Adventureist

A CURTAIN OF PLASTIC LINES FROM THE GALATA BRIDGE

Martin Selsoe — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 12:00:00 GMT

Last Sunday, I felt like having fish at one of the restaurants under the Galata Bridge and strolled down the cobble stoned Yuksek Kaldirim onto the Karaköy pier. It was a crisp and beautiful afternoon and the sun shone gleefully on the turquoise waters of the Golden Horn. I love to stand just before the foot of the bridge to listen to the clink and rustle of thousands of reels released from atop the bridge by the weekend fishers of Galata.

Photo: Birasuegi

Fishing on the Galata bridge seem to be a men only affair, so Galata fishers, unlike their counterparts in Emirgan or Istinye who park their station wagons by the water, set up a barbeque and play cards while their rods rest against a fold up chair, reaffirm their fraternity by jigging their bait in perfect harmony.

The customers of the Galata bridge fish restaurants stare at the curtain of plastic lines wondering when the band of fishermen will applaud and jeer another successful catch. So, I sat down over beer and grilled fish in Galatea Restaurant and joined the group of ’watchers’.

Just as I had taken my first bite, the waiter who served me and his friend, with a mischievous grin, jerked down one of the lines hanging from the bridge. The line bounced off his hands and got tangled in someone else’s line. Instantly, from upstairs a man yelled. Both waiters broke into a cheeky giggle and the restaurant staff and managers joined in the rumble.

Photo: Urbanlegend

It was interesting to witness the two waiters’ fascination with the sea and the fraternal awe shared by all the frequenters of the Galata bridge; these men of whom many have come to Istanbul from remote parts of Turkey, where they have grown up without ever hearing the seagulls sing in tune to the ferryboats baritone horn. Once there, the dark, mystical bosom of the Bosphorus that is the Golden Horn has lured these men to its banks and bridges.

ISTANBUL'S PROUDEST BELLY DANCERS

Martin Selsoe — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 22:59:00 GMT

To many Turks belly dancing is seen as a kind of striptease and thus not something for decent people to attend to. That’s probably why it’s mainly served to tourists when they flock the crowded restaurants in Istanbul’s Kumkapi-district or at so called ’oriental shows’ designed to give visitors a glimpse of Anatolia’s variety of cultures. That said, almost all Turkish women know how to do the belly dance, but they generally prefer to do so with out dressing up in a glittery bikini.

Should you wish to see really good belly dancers who seem to enjoy what they do (that is not always the case in Kumkapi) you would want to get your self a table at Al Jamal in Istanbul’s Macka-district.

The food is top notch Lebanese mezze, the décor is outrageously decadent and the belly dancers are the perfect fulfilment of any visitor’s dream of the Orient. Feel free to stuff your bank notes any where in their dresses and feel free to join the dancing at any time.

With a ’drinks included set menu’ this won’t be your cheapest night out in Istanbul, but it could be one of the best.

AL JAMAL; Taşkişla Cad. No: 13; Maçka Demokrasi Parkı Ici.

A BASEMENT BARGAIN

Martin Selsoe — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 11:53:00 GMT

I had never heard of or seen Retro until my younger sister came to visit. Tucked away in a basement down an almost deserted passage it sure doesn’t scare anyone off by aggressive marketing. Three model figures dressed in true retro gear and a couple of the shop’s bags pose at the entrance in Istanbul’s Beyoglu district. That’s all the advertising the shop has and that’s why I didn’t take any notice for months.

This cave of hidden fashion treasures sits down well below street level without any windows and sports thousands of hangers tightly packed with fabulous dresses, skimpy t-shirts, well worn trousers, loads of shoes, feathers, pearls and glasses all kept in a myriad of small and large rooms. The costumers are a mixture of people who wants fancy clothing at a low price, others who want retro stuff to combine with their new designer ware and professionals looking for just the right dress for their play or movie. It’s all there, just waiting for someone to come and dig it out.

Retro is also happy to serve a cup of tea in one of their couches, well placed in the midst of it all.

RETRO, Istiklal Caddesi, Suriye Pasaji 166/c, Beyoglu, Istanbul. It’s between Odakule and Tünel Square, next to Sultanahmet Köftecisi.

