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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Sweet, Tangy “Salatalık Turşusu”

Not wanting to come home to a fridge drawer full of rotting vegetables, I made pickled cucumbers or salatalık turşusu before we left for the bayram.

In Turkey, Turks seem to love pickled vegetables. They serve them on the side as a condiment with  gözleme at my favorite pazar. There are even stores that sell nothing but pickled - well, everything! I like pickles, but I'm much more of a sweets kind-of person.

The pickle recipe I made is based more off a Thai cucumber salad, which often accompanies spring rolls or barbecued foods. We sometimes eat these cucumbers with noodle or stir-fry dishes at home.

I used a leftover large tomato paste jar and placed the finished salatalık turşusu in the fridge for later. The pickles easily keep for several weeks.

While the recipe isn’t Turkish, I did use mainly Turkish ingredients. Hope you enjoy!

Afiyet Olsun!

Sweet, Tangy Salatalık Turşusu

Ingredients:
500 grams (about 1 lb.) cucumbers (Be sure to use a pickling variety.)
240 ml. (1 c.) water
240 ml. (1 c.) sugar
240 ml. (1 c.) rice wine vinegar or elma sirkesi (I’ve bought my rice vinegar from Real and Şütte, but the elma sirkesi works just as well.)
pinch salt
Optional:
1 ½ tsp. pul biber or crushed red pepper flakes
1-2 stalks lemongrass, smashed and chopped into ½-inch pieces

1. First, wash and slice the cucumbers into thin slices. Set aside.
2. In a medium-sized pot, add the water, sugar, vinegar, salt and, if using, the red pepper flakes and lemongrass.
3. Bring this mixture to a boil, making sure the sugar is dissolved.
4. Let the mixture steep until room temperature and then strain. Place the cucumbers in a jar. Pour the liquid over the cucumbers, chill and serve.
Note: you will probably end up with more liquid than you need. If so, you can always save it to pickle something else.

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In a Pickle

So I was wandering around Kadikoy this afternoon, and I stumbled upon this shop - a turşulari (a pickle shop.) And I don't mean just plain pickled cucumbers like in the US. This store had hot and sweet peppers, cauliflower, carrots, onions, cabbage, beets and more. Everything was pickled!

Elsewhere in Istanbul, you can find similar shops like this one filled with colorful jars or open bins filled with preserved veggies. It's worth a stop if you happen to run across one.

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