Istanbul…Not just Turkish Delight Here

Without effort, there is no food.—Turkish proverb

Like the history of Istanbul, this post is relatively long.  I am going to talk about all of the food we ate while staying here for five days…and I like to eat good food.

At one time Istanbul was on many travel lists as the most visited city in the world.

Though it has fallen some spaces on those lists, doesn’t mean the city has changed.  People’s perceptions of the city has changed and that is unfortunate, at least from my perspective.

My wife and I were in Istanbul, not so much as tourists but as babysitters for a week.  We flew in from Munich on Pegasus Air.  We went to visit some family and be with our granddaughter. We were in parks and playgrounds and did not see many of the traditional tourist sites.  We interacted with many people in shops, markets, restaurants, parks, and playgrounds.  Of course this was based on their ability to speak some English and our inability to speak any Turkish at all.  But let me tell you the people were very friendly.

But, again, this blog is about the food I ate in Istanbul.  I would go back for the food alone, even if my granddaughter wasn’t there.

We stayed in Kadikoy, one of the boroughs of Istanbul.  It is on the Asian side. It is considered the most secular area of Istanbul and the most artsy.

We began our first full day with a trip to the markets to procure elements to assemble a take on a Turkish breakfast.  This is no light breakfast, but probably healthier than most American breakfasts.  A traditional Turkish breakfast includes cheeses, breads with jams or honey, eggs, sliced vegetables or greens, and of course…chai tea. We had most elements but did not have the eggs.

 

 

One of the local markets in Kadikoy.

The bakery was intimidating for me, since I don’t speak Turkish.  My daughter-in-law has workable Turkish language skills and she was able to navigate the crowded local bakery.  I just took pictures and enjoyed the experience.  I was able to go back to this same bakery later in the week to get some bread for  lunch.  I went on my own with my Turkish vocabulary of four words and was able to buy the bread I wanted.  The staff was really nice to me.

This is the end result of our shopping for ingredients for the Turkish breakfast.

On Mondays in one of the parks in Kadikoy, there is a pazar.  I was not prepared for the amount of food that would be on sale.  It was incredible.  I could have stayed there all day.

Beautiful olives.

The yellow plums on the right were one of the best things I ate in Istanbul.

Artichokes in water.

I believe these are mixed peppercorns.

The biggest raspberries I have ever seen.

 

One of my favorite things we did was ride the ferry over to the European side of Istanbul. You can buy some chai tea and drink on the ferry. Very nice.

At the end of the ferry ride we bought some fresh anchovy fish sandwiches right off the boat.  They were served with some sour pickles.  I loved it, my wife thought it was a little fishy for her.

Fresh anchovy fish sandwich right off the boat.

 

After touring some of the historic sites, I bought an ear of corn from one of the many street vendors.  Corn in my home of eastern Kentucky is a popular staple. You may question my desire to eat some in Istanbul, but good roasted corn is good anywhere… and Istanbul street vendors are no exception to serving good grilled corn and it is cheap and easy to get.

We had a sweet, late afternoon treat, stopping for baklava and chai tea at Karakoy Gullouglu.

 

We had an evening meal at Banadura Adana Kebapcisi. The owner was very nice and he informed us that he used only tomatoes from his native region of Turkey around Adana. He served us complimentary salads with these tomatoes.  They were so good.  Our food here was extraordinary, a very lovely meal with good, friendly service.

Salads with tomatoes from the Adana region of Turkey.

Delicious bread as a starter.

Really good Adana kebap at Banadura.

Our last afternoon, we took the ferry over to the island of Heybeliada, one of the Prince Islands of the coast of Istanbul.  It is a lovely place, reminiscent of days gone by.  We had dinner at Adaturka Kafe Restoran.  This restaurant was just ok, however I did like the fried anchovies, the kaffka, and the salad.  Unfortunately, this was my wife’s least favorite meal in Istanbul.

A row of cafes on the boat docks on Heybeliada Island.

I loved the fried anchovies at Adaturka Kafe Restoran, my wife did not.

The kofte was pretty tasty here.

Meals at home were very good. My daughter-in-law fixed delicious food for us with wonderful produce from the Istanbul markets.

I think I assembled this plate of delicacies.  So easy with good food to choose from.

 

You will be able eat very well in Istanbul, my taste buds are longing for a return.

Of course if you are looking for some Turkish Delight, I can think of no better place than Istanbul.