Istanbul’dan Merhabalar; Greetings from Istanbul;
I am in this fascinating city for a few days, and wanted to share a few favorite photos with you all- spring’s in the air in Istanbul!
Bosphorus, Ortakoy – Istanbul; one of my favorite parts of the city
Time flies when you’re in a city that makes your heart beat fast I guess, and that is Istanbul for me. Here is Bosphorus, Ortakoy, one of my favorite parts of the city and it’s buzzing with boats big and small. Air is crisp and that beautiful water strait fills my heart with happiness.
Turkish tea, cay on offer, what a warm welcome!
Turkish tea, cay, is the nation’s most popular drink and on offer anytime. Here is Turkish hospitality at its best; cay, Turkish tea welcomes us in the morning with a warm smile – I miss this greatly and savour every sip.
Turkish breakfast; I can eat all these all day.
That leisurely Turkish breakfast is my favorite meal of the day; sigara boregi; the filo rolls with cheese & parsley; sliced cucumbers, tomatoes, simit; sesame-encrusted bread rings, olives, cheese, honey and eggs done different ways; all music to my ears. I did have this feast every day 
Kisir; spicy bulgur wheat salad with pomegranate molasses; so delicious and wholesome
Turkish families are close knit and all gatherings center around food; we had more than our fair share of delicious pasties and this spicy bulgur wheat salad with pomegranate molasses, kisir. My aunt’s version was especially so moreish with the home made pomegranate molasses.
Simit, little pizzas with olive & cheese make a delicious Turkish breakfast
I also completely lost for words at Simit Molasi at Besiktas; simit with various fillings, little pizzas with olive & cheese, tray bake filo pastry with cheese & parsley, tepsi boregi.. so irresistable!
Loved these cookies with apple and walnuts filling!
Turkish cuisine heavily rely on seasonal, fresh produce. I greatly miss the pazar, farmer markets – love Besiktas pazari in Istanbul and any pazar I can manage to visit; the vibrant seasonal produce is a feast to all senses.
Besiktas Pazari, Besiktas Farmers Market in Istanbul
Managed to get some wonderful dried peppers, aubergine for my Turkish cookery class at the Istanbul Culinary Institute ; always fun to talk about them, they’re also packed with flavor.
Dried eggplants (aubergine) and peppers
It was wonderful to meet one of my favorite bloggers from Turkey; The Senior Dogs Abroad in Istanbul. Always keen to discover local spots, we had a delightful coffee at the very atmospheric Heirloom Cafe in Cihangir, thanks to them. The cafe supports local producers and the coffee just hit the spot, highly recommended.
Delighted to meet Mark & Jolee from the brilliant blog Senior Dogs Abroad
We had a day out with my 10 year old son and went to Sultanahmet – visiting Hagia Sophia was the highlight of the trip. My son was fascinated with its history, magnitude and how it welcomes us all, such a special sight. It was also wonderful to see Hagia Sophia from his perspective; here is my son’s shot of Hagia Sophia:
Hagia Sophia, Istanbul – from my son’s camera
Now it’s time for our Turkish cookery class at the Istanbul Culinary Institute! 10 wonderful, enthusiastic food lovers got together, and we had a delicious and fun packed Turkish cooking class. In less than 2 hours, we cooked a 4 course delicious meal together, then sit down & enjoyed them all. Turkish cuisine is really wholesome, delicious, easy to cook and fun to share; loved seeing the happy faces and hearing the class inspired them. I was delighted to have Claudia from the delicious blog A Seasonal Cook in Turkey and Jolee from the wonderful blog Senior Dogs Abroad, my dear sister and wonderful folks who brilliantly prepared the dishes, with lots of smiles!:)
Delighted to have Jolee, Claudia and wonderful food lovers at the class
Cooking and enjoying Turkish cuisine together – it is a lot of fun
Brilliant cooks making the Revani
- Wonderful team work and knocking up delicious dishes together in no time, with lots of smiles:)
The refreshing, and so easy crumbled feta salad with cumin, oregano and sumac was the star of the class. So easy, yet packed with flavor; the spices just transform the humble feta; here is the recipe if you’d like to have a go.
The refreshing crumbled feta salad with spices was the star of the class
Revani, the delicious semolina sponge cake in light syrup was another hit; ready in 30 minutes and gone within minutes!
It really is a light dessert with yoghurt, grainy semolina and olive oil in it; here is my Revani recipe, if you’d like to try out.
- Revani, a deliciously fragrant & light semolina sponge cake
Now time to sit down and enjoy the fruits of our work together, a well deserved Elinize Saglik ! (meaning “Thanks & health to your hands for making this wonderful food”)
Time to sit & enjoy the wonderful food we cooked together
Our last few days in this fascinating city of Istanbul and the Bosphorus calling me again. This beautiful water strait connects the Asian and European sides of the city, and it really is a source of life. Boats buzzing both sides to transport passengers, little fishing boats catch the fish of the day, folks stroll along to enjoy the view. I can do this everyday happily. This time we stopped by Rumeli Hisari, for breakfast and cay; wheather has been very kind and we enjoyed sitting outside at the lovely spot Sade Kahve.
Sade Kahve, Rumeli Hisari; a lovely spot for tea, coffee, breakfast
Freshly squeezed orange and pomegranate juice at Sade Kahve, delicious
Never a bad time for cup of tea, bir bardak cay; this time at Sade Kahve
Pide, Turkish flat breads with various toppings, was another hit with us; a favorite for the whole family. This time I tried pide with cheese and pastrami, dried cured beef with a spicy coating. A delicious treat and I look forward to recreating it. I made pide with cheese, vegetables and ground meat filling; they’re delicious, easy to make and fun to share. Here is my pide, Turkish flat breads recipe with cheese, vegetables as well as ground meat topping, if you’d like to try out.
Pide, Turkish flat bread with cheese and Turkish pastrami, pastirma – dried cured beef
- Boats along the Bosphorus, Istanbul – a boat tour is very rewarding to appreciate ancient and modern city
It’s been a spring like few days in Istanbul – boats buzzing to both sides at the Bosphorus strait; a boat tour along the Bosphorus gives you a chance to appreciate both side of the city, ancient and modern, just breathtaking. Time to go out now and enjoy the last few hours left in Istanbul.
Until next time, yakinda yeniden gorusmek uzere,
Ozlem