Have a Harika Holiday!
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The temperature has dropped considerably— we're expecting snow tomorrow, so to warm my hands (and fill my stomach) I picked up a gözleme. Gözleme is one of my favourite Turkish street foods, it's a hand rolled pastry sealed with your choice of filling and cooked on a convex griddle. Today it was spinach and beyaz peynir, literally 'white cheese', a sort of feta. You can also get your gözleme filled with potatoes, eggs, meat, mushrooms or a combination of these ingredients.
In addition to a few pairs of colourful socks (I never wear white or plain socks), I found a black jersey shirtdress, a long white button-down shirt, some lovely canary yellow yarn, and I couldn't resist some pomegranates, mandarins and oranges. Since I can only knit rectangles, I'll be making myself a scarf in the next few weeks.
Today I went to the Kapalı Çarşı (Kapa-luh Char-shuh), otherwise known as the Grand Bazaar. 58 labyrinthine streets of carpets, scarves, silver, leather, hidden cafés and just about anything imaginable. Parts of it date back to 1455. It's a fantastic place to get lost in, and no matter how hard I try, I just can't leave without picking up a thing or two. Today I left with two boxes from Afghanistan— I've had my heart set on acquiring a few of these for years— and a brilliant blue scarf. Lunch was a delicious chicken döner sandwich from a little stand outside the bazaar. Döner literally means "to turn," it's meat on a vertical spit thats shaved off into a fluffy piece of bread with anything from french fries and cabbage to tomatoes and pickles stuffed inside. Whether it's a chicken or a lamb döner, it's my all-time favourite sandwich.
Today I went with my mom and sister to Istinye Park, a fairly new mall in Istanbul. It's quite large, and feels just like any other mall with the exception of a lovely section on the bottom floor made to resemble the bazaars. There's fresh fish, spices, vegetable and fruit stands and my favourite— the nuts and dried foods stand. There are all sorts of delectable little goodies, apricots stuffed with almonds, these fabulous long chewy molasses tubes stuffed with walnuts called sucuk (soo-jook)— which is also the same word for a type of sausage.
Another thing I found interesting was the Christmas décor. I've been told that Christmas has become very popular in parts of Turkey as a gift-giving holiday, with the religious bit omitted. I saw tinsel, trees and Santas, loads of wrapping papers and some snowmen.
Lunch at the food court doesn't necessarily mean suffering through McD's or some MSG-laden Chinese food— you can certainly do that if you choose, but there are all these restaurants that serve a more traditional Turkish fare. I love them. I had manti, little pillows of dough filled with meat in a tomato sauce topped with yoghurt, mint and hot pepper. Ayran (eye-ron) was my drink of choice; a nice cold beverage made of water, yoghurt and salt.
Later on this week I'll be going to the Grand Bazaar, possibly the oldest still in-use shopping mall. It's a fantastic labyrinth of a place with avenues and alleys of carpets, jewellery and just about anything you can imagine. I can't wait— it's one of my favourite places in Istanbul, a great place to get some sketching done.
© samantha zaza 2008–2021