TARLABASI WILL OUTLIVE US ALL

Martin Selsoe — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 21:49:00 GMT

This rumbustious city is an incredibly attractive spot for internal and external migrants who, upon entry into Istanbul, are engulfed by its rundown shantytowns and ghettos.

Tarlabasi, a shantytown located in the heart of Istanbul just a few minutes walk from Taksim Square, is considered to be a no-go area among many Istanbullus and tourists alike because it is believed to house the most discontent of the migrant communities in Istanbul.

It’s amusing to watch many a backpacker dive randomly from Tarlabasi Avenue into one of the side streets only to come out looking petrified minutes later. I, on the other hand, consider myself a local in Istanbul and I confidently venture into the core of Tarlabasi, passing smiles and nods at voluptuous Roma women perched on the sidewalk washing the sooth off their carpets into the street and at dozens of loquacious youths playing football.

Although the ethnic composition of each wave of migration that Tarlabasi received since the 1990s is disputed, the prevalence of Kurdish and Roma residents is quite obvious. Passing by barbershops and bakkals, small grocery stores selling mostly outdated goods, I also hear what I assume to be Nigerian and Arabic blending into the beat of the Arabesque music whizzing out of the butchers.

In fact, this dainty and piquant neighborhood in the Beyoglu district is traditionally home to Istanbul’s Greek Orthodox community and has for long been a proud, affluent area known for its beautiful apartments, breezy alleys, and the city’s largest Syriac church.

I usually stop in front of large, ornate buildings to read the engravings over the gate or on the façade. Most buildings are dated around 1800s and look tired, grim and hung-over.

There and then I wonder: Is Tarlabasi, once a lively, throbbing neighborhood accommodating Greeks, Armenians, Syriacs, and Muslims, now nearing its poor and destitute death? Then again, I gaze at the jazzy collection of wigs, boas, and funky underwear lining the windows of Tarlabasi Avenue shops, and listen to the jeer of countless children playing hopscotch on its streets and think: “Tarlabasi will outlive us all”.

TAKE A WALK DOWN MEMORY LANE IN BÜYÜK LONDRA OTEL

Martin Selsoe — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 12:32:00 GMT

My best advice to visitors looking for a hotel in Istanbul is to avoid Sultanahmet. The historic peninsula is a must in terms of sight seeing, but a disaster when it comes to restaurants and nightlife. Only tourists go there, and the food in the restaurants reflects what they think tourists want instead of what Turkey really has to offer.

Visitors are much better off by staying in Beyoglu, where the Turks go out and where the best of the night life and many of the city’s best restaurants are located. One recommended hotel is the Büyük Londra Otel with reminiscence of Istanbul’s Pera area as it was one hundred years ago.

The hotel maintains an elegant décor that must have suited very well the travellers arriving with the Orient Express. Today hotel’s pretty run down, but its location and views over the Golden Horn are well worth to consider.

The roof top bar has a splendid view and has become a favourite meeting point of Istanbul’s young and younger artists whenever they have something or somebody to celebrate.

BÜYÜK LONDRA OTEL, Mesrutiyet Caddesi 117, Beyoglu, Istanbul

Go further: Find more hotels in Istanbul here and read more about the city's many rooftop bars here.

THE ROMANTIC IDEAL OF ISTANBUL

Martin Selsoe — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 13:39:00 GMT

I found a place in Istanbul that perfectly resembles the allegedly-wilting generation of white, secular Turk, whose gaze is affixed on the West and whose heart is set on finding a new, luminiscent country out of the ashes of the Ottoman empire: Moda.

The teahouse

The name of this waterside town on Istanbul’s Asian side translates directly as 'fashion' – perhaps a cheeky reference to the days when Moda was unquestionably fashionable. Between mid-fifties and late seventies, come summertime, the Istanbullus would move to their summer houses in Moda, to join the Armenian and Greek residents of the town, and fill up the beach cafes. The night scene would enliven and young men and women would frolick around the waterbend, mimicking Farrow and Redford in The Great Gatsby.

Today, only a few of the beautiful houses by the water remain but the small, gridlined streets covered almost entirely by oak, pine and chestnut trees and the magnificient Moda pier, now converted into a piquant teahouse, are still intact.

