Istanbul’s Bizarre Bird Pazar in Edirnekapı

If you have ever wanted a pet pigeon, then I know just the place to go in Istanbul.

Yes, the parks may be full of pigeons, but these feathered companions can be bought for upwards a hefty price at the Edirnekapı Kuş Pazarı (Edirnekapi Bird Market). This pazar is held on Sundays, nestled amongst the old city walls, in the Edirnekapı neighborhood, just a short stroll from the namesake bus stop.

I was recently reminded of this unique pazar when I read Elizabeth’s blog post over at the Geriatic Gapper. I met Elizabeth, a longtime Istanbul expat, when we were both part of the local photography club. I knew I had a bunch of my own photos from this bird market somewhere, so I found them on my computer and finally compiled a new post.

In 2012, my husband and I toured through the Edirnekapı neighborhood on a wonderful spring day. This was one of the first times I saw the old walls of Constantinople upclose. The walls themselves date back to the reign of the Byzantine emperor Theodosius II, who was in power in the first half of the fifth century AD. They replaced a previous wall, built during Constantine the Great’s rule, to protect what was then the capital of the Byzantine Empire. The walls withstood for more than 1,000 years until 1453 when Sultan Mehmet II attacked and then the city became the new capital of the Ottoman Empire.

I always found Istanbul’s immense history so fascinating!

Back at the bird pazar, I recall being the only female there at the time. I’m sure traditional Turkish women were at home doing household chores while the men debated over the prettiest or perhaps, the fastest, pigeon. Meanwhile, I had my camera and took several photos as we wandered through this fascinating market.

I tried to find some history about this pazar, but couldn’t. I’m sure pigeons used to be a very effective means of communication between people way back in the day. However, the Edirnekapı Kuş Pazarı’s Facebook Page does seem current and even includes prices for some of the pigeons.

Istanbul is full of such stark contrasts like this market hidden amongst the old city walls, nearby apartment buildings and towering skyscrapers off in the distance. As the city continues to rapidly sprawl in every direction, I fear unique markets like this one will become a thing of the past all too soon.

Location:

Take one of the many city buses and disembark at the Edirnekapı stop. About a 5-minute walk away, look for the covered stalls and tents. The pazar is set up near the Altinay Spor Kulubu sign, Ayvansaray Mah., Salma Tomruk Cad. No. 4.

For a written guide/tour of the area, check out Istanbul’s Old City Walls by The Guide.

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Colorful Photos of Kastamonu Market (Pazar) in Istanbul

Last year around this time, we were crossing items off our bucket to-do list for Istanbul.

Included on my list was a Sunday visit to the Kastamonu Market (Pazar) held in the Kasımpaşa neighborhood close to the Golden Horn. This pazar is a foodie’s paradise – filled with all kinds of special produce and homemade goodies from the Black Sea coast of Turkey.

It took us nearly 3 years to visit this pazar!

On the weekends, we often found ourselves traveling or not willing to get our butts out of bed to find this market. You must arrive on the earlier side, say by 9 or 10 a.m., if you want to get the best goods.

And trust me, when I say it’s worthwhile to get your butt out of bed and find this special pazar!

The tomatoes seem so fresh and juicy that I could eat them like an apple. That half kilo of butter was probably just churned a few days ago.

You’ll find mounds of köy ekmeği and other village breads stuffed with spinach, other wild greens and cheese. Oh my!

Darling baskets of brown village eggs, which will be about as free-range as you can ever get!

And during the spring, you’ll find baskets and tables filled with edible, wild Turkish herbs and greens. I don’t even know what most of these greens are, but I wish I did! I did purchase a half of kilo of the alien-looking Turkish hodan (borage root), and sautéd it with garlic, onion and pul biber. From what I understand, most of these wild greens are used for filling in yummy börek.

Does anyone know what this Turkish green is?
It almost looks like tiny spring bulbs.

I believe this is Turkish hodan or borage root in English.

Just perusing my photos again makes me want to be at the Kastamonu Pazarı right now!

After you’ve had a feast for your eyes, buy some Turkish goodies such as cheese, olives, breads and dried fruits. Head across the street from the market to Sururi Park and have an impromptu picnic on the rocks by the waterfall. That’s exactly what we did!

Afiyet olsun!

How to get here:

The Kastamonu Pazarı is set up along Toprak Tabya Sokak (off of Bahriye Cad.) in Kasımpaşa. The closest bus stop is at Iplikçi Durağı, and you can try mapping out your journey here on IETT. Or simply grab a taxi from either Taksim or Karaköy. The market is only open on Sundays from 6 a.m.-4 p.m.

