One Week of Good Eats in Istanbul

No trip to Istanbul would be complete without eating Turkish food and lots of it.

Every day during my trip in July, I met friends for lunch and dinner. They treated me to all the Turkish foods that I miss such as kebabs, mezes galore, ahtapot, balkaymak, gözleme and künefe. I thought I would recap all the delicious foods that I ate into one long post for you. Maybe on your next trip to Istanbul you can visit some of the same restaurants in Istanbul that I did.

From the Old City to the Asian Side

My eating adventure in Istanbul started shortly after my friends, Nicole and Kartal, picked me up from the airport. I had visions of eating Turkish mezes and drinking raki so they took me to Giritli Restoran near Sultanahmet. They had me mesmerized by Giritli’s fixed-price menu that includes bottomless glasses of raki or local wine and mouth-watering mezes. I was overwhelmed by the unique mezes – typical of the Turks who once lived on the island of Crete – especially herb-covered olives with feta and the seaweed.

On Monday afternoon, we tried the infamous profiteroles at Inci Pastanesi’s new location on Mis Sokak. This old school pastry shop has been serving up cream puffs drowned in chocolate sauce for more than 70 years. I honestly don’t see what the fuss is about, but Inci was one of those things I had to try at least once.

On Tuesday morning, I specifically went to the Salı Pazarı (Tuesday Pazar) at 4Levent for the gözleme. This Turkish “quesadilla” with spinach and cheese filling is one of my favorites while my husband prefers the karışık (mixed) version.

After visiting the Museum of Innocence, my girlfriend and I grabbed an afternoon snack of fried mini sigara böreği at the laidback Şimdi Café located off Istiklal Caddesi. I smuggled some yufka back to Poland and plan to make my own sigara böreği at home someday.

For dinner, we went to Gelik in Etiler because it features a splendid meze selection (paid for by the weight) and delicious kebabs. Oddly, we were scolded by our server for not eating all our bread since it was iftar and we had apparently sinned against Allah. Oh well.

For a post-dinner cocktail and magnificent night view, Kartal took us to the fairly new Boaz Bar on the 34^th floor of the Le Meridien Hotel in Etiler. Not surprisingly, cocktails don’t come cheap at 30-35 tl each, but my company and the night views of a city that I love definitely made it worthwhile.

On Wednesday, I had my ridiculously good Turkish Breakfast by the Bosphorus washed down with copious glasses of çay at Kale Café. During the day, I spent time with my older girlfriends at a cute teahouse, Villa Park Çay Bahçesi, in Yeniköy, which is a wonderful place to watch the Bosphorus and gossip.

On Thursday, another girlfriend and I headed to the Grand Bazaar and stopped by my friends at Huzur Café (Yağlıkçılar Cad. In the Cebeci Han) for lunch. The patlıcan soslu and aclılı ezme were prepared just the way they should be, and my patlıcan kebab also was good.

I love these Ikat-pattered pillowcases and fabric that my friend purchased next door. 

On Friday night, Murat and his wife took me for another meze and balik dinner at Galatalı Balık in Suadiye on the Asian side. The three of us finished off a bottle of 70 cl of Yeni Raki. No wonder my head was a bit foggy in the morning, and I didn’t take any photos!

On Saturday morning, we entertained my friend’s two-and-a-half-year-old daughter by taking her to Tarihi Çınaraltı Aile Çay Bahçesi in Çenkelköy. This quaint, always packed teahouse allows you to bring your own food as long as you order çay and perhaps some menemen. Buy some Turkish börek from the corner store, eat and then feed the fish the leftover bread. After breakfast, we walked along the Bosphorus for awhile. I miss these gorgeous sea views!

After strolling past the Kuleli Military School, we decided to turn back. Murat said he would drive us all the way to Anadolu Kavağı because I had never been there. This tiny village, known for its fish restaurants and Byzantine-Genovese castle ruins, feels likes a world apart from the city. We found another seaside restaurant, ordered two rounds of the best midye tava (fried mussels) I’ve ever had in Turkey and watched the world go by.