Moda Deniz Kulübü

In the belly of the crescent that Moda is lies a private tennis club. Its middle-aged regulars with their matching tennis clothes have remained loyal to their oldies role models. Past the tennis club comes Moda Deniz Kulübü, another members-only venue with a terrific view of the sea, traditionally hosting Rotary Club charity nights or Lions Club high teas.

Wardrobe in restaurant Moda Park Lokantasi

A modest walk up from the Moda Deniz Klubu takes me over to a street filled with Greek taverns and ’gazinos’, restaurants that feature live music. Some of them look decent while others seem slightly more run down.

Nostalgic tram in Moda

To its residents, Moda must be a diamond in the rough – a safe haven from the impending city that Istanbul has become. Based on a romantic ideal of Turkey modeled on ’the West’, they shaped their surroundings to accommodate what in their view constitutes a ’Western lifestyle’: Tennis on Sundays, a walk in the park with children and a stop at Ali Usta’s famous ice-cream parlour, followed by dinner and a few drinks at a Greek tavern. And to a ’Westerner’, Moda is a nice break from the hussle of the old Istanbul.

THE SOURCE OF ARTIST INSPIRATION

Martin Selsoe — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 09:06:00 GMT

Offering a handsome brunch over jazz in its prime garden on Sundays, Sakıp Sabancı Museum (SSM) stands out as a museum with a twist. Like most contemporary museums of art in Istanbul, SSM is supported by the Sabancı family, a regular of the Fortune 500 listings.

As the famous Atlı Kösk (Horse Mansion), housing two horse sculptures from as early as 1200s, was converted into the SSM after Hacı Ömer Sabancı’s death, the family’s collection of calligraphy and paintings have been transferred to the permanent collection.

I have visited SSM several times and found its permanent and temporary collections quite modest. Just upon leaving SSM, the breathtaking view of the Bosphorus from Emirgan, one of Istanbul’s oldest towns – a view depicted restlessly by the countless artists resting in SSM only a breath away from their muse – strikes its visitors.

After a tour of the museum, I have made a habit of walking over to Emirgan bazaar just around the corner. Walking past the Emirgan café, whose pergola has kept many an aspiring poet out of the sun, I always browse through their embarrassingly large display of puddings, desserts and borek.

Then, I pay the green grocer a visit and tell him unabashedly how fresh his produce looks. Amused and cheerful, he jokes around with the fish monger, whose ’fresh’ fish look more mortal than their counterparts in the still life paintings in SSM. During winters, chestnut vendors and bagel sellers seek refuge in the cosy warmth of the Emirgan bazaar while in the summer, the area is flooded with amateur fishermen, children with baloons and young mothers taking their buggies out for a bit of fresh Bosphorus air.

In Emirgan, one can smell, breathe and almost touch nostalgia. And, for a dose of nostalgia on canvases that you absolutely must not touch, SSM, with its luxurious summer brunches, its marbled floors and its five-star Changa restaurant is worth visiting.

SAKIP SABANCI MUSEUM; Sakıp Sabancı Cad. No:42, Emirgan 34467, Istanbul

THIS IS NOT WHAT I ORDERED

Martin Selsoe — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 21:52:00 GMT

How does a small, modest establishment survive amidst a string of luxurious waterside mansions, several state-of-the-art shops of international coffee retailers and expensive fish restaurants? The answer is simple really: With its staff of five jumpy waiters, a boisterous and jovial cook, and a pleasant smell of fresh ground Turkish coffee oozing out of small, uneven, wooden windows, Emek Kahve defeats capitalism in one quick blow.

Located beautifully by the Yeniköy pier on the northern part of the Bosporus, the front part of coffee house hosts bands of local shopkeepers, cabbies, grocers and unemployed men, who perch on their chairs all day playing cards and sipping tea. Out in the back of the coffee house, though, lies a more fascinating and quite obscure dining hall, which initially seems to be merely an extension of the kitchen.

One must follow the smell of eggs scrambled in butter to figure out that this dining hall stretches out towards the waterfront and can seat 40 people on its old, wooden benches under a cascade of vine leaves. Sorry Starbucks!

I usually go there on a weekday morning and after securing a nice chair by the water, I order the menemen, an authentic egg dish, dunk some crisp white bread in its juice and wash it down with some freshly brewed Turkish tea.

