Friends, we’re leaving Istanbul soon, so we thought we’d give you a list of our Turkish Top 20.
- Cats. (Surprise! You thought we were going to say food, didn’t you?) They are everywhere and they are so much fun to watch! Laurel spent most of a week peeping at kittens who made a home on a nearby roof.
- Figs, to be seen everywhere for most of October and then, gone… we ate a bunch but wish we’d eaten more…
- Water: we love being near water, and Istanbul is on a peninsula so there’s water in most directions. Like all great cities, Istanbul is built on seven hills, and we regularly find ourselves catching glimpses of the sea from various unexpected heights.
- Fish bread, the world’s best cheap lunch, available on the south side of the Golden Horn. Worth the onion-breath!
- Turkish hospitality: we have been welcomed with open arms into grubby coffee shops, rug shops, fancy restaurants, department stores, tourist attractions, hotels, and even a hardware store. And, despite our crappy Turkish, people have gone out of their way to be kind to us.
- Eggplants. We have a lot to say about them. The short version is they’re really great!
- Princes’ Islands: a short ferry ride from Istanbul, but a world away. Most of the islands don’t allow motorised transport, and out of season they are blissfully quiet and blissfully underpopulated!
- The way every ten minutes of walking finds you in a different neighbourhood, usually with a completely different vibe. Two favourites, here and here.
- Simit: John
coulddoes eat nearly these every single day. He loves their texture and their lavish use of sesame seeds. Not to mention what you can put on them: soft cheeses, hazelnut spread, jams of a wide variety… - Costs: We live like kings here! (Or maybe sultans and sultanas.) We appreciate this especially after living in Scandinavia; it’s been lovely to eat in restaurants without paying any attention to the prices. We don’t buy much besides food, but if we did, we’d like the prices of everything else too!
- Turkish tea: less a beverage than a way of life. We suspect it might run through the veins of the Turks, but it would be too messy to find out. We drink at least two cups a day but everyone else drinks ten.
- Eating outside: Istanbullus like dining al fresco, and so do we! Even when it is a bit cold: there are lots of space heaters and blankets, so it’s usually very comfortable.
- Hopping from one continent to another – how many other places can you stay in one city but go from Europe to Asia? Literally none!
- Meze meals: our favourite way to eat, with lots of variety, lots of fish and veggies and cheese, and lots of bread.
- Bookstores: We love hanging out in coffee shops, and the ones with bookstores attached are the very best! Istanbul has a number of fantastic ones, and we’ve really enjoyed them.
- Turkish breakfast: Who doesn’t love eating breakfast all day long?
- Pera Palace Hotel: a blessed refuge when the 21st century becomes just too much for us.
- Manti: called Turkish ravioli but rather different and entirely scrumptious!
- The mosques of Mimar Sinan: they make us feel like we can fly.
- The amazing public transportation system, even if it is a little crowded from time to time (i.e., literally always, day or night). And even if it doesn’t actually take you to the airport (yet). For well under a dollar, you can’t beat it.
