Karousing in Kadıköy
We arrived in Istanbul like most do now in the new Istanbul airport, completed just four years ago. Emblematic of the way Erdogan is intent on displacing Ataturk as the foremost leader in his citizen’s mind, this airport is massive on a scale that I have only seen in Dubai (the old Ataturk airport is far smaller), complete with a mall, multiple playgrounds. I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a bowling alley and a theater in there somewhere. In fact, it is reportedly the world’s largest airport. Occupying over ten square miles, its single gigantic terminal clearly announces Turkey’s ascendancy in the world.
Kadıköy - land of cute cafes
Happily, we decided to stay in Kadıköy on the Asian side, close to the main ferry terminal. The neighborhood was perfect, with its abundance of lively cafes during the day and vibrant, restaurant-filled streets at night. It’s mainly geared toward locals, for example, with it’s early morning food mongers walking the streets, shouting aggressive praise of their wares like bread or simit (bagels). The food is more traditional and varied, food markets plentiful, and the prices budget friendly.
In exploring the neighborhood, we found all manner of random things, from stores with all things pickled, to walls of garlic and shout outs to Rick and Morty, to umbrella streets, to a Menemen so good it called all the cops to the yard, even the swat team.
Perhaps the most surprising thing we found was this statue on a sidewalk
In the cage is what looks like a boy with a soccer ball. Is it a statement on gender? Is it dredlocked hippie side of a person trying to open the cage of his authoritarian side to let out the boy who just wants to play — a statement on rigidity of society? Who knows.
But the art wasn’t limited to an occasional sculpture. We didn’t notice this in Sultanahmet on the European side, but Kadıköy is littered with these spectacular building-sized murals
As the Ottoman empire had a long tradition of coffee (it was its conduit to Europe from Africa), we found a number of great coffee establishments, not limited to espresso. In fact, In their love of whiling away time while smoking at a cafe the Turks seem to rival the French.
Of these, Story Coffee & Roastery stood out, where for about $2 you could pick from a dozen different beans for your pour-over, and it was delicious!
If you have been reading this blog for a while, you know there’s talk of food coming. And boy, was it grand. Like on the European side there is a lot of traditional fare, kabobs and the like, but we also happened upon two jewels —
Küff Yeldeğirmeni
There are a lot of places serving Turkish breakfast (naturally), we even found a decent one in Sultanahmet on the European side, but this one was just Grand. For $20, not only can you fully feed 3-4 people, but the dishes - the tahini yogurt, the butter almost as sweet as the honey it’s in, the glorious cheeses, various veggie spreads, and the “donuts”! They also serve a mean coffee.
Çiya Sofrası
Lokantasi refers to a cafeteria style, homey type of restaurant. Although there are upscale lokantasi, you cannot go wrong with Ciya. They have both a “supervised” buffet, where you can point to dishes, and menu for a la cart orders. Many of these dishes you have never heard of, but they were delicious. Mouth watering kebab and cheese wrap, tabouli0-like salads with extra greens, the flavors come on strong but gallant. The lamb with quince was excellent, but most unusual was the dessert menu. I was on the verge of a reality tv-style melt down, from which Masha barely talked me down
Coda: I never saw them again 😞
Coming out of Çiya on our last night in Kadıköy, we dove into a city electrified, figuratively and literally
This part of Kadıköy is all about the nightlife. Regrettably, I only got to visit one cocktail establishment — Fahri Konsolos (on a different day). With colorful decor and daring presentation, it draws on quite a different range of ingredients
But while atmospheric and innovative, it’s more of a locals place, not where tourists come to chat with the bartender. So my favorite part of the night was actually when, walking back, I called a friend and we swapped stories of our respective travels, the challenges of moving around. When travelling continuously like we are doing, the constant stream of new experiences, rather than being a distraction, actually makes one long for more interaction with those back home. The time differences don’t help, as we are now literally on the other side of the world, 12 hours off from California.