Our Turkish waiters, in true fashion, entertained my friends’ daughter by letting her hold (strangle) fish while we relaxed.

"But daddy, I want to eat the fishy!" Sophie exclaimed. 

To cap off my one week in Istanbul, we ate some of the best kebab I had at a nondescript, sort of divey café in Bostancı called Adana Öz Asmaaltı Kebap, which received stellar reviews by Istanbul Eats. We ordered Adana kebab, ciğer (liver) and çöp şiş (tiny nuggets of roasted lamb). Even though we were stuffed, Murat surprised me by ordering my favorite Turkish dessert - künefe. Good friends and good food, that’s all a girl needs.

After eating like this for a week in Istanbul, you easily can see why I gained a kilo on this trip! But it was worth every calorie!

What are your must-eat Turkish foods in Turkey?

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Playing Games, Sharing Stories in Istanbul

Every woman has a different story to tell.

More than 30 years ago, several American women met Turkish men, fell in love, got married and moved with them to Istanbul.

“Oh girls, you should have seen what it was like that back then when we first came here,” they often exclaim. They spin stories of a much-changed city with very few amenities such as toilet paper or even road signs in the beginning. Today, these women are still married or have since divorced.

Last year, several new American women moved to Istanbul because their American husbands’ company sent them here to explore for natural gas and oil deposits in the countryside of Turkey.

My story is that I married an American man whom works for an American company that had a position open in Istanbul. Our plan is to live here the next two+ years and then move on to the next assignment within the company. It’s hard to believe we have lived here seven months already!

There are more details to these stories. This is just some of the fabric that makes up the larger quilt knitted together by friendship.

These ladies have become my friends – ranging in age from mid-20s to 70 years old. They have helped me learn the Turkish language and new recipes, buy a washer and dryer, shop for groceries and take me to the doctor. If I have a problem, I know I can call one of them.

Often, on Wednesdays, a group of American women gather at a small seaside café in Yenikoy for what we call Game Day. (More information about this group can be found online at American Women of Istanbul and the International Women of Istanbul.) We have a beautiful view of the Bosphorus here.

We drink Turkish çay, eat simit and homemade treats (often made by yours truly), laugh, gossip, share in any recent language problems, talk about upcoming travels and later we eat lunch together. Then, of course, we play games. I hadn’t even heard of these games until I met these ladies.

Here you can see some of the ladies and the Turkish men playing games in the cafe'.

Okey is a dominoes-like number game. You match same colored dominoes together in numerical order, or you can connect the same number together with three or four tiles in different colors. (A group of Turkish men also play this popular game on Wednesdays.)

Each player draws 14 tiles to start the game.

This is what a finished game may look like. The objective is to get rid of all your tiles.

Mahjong  is a Chinese dominoes-like game. The Mahjong tiles are pictured with bamboo, Asian characters and honors such as winds and dragons. This game is one that I understand the least. Sorry, I didn’t take photos of this one.

Yesterday, two friends introduced a new game called Pente. This strategy board game involves moving colored, glass beads around the board to connect five vertically, horizontally or diagonally in a row. While trying to do so, your beads can get captured, or you need to block your opponents to prevent them from scoring.

Playing games is one way to spend the day together. I always can count on Wednesdays to be a full day for me. Since I’m technically not allowed to work here because of my husband’s visa regulations, I need something to do. Other expat women fall into same boat as me. Yet others are old enough they don’t have to work anymore.

Living abroad means you form friendships quicker than you do in the states. You instantly can form a bond based on the very fact that you speak English. It’s a bond that says you are in this together. We help each other out.

I’ve also found living abroad means having a wide variety of friendships – ranging in ages, nationalities and backgrounds. I have met other ladies from Denmark, Mexico, Italy, Germany, France, Russia, Spain, Sweden, South Africa and of course, Turkey. Other expats just like me.

So far, living abroad has opened my eyes to so many new things, new possibilities and new cuisines. Some days are overwhelming – the language barrier is frustrating sometimes. But other days, I just want to take it all in and savor every moment.

Some day, I may be sharing these stories with my children. I wonder where we will be living then.

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