some of the Turkish pretzel again- this one was not as crispy and fresh as the other one. We finally found a restaurant/cafe and ate some kebabs and lavash and drank some buttermilk.
We then headed to do some shopping. They have beautiful ceramics, rugs and stoles all over Istanbul. The trick is to bring the prices way down by haggling with the vendors- which is a skill I don’t possess but I think I held my own as I shopped.
After a few hours of rest, lots of research, we headed to a restaurant near our hotel called Tria. As we were 9 of us, we decided to order family style and instead of an entree each, we ordered lots of appetizers. They started us off with baskets of lavash, black olives and olive tapenade- delicious!
Olive Tapenade
Meze Platter
We ordered their house red wine which was also delicious. The wine I have had so far has been quite yummy- the problem is that alcohol is not served in the very down to earth eating joints- which is where I like to eat when we travel.
The appetizers kept coming- a plate of meze, which is like eating Turkish tapas. It consisted of lots of interesting things like grated eggplant in a white sauce, lentil kebab, tomato sauce with a kick, a fresh cheese spread, some kind of grilled fish, etc. The grilled squid was yummy as well! We were quite full and satisfied when the grilled lamb over mashed eggplant arrived. I was a bit skeptical about the mashed eggplant- but it was by far the most delicious thing on the table. It was soft, velvety and delicious! Believe it or not we were too full for dessert!
Grilled Lamb
We decided to walk some family members to the tram station which was near our favorite dessert place.. somehow the walk made the idea of dessert more palatable… so we strolled over and sat down for a few sweet things..
Tomorrow, we are off to Cappadocia!!
Istanbul Day 2 – Lots of Delicious Street Food
Mussels
Day two in Istanbul started with a delicious breakfast in our hotel. We came down to lovely aromas of Turkish breakfast that included a variety of different things. There was an array of different vegetables in various forms. There was fried eggplant in a yogurt sauce, mushrooms in a tomato sauce, potatoes, cucumbers. There was a selection of fresh cheeses, olives, dried fruits and pickles. It was all delicious and a great way to start our day. We walked over the bosphorus area to catch a cruise. Two hours later we got off and saw a boat of fish mongers grilling fresh fish and selling fish sandwiches. We had read in the guides that this was a must- well, the fish was fresh and delicious! Right next to the boat there was a vendor selling fresh mussels!- I love mussels.. and these were stuffed with some kind of delicious, aromatic rice. The vendor squeezed fresh lemon on each as I stood next to him and devoured a bunch of fresh mussels right by the water!
Turkish Doughnuts
A bit ahead we saw a very busy market filled with food vendors. It was jam packed with people but that didn’t discourage us to try all sorts of delights like- the most delicious Turkish doughnuts I have ever had- they were dripping in honey and topped with ground pistachios.
We had freshly squeezed pomegranate juice- what a difference between the fresh and the bottled!!
Freshly Squeezed Pomegranate Juice
We bought some candy wrapped on a stick drizzled with lemon juice- amazing! We tried some pickled cabbage which was very tasty as well.
Candy on a Stick
After eating most of that market we decided to take a tram to the new part of Istanbul. This part is filled with tall buildings and modern structures- quite a contrast from the cobblestone streets we left behind just ten minutes ago! We walked and we walked, looking at our maps and asking the very friendly people of Istanbul. So far it has been a lovely experience eating and walking around. I haven’t done a whole lot of shopping- although there are tons of things to buy.. well, I did buy some amazingly aromatic Iranian saffron from the amazing Egyptian spice market. I would like to buy some more spices and maybe a nice rug!
In spite of munching all day, I couldn’t stop thinking of the bakery from last night and all the puddings they had- so, we stopped on our way back to the hotel and picked up a almond pudding, a pistachio pudding and a rice pudding- they were all really yummy! I ate like there was no tomorrow and thought to myself- I really need to eat far less tomorrow!
Istanbul Day 1- Are we there yet??
Our trip to Istanbul has been in the works since last year in June! We have all been really looking forward to it- especially since we had cousins, etc meeting us there. As some of you know, we were in Lisbon last month and the trip was amazing- the problem was getting there. We had a cancelled flight;lost luggage and lots of frustration in between. As we were headed to the airport for our Istanbul trip, I thought to myself- our flight should be on time, especially since the weather was beautiful, it wasn’t raining and it was a direct flight- what could go wrong?? Well, long story short- we were sitting in the lounge for a very long time as our flight was delayed for almost 4 hours! I think someone at United doesn’t like me!
Anyway, after a long 10 hour flight, we finally made it to Istanbul! We walked out with our luggage intact and the first thing that hit me was the smell in the air- I can’t really describe it but it smelled like India! I immediately felt at home and couldn’t wait to get to our hotel to start our vacation! As we drove by the ocean, we saw hundreds of local families picnicking and preparing their meals on tiny grills. I also found myself peering into local’s cars and trying to envision what kind of a life they lived in this city. Half an hour later I found us in Sultanahmet, which is the old town in Istanbul. Windy, cobblestoned roads led us to our tiny little hotel.
Lentil Soup
We unpacked, showered and headed out. We were hungry and ready for an early dinner. We are lucky enough to have lots of restaurant recommendations from friends who used to live in Istanbul. They directed us to this hole in the wall (Sultanahmet Koftecisi)for meatballs. We walked in and were directed to head upstairs. We saw lots of local families enjoying the evening- a good sign! We promptly ordered and immediately started munching on some bread that was brought to our table. We enjoyed a lentil based soup,
chicken kebabs,
sheesh kebabs, meatballs- which were not what we thought- they were more like kebabs
. We ordered a fresh salad, some yogurt- which was delicious and buttermilk! The meal was served with a tomato based spicy sauce and it was all delicious. They had two desserts on the menu- a semolina pudding
and a pastry pudding. We decided to try them both. For all my Indian readers- the semolina pudding was halwa and the pastry pudding was gulab jamun! They were yummy. We marveled at how similar the foods were to North India! We walked out and felt we needed more dessert and headed to a large tea house (Hafiz Mustafa) that had an array of beautiful looking desserts and puddings. We ended up with a fig pudding,
turkish delights and the most delicious chocolate pistachio baklava!!
It melted in our mouths! Satisfied, we walked around and came across an out door restaurant with lots of people eating and watching a Dervish dance. It was beautiful! After a bit of window shopping, we headed back; bought a bottle of wine and enjoyed it on the terrace and made plans for the next week!