Visiting Balat and Fener
One of our days in Kadıköy, we took the (super quick 15 minute) ferry to the European side to explore the colorful neighborhoods of Balat and Fener. They are usually said together because they are not just next to each other, but largely overlap (Balat is mostly a subset of Fener). Apparently famous for its colorful houses and attractive streets, you can do it justice in a few hours
It is best enjoyed with a stop at one of it’s cafes or restaurants, such as our lunch stop of Forno, which featured delicious Turkish pizzas, excellent desserts, and very friendly service
On our way back from Balat (we took the bus for the first time), I did a poor job of tracking progress of the bus on google map, and we got off too early. The silver lining was serendipitously finding hookah bar with chess and backgammon, so we indulged in these classic Turkish pastimes (when in Rome?) — apparently supplied by a folk Russian villain
Ok, Istanbul, don’t take this the wrong way, but why are you also obsessed with the same track of 10 90s remixes that inundated all Sarande cafes? Granted, there is a little more variety here, but I still keep hearing them all over. Leave Da ba dee da ba di alone!
Visiting the European side
Serendipity struck again, as we randomly overlapped in Turkey for a day with friends we made back in Slovenia. With them, we first walked Galata bridge (which connects the two European parts of the city) and is composed almost entirely of restaurants (on the bottom floor) and people catching tiny fish (from the top floor).
We never established why so many people (at least 2 per meter of bridge the entire span) spend so much time to catch exclusively tiny (<6 inch) fish, but it gave lots of fodder for conversation.
As the sun goes down, you get a progression of impressive views of the Yeni Cami Mosque, right across from the bridge
And across from both of them, you’ll find the Spice Bazaar. It’s pretty similar in spirit to the Grand Bazaar, if smaller in scale
But although they look opulent and tempting at first glance (that’s a lot of saffron in the jars!), the heaping pots of spices, tea, and fruit are pretty much the same shop to shop, so you quickly saturate … Also — the fact that all this goodness is exposed to the elements doesn’t seem to concern anyone. Although I never saw anyone buy tea or spice, but with the nuts at least, they would load you up straight from those bins (so presumably the same is true of tea and spice). Never mind the oxidation, do you really want to brew tea or sprinkle cinnamon that people have been breathing and sneezing on for days on end?
Topkapi Palace
After five days in Kadikoy, we moved over to Sultanahmet, on the European side of the city, to join our friends who were flying in to meet us there. But before they drove in from the airport, we managed to squeeze in a quick tour of the Ottoman Topkapi palace.
Topkapi was the constructed by Sultan Mehmed II, the Ottoman conqueror of Constantinople in 15th century , and remained the primary palace of Ottoman Sultans until the 19th century
In a superficial sense, it is comparable to European imperial palaces. Like them, it is quite massive
There’s similar ornamentation of buildings and, of course, the necessary massive facilities for the business of life — Henry VIII’s massive kitchens have nothing on Topkapi
But there is a major difference in how the imperial families chose to spend their wealth and decorate their palaces. Whereas in Europe, any such palace is today automatically an art museum, Topkapi’s decorations are largely limited to the chambers themselves
Our guide explaining how the Sultan’s ministers would meet with the vizier in this room
The Sulltan also invested in a luxurious library, where the chosen could study preeminent texts
But most of the wealth seems to have gone into jewelry and gem stones — raw, cut, or stuck onto everything imaginable, from a dagger to the most bejeweled bassinet in history
The palace also sports a great view of the Bosphorus for aesthetic, but primarily military reasons
As a tourist site, I would place it behind the two primary mosques in Istanbul, but If you have time, it is definitely worth a visit. We hired the guide for an abbreviated tour (just over an hour because the palace was closing), which was the right call. It was good to get a bit of history and context that we wouldn’t otherwise (more than with an audio guide), but a full-blown tour would probably have been too much.
And now — this: Cats
Turkey, and Istanbul in particular, is in love with cats. People may think they own things — chairs, motorcycles, SWAT cars — but it’s all cats’, and they are not shy about it
And just when you think you’re free of their icy glare, they’re coming for you!
Staying in this central yet less touristy zone turned out to be a really great experience. From the stunning murals, cute cafes, delicious food, and curious cats, down to Masha’s hours-long chat with her hair stylist via google translate, this part of Istanbul has warmth and spirit bursting from every nook and cranny. Only friends waiting for us on the European side could have made us leave.
