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Turkish Flavours: Your Guide to Turkish Gastronomy!
Turkish Cooking at Its Best
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Cooking classes may be organized
for individuals or groups. We work with each client to design
the perfect "Turkish Flavours" experience.
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Turkish Flavours can create perfect custom-designed
events that will suit perfectly an incentive program in Istanbul. Each event has a unique flavour!
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All classes involve hands on cooking, where
participants can understand the ingredients, feel and learn the actual cooking by doing it themselves.
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Cooking classes will be routinely conducted in
English (subject to request and availability courses in other languages can also be arranged)
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The menu prepared will be tasted
on spot, together by the end of each cooking class
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Shopping for ingredients at local markets
will be the fun part of the culinary adventure during non-cooking hours.
Clear and understandable recipes of each menu item prepared will be provided to participants.
Turkish Wine Tours
Do you wish to
learn more about the exciting world of Turkish Wines?
Our Turkish Wine Appreciation
and tasting tours are the most unique and enjoyable way to fully appreciate Turkish wine in a very relaxed atmosphere.
Our Turkish wine tour is designed
for people who love wine and want to learn more about Turkish Wines.
Basic information about Turkish
grape varietals and introduction to the major wine growing regions of Turkey, and each region’s type of wine. Six different
Turkish wines will be tasted. All classes are held in English.
Vacation Apartment Rentals & Istanbul Hotels
Recent stays at several of the apartments offered by Istanbul Holiday Apartments resulted in a pleasant surprise. Each one has great views of Galata Tower and the city across the Golden
Horn. Tastefully decorated with full kitchens, we recommend them.
Istanbul Historic Center, Recommended Hotels
Eresin Crown Hotel
Very pleasant hotel smaller but in the same class as the Four Seasons. Nicely appointed rooms.
Professional staff. Rooftop restaurant offers high quality and innovative cuisine.
Ibrahim Pasha Hotel
Our favorite reasonably-priced small hotel. Rooms are small, though they are expanding the number
of larger Deluxe rooms. Very friendly and helpful staff. Good Turkish breakfast—no restaurant.
Sultanahmet Palace Hotel
Excellent location immediately to the side of the Arsat Bazaar and the Blue Mosque. The Deluxe
Rooms are far superior to standard rooms, with nice views of either the Marmara Sea or the Blue Mosque and mini-hammams for
bathrooms. Friendly and accommodating staff. Good restaurant. Our current favorite if you can get a Deluxe Room.
More hotel recommendations:
Sultanahmet Palace Hotel, While not quite as posh as the Four Seasons or the Kempinski, we have found the Deluxe Rooms at the Sultanahment
Palace to be an extremely good value with an excellent location. Deluxe rooms overlook either the Blue Mosque or the Marmara
Sea and the Asian shores of Istanbul. All Deluxe rooms with a sea view have also have charming private balconies. These rooms
also have en- suite turkish bathroom (i.e. a mini hammam in your hotel room), direct dial telephone, central air-conditioning,
satellite TV, radio, minibar, hair-dryer, and 24 hour room srvice. (Torun Sokak, No:19 34400 Sultanahmet-İstanbul; +90212-4580460)
The Four Seasons Hotel, Sultanahmet in the heart of the ancient city near Haggia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, and most of the shops described
here, the Four Seasons prides itself on individual service and truly sumptuous surroundings. The hotel is housed in the 19th
century former prison that inspired the movie, Midnight Express.
For another step above, the Kempinksi Hotel Ciragan Palace, a member of the Leading Hotels of the World, occupying a sprawling center of luxury right on the Bosphorus,
will meet even the most demanding traveler’s requirements. Converted from the last Ottoman Sultans’ palace, the
hotel lies within walking distance of beautiful Ortakoy district, with many restaurants and shops, and Sultanahmet is an easy
taxi, limousine, or ferry ride away. Here, you may want to hire the services of Istanbul’s only Rolls Royce rental,
which also charters private yachts for trips up the Bosphorus. (Iskele Meydani Sok. No. 3, Ortakoy, Tel. +90 212 259 8939).
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Traveling to Istanbul? Check out these hip holiday lets and apartment rentals! Istanbul!Place
| firuz!place balcony |
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| Character and charm in Istanbul |
The latest find in Istanbul's mind-boggling accommodation scene is Istanbul!Place
apartment rentals. Lovingly rennovated and restored, there are 1-bedromm, 2-bedroom, and 3-bedroom options, all in charming
historic areas of the city. Take, for example
firuz!place. You will find this Istanbul apartement rental on the first and second floors of a 19th century traditional Turkish
house. The apartment has two spacious bedrooms (one double, one twin) with a shower-room on the first floor. A sweet brick
staircase leads up to the open-plan living & dining space, with a charming balcony above. It's 80 m2 in total and full
of character. The location of firuz!place is excellent and interesting for the
sophisticated traveler: Cihangir/Cukurcuma are 'happening' areas in Beyoglu, yet still very authentic. A short wander in one
direction will bring you to quiet streets of antique shops and in another to Istanbul Modern contemporary art gallery on the
Bosphorus. Orhan Pamuk's Museum Of Innocence is currently being made ready right opposite firuz!place and Istiklal is just
up the hill. WEB SITE E-MAIL
Istanbul Restaurants
Sabahattin Balikcisi Cankurtaran, Sultanahment 212 458 1824
Dining at Sabahattin is always a pleasant experience, with the ambiance of an old wooden house
down a side street near the water. The waiters are professional and the food always good, sometimes excellent, including the
grilled swordfish kebabs. A much more intimate choice for seafood than the meyhanes of the Kumkapi district. The fixed menu
can be a good value. Dine al fresco during summer. Reserve ahead.
