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Published: August 24th 2014
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On the bus to Ankara 4pm August 24 2014
After two days in Istanbul I was wondering what I would write in this blog. I was thinking I would not have anything interesting to say about Istanbul:
It is an international city of 17 million with stellar sites where you need to navigate around the cruise ship guided groups. We had 'done' the Blue Mosque which is fantastic. We had been educated by a young mosque guide and a visiting Muslim family from Nottingham at the Suleymaniye Mosque which I think is even better. The Grand Bazaar was the world's first shopping mall and is a fun place to haggle. The Basilica cistern is an unbelievable piece of engineering and second hand Roman column use. The Hagia Sofia is one of the world's great buildings with its dominant position on the edge of the old city........many of you know all this as the city is an increasingly popular destination. Or at least many of you have been here or can read the Lonely Planet guidebooks as we have.
On our third day we had splashed out on a food tour of Beyoglu
with Curious Backstreets/Istanbul Eats (www.istanbuleats.com). We met Katrina, an Istanbullus of Greek and Russian decent with some Armenian roots thrown into the mix, outside a kebab house where she had already rounded up Australian and Canadian couples.
Our first stop was a typical breakfast joint and we started with the staples; boil eggs, tomatoes, cucumber, small omelettes, cream and honey and of course, cay. The word for breakfast in Turkish translated literally means 'before coffee'. We were then treated to the old Bysantine sweet, Tavuk Gogsu. It was lovely and creamy with a soft aroma of cinnamon, like a smooth rice pudding although slightly stringier. None of us guessed the main ingredient was chicken breast. A great dish to dispel predijices early in the tour.
We were invited in to the kitchens with the lunch dishes cooking away on low level gas burners. The owner was assembling a donor with alternate layers of thinly sliced beef and rounds of minced lamb and beef. One chef was de-stalking okra just as I had seen an old lady doing it opposite the Bixim Cafe in Safranbolu: not hacking off the stalk but carefully carving it off
to leave a neat protruding cone, so it looks longer and holds in the juices we were told.
We wandered from shop to shop tasting cheese and meat pastries, different varieties of figs, rice stuffed mussels, pickles, kebabs and superb cured tuna and home smoked salmon. Katrina took us to a 'Black Sea' restaurant, based on Laz minority traditions, which really wetted our appetite for when we will visit this area before we move into Georgia. There were beans, anchovies and rice and stuff 'black' cabbage. They served a melted cheese a bit like cheese fondue.
What next? So I asked about the local tripe soup! The best shop is Istanbul was just round the corner. The other members of the tour were not so sure. To be fair I found it nothing special, a bit bland and only saved by chilli and garlic added to enhance the flavour.
"How about sheep's head?" said Katrina. Now you're talking! I had seen them for sale and could not see what meat you could get off them. Eating pigs head in the form of brawn ('head cheese' for our US friends) is an
old Troke tradition. Paolo had introduced me to calf's brains (and other bits) in fancy restaurants in Turin. Sheep's head was new territory.
"How do you cook it?", I asked.
"Either roasted or boiled", replied Katrina. "We can try roasted."
"Yes please!" I said.
At this point there were muttering from the others about 'mad Englishmen' and avoiding tours they were on.
And what a performance it turned out to be. The shop owner got a baked head from the oven. He removed the scalp with a small cleaver and took out the brain which he sliced and arranged around the edge of the plate. Next there was a light chop above the nose so he could extract the eyes and dissect out the edible bits. (I am not sure which bits these are!) These went next to the brain slices on the plate. He sliced the cheeks off the jaws and finally deskinned the tongue to be left with a small plate full of meat. It was impressive how much meat there was and how quickly and expertly he had prepared it. Slowly but surely we got each member of the group
(with the exception of the vegetarian!) to try it. All agreed it was tasty. This was the first tour, and probably the last, where sheep's head was on the menu. It made my day.
In between stops Katrina had taken us to Greek Orthodox and Armenian churches. These provided an interesting contrast to the mosques and other Orthodox churches we have seen in Eastern Europe. It also emphasised the similarities. It is easy to see why an Orthodox church like the Hagia Sofia can be converted into a mosque. There are far more similarities than differences between these traditional Judean faiths.
Katrina was also well positioned to tell us about the history of her genealogical minorities. How only sixty years ago Istanbul had been a city of one million people of which the majority were Greeks, Armenians and Jews. How the Greek population had fallen from 100,000 at that time to 2,000 today and still managed to support 70 churches. Her grandfather had been in the Tzar's army defeated by the Bolsheviks, a White Russian, and had settled in Istanbul in the 20's. It helped explain why, on the following day, we saw Trostsky's
house on Buyukada island, where he lived first after falling out with Stalin.
We then moved on to dessert: baklava made the traditional Turkish way with lemon, sugar and water and not honey as the Greeks do; lokum (Turkish delight) with classic flavours of pistachio, hazelnut, rose water and mastic (a tree gum extract from an Aegean Island).
It all finished in the coffee house after six and half hours of chatting, walking, eating and above all learning about this incredible city.
We wanted to do a boat trip. Touts will sell you one for 75 euros, excursion companies for 35 TL (12 euros). We opted for a 90 minute ferry to the Prince's Islands in the Sea of Marmara close to Istanbul for 4TL each way. It showed you the full extent of the city away from the old centre. The islands are popular weekend destinations and we had plenty of local company. We decided to rent bikes and cycle round the main island, Buyukada. There are no cars and lots of carriages pulled by pairs of skinny nags. It was a pleasant if sweltering ride especially when one got
away from the horses in the south west of the island and in particular the stable ghetto on the south shore. All the beach areas were crowded and private, asking 20 to 30 TL per person. We found what looked like a state park on a small peninsula on the west side were they wanted 4.5TL and provided picnic tables and a few access points to the sea amongst the pines.
It was a bit treachous climbing down to the sea and was cooling in the heat of the day. As I swam out from the rocks I realised I was swimming over mussel beds and so filled a bag. They made an excellent starter when we got back to the flat that evening after a sunset lit voyage on the way home.
So Istanbul has proved in my eyes that everywhere has something special. It is just a questions of looking in the right places with a spirit of adventure and you will be rewarded. I don't think those Canadians and Aussies will forget their food tour. We certainly won't.
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