If you enjoyed my post, you might like these from 2 of my blogging friends in Istanbul:

Istanbul’s Very Own Black Sea Market! by Claudia of A Seasonal Cook in Turkey 

Inebolu Pazarı: Shop in Istanbul Like a Local by Olga of Delicious Istanbul

Homemade Turkish jams, pekmez and pickles at the Kastamonu Pazarı in Istanbul.

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Visiting the Ulus Pazarı in Istanbul

Once again, I found myself spending a few hours at a Turkish pazar with my friends here in Istanbul.

This time my trip coincided with a visit to the Ulus pazarı (held every Thursday) located off one of the main streets in Ortaköy, called Dereboyu Caddesi. This market also is known as the “Ulus sosyete pazarı” because of the namebrand clothing you sometimes find here. One of my longtime expat friends here told me the pazar was closed for about five years and only reopened in the last few years in this new otopark location under the first bridge.

Prior to my trip, I had emailed several friends in the area to see if they wanted to meet up for a pazar stroll and perhaps a gözleme lunch. This is the same gözleme seller that I mentioned in this post: Visiting the 4Levent Pazar in Istanbul.

I hadn’t planned to spend nearly four hours at this pazar, but I couldn’t help myself. I visited with a couple of my girlfriends over çay, then a second glass of çay, ate my spinach and cheese gözleme, strolled through the familiar sights and sounds of Istanbul and just soaked up the atmosphere. I miss this! (I am enjoying the markets in Warsaw, but they aren’t quite the same as this.)

Turks love to pickle everything! Yum!

My Turkish gözleme at the pazar. 

I also stocked up on some Turkish ingredients such as dried currants, freshly, sundried apricots from Malatya, olives, pickled veggies and more. As you stop by the different vendors, you can taste test everything and basically are encouraged to do so – a bite of beyaz peynir or tulum peynir, a couple different olives, nuts, etc. You could practically make a mini meal off just these items.

These sundried apricots from Malatya, Turkey, tasted like sunshine. So sweet and good!

Until next time, enjoy the photos from my pazar visit!

 

 

Of course, there's something for everyone at the pazar.

How to get there:

The Ulus pazarı is held every Thursday in the Ortaköy/Ulus neighborhood on Dereboyu Caddesi. See map. 

The DT1 bus from Taksim will stop nearby or the pazar is about a 15-minute walk from the shore road in Ortaköy. There’s also a free shuttle bus that leaves from the Akmerkez Mall in Etiler to the pazar.

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Visiting the 4Levent Pazar in Istanbul: Photo Post

I love outdoor markets for their vibrant colors, the tantalizing smells, the different ingredients and the local people.

In my mind, no trip to Istanbul would be complete without a visit to a local pazar (think farmer’s market meets flea market). Every neighborhood in Istanbul hosts a pazar on different days of the week. When we lived here, we would frequent the large Saturday pazar in Beşiktaş

near our apartment.

This time, since I’m not a visitor in Istanbul, I decided to go to the Tuesday 4Levent pazar because it’s conveniently located near the metro stop. This one is known as the Salı Pazar in Turkish. Every now and then, I used to meet friends here for a quick shopping excursion and perhaps lunch.

This pazar also is home to my favorite gözleme (a Turkish version of a freshly made quesadilla) seller. He also can be found cooking up hot gözleme on Thursdays at the Ulus pazar under the Bosphorus bridge. In addition, his family makes some really great dolmas you can take home for later.

Another reason I wanted to stop by this specific pazar is that there is one stall run by a Chinese family. The mother and son, I think, sell the odd, cheap bric a brac from China. I bought a few of the hand-held fans and nylon shopping bags, which are great for holding your fresh produce purchased at the pazar.

I took several photos this time so you can experience the pazar for yourself. The summertime really is the best in Turkey because the stalls are so colorful.

Afiyet olsun!

 

Directions:

Take the metro to the 4Levent stop.

Follow the exit signs for Yenilevent.

Once outside, walk past the bus stops. Turn right.

Walk about 3 blocks and then turn right again at the simit seller.

You really can’t miss the pazar, and you simply can follow all the ladies with their shopping bags and trolleys!

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Why I Still Love Istanbul & You Should Too

Having just spent a week in my beloved Istanbul, I can reassure you that it’s definitely worth visiting even right now.

Tourism in Turkey seems to have declined sharply, especially in Istanbul, since the events revolving around the Gezi Park protests started in late May. I saw signs of this stillness nearly everywhere I went on the European side. (For another first-hand account, please see this July 18 blog post by Turkish travel writer Pat Yale: Silence Falls on Sultanahmet.)

