Lezzetli Yemek
Picture tells it all!
Delicious Food
A few days have gone by with thousands steps and non stop walking but no activity can burn the calories of Turkish delicious food.
People are so friendly, prices affordable in comparison to other European countries and food is simply yummy!
From the famous kebabs, to lavish ( type of bread), to mezze platters to die for, to spices and nuts as much as you can take to sweets that blow your mind.
Yes, baklava is the most famous desert but there are tens of different types of baklava. My favourite is the one where everything is made of walnuts and honey, even the actual pastry. Unbelievable!
Lokum is served with a Turkish coffee and it’s a soft sweet made back in a day for the famous Sultan Ahmed after he broke his teeth eating hard sweets.
Rahatlokum (known as Lokum or Turkish Delight) = “to comfort one’s throat” and the variety is enormous! The better ones are made with honey and the ones made with sugar are often the presents for mothers in law.
The very first ever Lokum store was opened in Istanbul in 1777 and it still runs selling the very best Lokum in the world. Did we buy any? Of course, and after trying who knows how many my pick is double pistachio and rose.
Turkish coffee is served to guests only and always with a piece of Lokum. If guests start by eating a Lokum it signals they are hungry and a host will bring food. It’s a test for guests and a little secret not many people know about.
Did you know about the famous Turkish viagra? It comes as a tea and as a desert (walnuts with honey), and it apparently works !
A few of our favorite dishes so far:
Yaprak dolma - vine leaves rolled with rice and spices filling served with yogurt Iskender kebab - local kebab (Iskender = Istanbul) Kofte - mince meat balls cooked in tomato sauce with different spices, yum!
Testi kebab / meet and veggies cooked in pottery dish that needs to be broken up before eaten Gozleme - flat savory pockets usually filled with salty white cheese, spinach or minced beef.
Pide - another type of bread
Lavish - type of bread, tin dough tiled and slammed against hot wildfire oven that looks like a big rugby ball and empty inside!
Borek - all different fillings, spinach and feta cheese is my preferred choice Simit - student street food, round sesame with cream cheese is my pick!
Manti - Turkish ravioli served with a yogurt and tomato sauce, delicious 😋
Kunefe - Kadayif traditional Ottomans desert with cheese in a middle served hot
And the list goes on….feeling hungry? Yep, we are, it’s time to try something new and then walk and walk more!
A few travel tips:
If you like wondering around the city and learning about it then Guru Walks are a great choice. They are available worldwide, free of charge and based on a donation of your choice. Run by local qualified tour guides who share a lot more information about their country, rituals, tradition and tricks and tips. Highly recommended, we have used them when travelling around South America and now again in Istanbul.
Download the Guru Walks app and off you go!
eSIM card
Thank you Petra for introducing us to this new tech invention! We are using FlexiRoamX app. So simple, no changing of SIM cards and worrying about it. Choose a plan and start Googling!
Istanbul Card
A great way to see more by using Metro, ferries, buses, anything really and a good break from constant walking.
Although Turkey became capitalist country in 1950s, it has retained a number of socialist aspects to life. An example is BELTUR - government funded restaurants in top locations serving delicious food at affordable prices.
My next blog comes soon and talks to history of this area and amazing monuments we’ve visited in this short stopover before we get to Bosnia.
Baklava
Sweet viagra!
And more Baklava
Lavish bread my favourite!