As I unroll my newspaper, I listen to the sound of the leaves bristling overhead- only to be interrupted by the giggle of one of the older waiters of Emek. I don’t know if he enjoys picking on regulars but he almost always attempts to play tricks on me.

Once, after acknowledging that I am annoyingly picky about which ingredients I wanted in my menemen and yet unbearably hungry, he brought before me an omelette containing a huge chunk of sucuk, a spicy Turkish sausage. Confused, miserable and somewhat angry, I looked up and quipped, »This is not what I ordered«. He coolly shook his head and said »Oh yes it is. It’s omelette with extra sucuk. Now eat it«! I was aghast! While I babbled quite ineffectively, he began chuckling and eventually broke into laughter. He gave me a friendly pat on the back and handed over the brass pan containing the correct order. In his broken English, he admitted that he enjoyed laughing with foreigners.

’Laughing at or laughing with’ I wondered as I watched him walk away. Towards the end of my second cup of freshly brewed tea, he was a few tables away, pulling someone else’s leg…

EMEK KAHVE, Daire Sokak No:17/1 Yeniköy, Istanbul

PURE EYE CANDY

Martin Selsoe — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 02:53:00 GMT

It’s beyond me what has happened to Turkish architecture over the last 100 years. Until the end of Ottoman empire Turkish-Ottoman architects build fabulous palaces, houses and mosques, but for the last century all but a few new constructions have only been build for their purpose and not for their beauty.

So even the most die hard visitor to Istanbul stands a chance of getting tired of all the ugly concrete and dirty, broken streets that happen to fill Istanbul.

When the fatigue hits me, I head out to Kanyon Mall, an architectural pearl a few metro stops from Taksim Square. Together with other Istanbullus craving for calm, coolness, soft curves and place to spend their buck, I window shop at the very pricey designer stores and then spend my lira at Wagamama or The Kitchenette restaurant, along side the westernised bankers and insurance brokers working in the vicinity.

Kanyon is the hyper modern Turkey that is just as much a part of the country as the sunny beaches and the sultan palace, but much less recognised.

NEXT TIME, DO BRING A WOMAN

Martin Selsoe — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 12:02:00 GMT

Navigation among the calling touts of Istanbul’s Nevizade area is not an easy thing to do. The selection of restaurants and bars is vast, and you don’t even have to look for fish and mezze to eat, or beer and raki to drink – they will look for you, thanks to the multi linguistic waiters.

Nevizade is very crowded on weekends, even by Istanbul standards, but not all the city’s nightlife is equally amusing. I usually head to Peyote, located on a side alley to the main street of Nevizade, where amusingly enough it’s not a question of managing a tout, but more to convince the doorman to actually let one in.

Peyote doesn’t accept men only groups or male individuals on weekends. They believe women will be able to control otherwise uncontrollable men, and don’t give a damn whether you are a regular, a foreigner, sober or well dressed. Guys only groups cannot enter. Period!

If you are a man who doesn’t have female company, you can try to sneak in with a group who does, or try to convince any female coming in or out or passing by, to accompany you through the door. Once inside the GT’s on the roof top terrace are a pleasant, but strong reward. It’s the genuine and relaxed atmosphere on the roof that has earned Peyote its name among Turks in their 20’ies and 30’ies and expat residents.

Peyote, Kalyoncukulluk Caddesi. No. 42, Beyoglu, Istanbul

Go further: Read Mashup Culture's guide to the best roof top bars (including Peyote) in Istanbul here.

THE TURKISH FAMILY YOU DIDN'T KNOW YOU HAD

Martin Selsoe — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 09:10:00 GMT

’Home made food’ or ’Ev yemekleri’ in Turkish, is sometimes a somewhat overlooked chapter of the Turkish kitchen by foreigners. The restaurants of this kind usually offer a broad variety of cold dishes involving a lot of vegetables, soups, olive oil, yoghurt, köfte meat balls and occasionally börek pastry.

A place with a well proven track record in excellent home made food is Helvetia in Istanbul’s Beyoglu neighbourhood. Amidst a couple of fancy, and a few not so fancy restaurants, the Helvetia stands out as one of the most popular.

