When you
roam the narrow, winding streets of Cukurcuma and zigzag between its many
antique stores in search of dusty Ottoman glass ware, a retro lamp or a piece
of Chinese porcelain you may very well crave for a good cup of coffee or a spicy
tea.
In that case the tiny Kiki Cay Evi – Kiki Tea House – is a most welcome
oasis with a great arm chair inside and a few tables outside on the street. The
walls are tastily decorated with an intriguing mix of coloured tea pots, a red
Swedish horse, an Indian relief carved in wood and all sorts of artefacts
originating from just about all around the world.
Somehow the female owners
have managed to arrange it so the tea house doesn’t look like a souvenir shop
in the global village, but rather a very cosy and unique café, not only by
Istanbul standards.
The Cukurcuma-district is well located between the touristy
Beyoglu-district and the Bohemian Cihangir-district, but still Kiki is likely
to remain a hidden oasis as only few people venture down this way.
Kiki Cay Evi; Faik Pasa Caddesi 30/A Cukurcuma