Istiklal Street at night was eerily quiet. Usually packed cafés and restaurants were half filled (if they were so lucky) with hungry people. My six girlfriends and I had the normally-packed, reservation-only Sensus Wine Bar near Galata Tower practically to ourselves.

A very quiet Istiklal Street in Istanbul.

I hung out in Taksim on last Monday afternoon and evening and for about five hours on Tuesday afternoon. No problems. I will mention there was more police presence up by the square, but that’s all I saw both days. However, on Saturday nights, Taksim is best avoided as the Turkish police still get tear gas happy. 

Here's an afternoon view of Taksim Square taken near Gezi Park, overlooking the construction.

One of my girlfriends stayed six nights at a boutique hotel near Galatasaray for only 35 euros per night compared to the normal 129 euros per night. She was told she could stay as late as she wanted when she requested a late check-out as the hotel was dead. Because there are fewer tourists, you may get an unheard of hotel rate like my friend!

Even if it is summertime and Ramazan, I have never seen Istanbul this quiet in the three years that I lived here!

An afternoon visit to the Grand Bazaar yielded the same results. My kebab guy was ecstatic to see me. “Where have you been abla?” He served us delicious portions of patlıcan soslu and aclılı ezme on the house.

Later on, I got a steal of deal on a beautiful Kurdish kilim. His friends wished him well on his sale. “Inshallah” my girlfriend heard the Turkish rug dealer say as we returned to his third-generation family store. I hadn’t planned to buy a kilim, but I couldn’t resist the deal.

I loved both of these kilims, but I chose and purchased the one on the right.

I’m saddened to see Istanbul in this state. These small shopkeepers don’t deserve this treatment that has befallen them as a result of the actions by the Turkish government. Less adventurous tourists are afraid to travel here as they see images of the Turkish police reacting haphazardly with water cannons and tear gas in the Taksim area.

I’m certainly not happy with the Turkish government and their ridiculous responses to the protesters. However, I won’t get into that rant right now.

But I do want to remind you why you should visit and love Istanbul as much as I do!

7 Reasons to Love Istanbul

Bosphorus

The changing colors of the Bosphorus is one of the many things I miss about Istanbul. The early mornings can turn the waters a hard, steel gray and then a sparkling, brilliant shade of blue or turquoise in the afternoon and even a murky black as the day wears on. Find a café and enjoy the cool sea breeze, or take a vapur ride along the Bosphorus.

A view of the Bosphorus from the Bostanci neighborhood on the Asian side of the city.

Eminönü

Regular readers know how much I love visiting this bustling neighborhood. On my first full day in Istanbul, I paid a visit to Bilge, my favorite spice girl at Ucuzcular in the Mısır Çarşısı (Spice Bazaar). This is THE place to stock up on high quality Turkish spices. I spent 150 tl on my supplies because I’m not sure when I’ll be back again yet.

Pazar

Every neighborhood in Istanbul hosts a pazar (outdoor market) on different days of the week. This visit, I stopped at the Tuesday 4Levent pazar (a 5-minute walk from the Yenilevent exit at the 4Levent metro stop). I enjoyed a cheese and spinach gözleme as a late breakfast. Going to a pazar gives you a chance to see the local color of the city.

Turkish Food

I could go on and on about the Turkish food I ate on this trip in Istanbul. I’m pretty sure I gained another kilo. How could I turn down my favorite balkaymak or künefe? There were kebabs and mezes galore! I’ll tell you more in another post.

Turkish Hospitality

Even if you aren’t a regular customer, you’re bound to get offered çay as soon as you walk into a shop. From the Spice Bazaar to the Grand Bazaar to my shoe repair guy to my Turkish towel shop, I was offered copious amounts of çay. Even if my Turkish was a little rusty, I enjoyed having conversations here. I miss the welcoming Turkish hospitality.

History

I think one of the things that’s always fascinated me about Istanbul is its long, rich and colorful history. The city is ancient compared to America where I’m from. I still love seeing the city’s historic Byzantine walls, the minarets of the Blue Mosque, the Galata Tower and cobblestone streets. These are things that make Istanbul unique and why tourists come to visit.

Friends

Most importantly, I miss all my friends in Istanbul. I have cried, laughed, lamented over Turkish, traveled, confided in and celebrated with these friends. It’s been difficult moving to a new city and starting the process of making friends all over again. I have a feeling though many of my Istanbul friends will be friends for life. Even if you are a tourist in Istanbul, don’t be surprised if make a Turkish friend or two.

I could go on and on about why I love Istanbul, but you should really see this beautiful city for yourself. The city and its shopkeepers need your support!

(For additional reading, please see this July 20 article in The Guardian: The ongoing Turkish protests have left us enlightened and emboldened.)

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