From the counter inside costumers get an easy overview of the ever changing selection of dishes – just as any Turk would venture out in their parent’s kitchen to lift the lids off pots and pans and check what’s on offer.

In Helvetia the high turn over guarantees a fresh and abundant selection, and the seating outside is a perfect place for people watching in the always crowded Sofyali Sokak. With its food and pleasant service Helvetia is the perfect Turkish family you never knew you had.

Helvetia; General Yazgan Sokak 12, Beyoglu, Istanbul

GO TO ASIA FOR LUNCH

Martin Selsoe — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 14:12:00 GMT

The Ciya Empire keeps expanding in Kadiköy on Istanbul’s Asian side as it’s one of the district’s most popular restaurants among locals. The restaurant now fills three locations in the same small pedestrian street as well as a fair part of the street it self.

The area is located a short walk from the Kadiköy pier and bus station and by it self a trip well worth given the very lively atmosphere and high quality at a low price selection of fresh fish, honey, vegetables, herbs and anything else you would want for self catering.

Should you choose to let Ciya cater for you, you may choose from the daily variety of ready made soups, meats and vegetables cooked, mixed and presented in the tastiest fashion. The dishes represent as many as nine different kitchens including Armenian, Ottoman and Syrian.

There is no written menu and no written explanations at Ciya, but the guy behind the counter is happy to repeat him self endlessly when people ask what’s in each pot or pan. Three dishes are probably too much food for one person, so you may want to ask for half portions in order to get a broader taste of the offerings and have room to taste the very Anatolian fruit in gel-desserts.

Ciya; Caferaga Mah. Güneslibahce Sk. 43, 44 and 48/B Kadiköy - Istanbul

A COFFEE IN THE GLOBAL VILLAGE

Martin Selsoe — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 13:48:00 GMT

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

THE NEXT LEVEL IN TURKISH CUISINE

Martin Selsoe — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 04:02:00 GMT

Cezayir means Algeria in Turkish and stands for excellent cuisine in Istanbul. The restaurant with the North African name is well hidden behind the Galatasaray High School and offers a state of the art blend of couscous and kebabs modernised and improved.

I bring my visitors there when they think they know all about what Turkey has to offer in terms of grilled meat, fish and mezze starters. Cezayir takes them to the next level.

Take the crispy pastry rolls (börek), which you will find in many Turkish restaurants. In Cezayir they are as thin as a pencil, twice as long and they come with pastrami served sticking from a small glass with a shot of a slightly spicy tomato sauce. And then, oh boy, there is the chicken liver pate made with whisky and pistachios. Usually it goes down very well even among those of my friends who don’t appreciate chicken liver or whisky.

From the list of main courses the sirloin with yoghurt and pita as well as smoked salmon with dried rose petals are all time favourites.

It all comes with an extensive wine list and an unusually knowledgeable and pretty good English speaking staff.

Cezayir, Hayriye Caddesi 12, Galatasaray; Beyoglu; Istanbul

A TRIP TO ANOTHER WORLD

Martin Selsoe — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 04:00:00 GMT

The Büyükada Island is a short 45 minutes boatride (with a fastferry) from Istanbul’s European shore, but a world apart. It’s the major of the Prince’s Islands in the Marmara Sea and an oasis alone to the fact that it has no cars.

Arriving in Büyükada is like arriving in any Turkish fishermen’s village, aside from the fact that the Asian side of Istanbul with its smog and high rise buildings is clearly visible across the water.

One has to hire a horse carriage, rent a bike or simply walk to get to the other side of the island – or to the Greek monastery on the hill top – to really appreciate the getaway and enjoy the rare silence.

Since horses are the main means of transportation and as abundant as taxis in mainland Istanbul, you may for once relax and not feel like a lazy tourist when sitting in the carriage. Just enjoy. The many horses in the island not only provide access to the far corners, but also a very rural scent of horse dung.

Although the island has no real beaches it’s a favourite weekend destination for Istanbullus eager to get their minds far away in a short distance. Either they go for daytrips or stay in rented houses or hotels while spending their day time in one of the plenty private swimming pools accessible with admission.

Büyükada, conventional and fast ferries leave Istanbul’s European shore from Kabatas, and the Asian shore from Bostanci.

For further info go here.