Giritli Restoran Keresteci
Hakki Sokak, Cankurtaran, Ahirkapi 212 458 2270
Located right next deoor to the Armada Hotel, Giritli is a new seafood restaurant innovating
the idea of a completely set menu. The seafood is delicious, and your meal will include over twelve different meze plates
followed by perfectly-cooked fish (you do get somewhat of a choice here). Wine is included the price of the "fix-menu." Giritli
surpasses nearby Sabahattin for food quality and we hope it keeps up its standards. For those wanting to try a variety of
dishes or who don't want to look at a menu, this is a superlative choice. Pleasant ambiance, nice waiters, and a good value
especially if you drink with dinner. www.giritlirestoran.com
Pandeli Misir
Carisi 1, Eminonu Square, in the 2nd floor of the Spice Bazaar, 212 527 3909
We are not the first to not recommend
Pandeli for its food and service. Two out of three visits prove unsatisfactory, with rude waiters and mediocre food. The fish en papillote can sometimes be
good. Open for lunch only. The reason to come is the location and interior, which is quite beautiful and can transport one
to romantic "Old Istanbul." Pricey for what is offered.
Develi Balikpazari,
Samatya 212 529 0833
Home base to what is now a chain of restaurants, Develi has good, sometimes spicy food but is
no great value. The mezes are good, including the spiced minced raw lamb, and the grilled kebaps can be very good; try the
pistachio.
Since its days as exotic Byzantium and Constantinople, Istanbul has been a city of great wealth and superlative
luxury. An historic mercantile center, this half-European, half-Asian metropolis boasts some of the world’s finest,
and frankly, most enjoyable luxury shopping. For the well-healed adventurer, the birthplace of the famed "Grand Bazaar" on
the shores of the Bosphorus and Marmara Sea will enchant and satisfy even the most discerning tastes.
The discriminating visitor will arrive prepared for Istanbul shopping: knowing what you want and ready for
the subtleties of negotiation. Friendly parley over cost is both expected and appreciated by the Turks. Istanbul is, in fact,
a place for the sophisticated bargainer. Unlike the raucous markets of Arab cities or the souks of Morocco, you must display
sublime patience and polite persistence, whether the deal’s worth $40 or $40,000. Yet perhaps the hardest decision will
be choosing amongst stylish luxury hotels where Turkey’s traditional, amiable, and attentive service transcends the
usual trappings of today’s cookie-cutter, deluxe accommodations.
Seven surveys trips to the Turkish capital of commerce since 2003 turned up the following areas for some creative
and inspired shopping: rugs, gourmet foods, furniture and home decor. In addition, a shopping escapade to Istanbul cannot
be surpassed for immersing yourself in the more personal experiences of Byzantine luxury still living to this day. Rugs
The kilims, carpets, and sumacs found in Sultanahmet make Istanbul the world’s foremost center for serious
rug collectors and home decorators alike. Seventy percent of tourists return home with a Turkish carpet, but few take the
time to discern and choose quality, or to consider that since the fall of the Soviet Union, Istanbul has become the center
for commerce in precious and rare hand woven textiles from all Central Asian republics. Every grade, weave, and color scheme
exists in the showrooms, small and large, of Istanbul’s historic center, surrounding the Blue Mosque and Haggia Sophia.
Our advice: after making a brief pedestrian survey of several Sultanahmet shops, choose two whose quality
you like and deal with them in a gentle dance of negotiation. This tactic produces better results than canvassing a myriad
of vendors for comparison shopping. You will end up with better prices, better carpets, and a better education in the finer
points of what makes these hand woven treasures valuable.
Looking at rugs will take hours, perhaps days, and many, many Turkish coffees. The Turks are superb businessmen,
and have perfected the art of selling, taking time to deal individually with each client. We have sorted through the hundreds
of stores in Sultanahmet and recommend the following to get you started: For decorator-quality rugs, check out Van Halicilik
at number 149 in the Arasta Bazaar, just below the spectacular Blue Mosque. Ask for Mr. Asim Erdogan, a distinguished gentleman
with a pipe who deals fairly and has a good selection of contemporary kilims.
For one of the finest gatherings of individually-chosen rugs in all price scales, including older rugs and
other textiles, go see Hamza Yildiz or his brother Mehmet at Noah’s Ark Carpets & Kilims Collection (Ticarethane
Sokak No. 11, Sultanahmet). Hamzah or Mehmet will educate you about Turkish rugs, wool quality, weaving, and double knots,
then expose you to a wide selection of offerings matching your individual requirements, he and his assistant combing through
piles of woolen wonders for you.
If you want to deal with Hamza electronically, he also now has an excellent web site that offers not only
rugs and jewelry for sale, but also informative articles on tribal art. See www.seeingisdreaming.com.
Gourmet Foods
Without actually visiting Iran, Istanbul ranks as the ultimate place for purchasing the best grades of Caviar
in the world. A simple trip to the Spice Bazaar in Ominonu, near the historic center of Sultanahmet, will provide multiple
vendors vying for your business in Iranian and Russian caviar, including Beluga. We found the shop named, appropriately enough,
"Istanbul" amongst the best (Spice Bazaar stall No. 15, Eminonu, Tel. +90 212 512 84 00) for caviar purchases from mere grams
to entire kilograms.
Once the end of the famed Silk Road, route of the spice trade, Istanbul still retains its preeminence in culinary
flavorings; so while choosing your caviar, don’t forget to pick up some wonderful, fragrant, and deeply flavorful Paprika,
pepper paste, Curry, or black, white, rose, or red peppercorns.
Scouring the Asian-side food markets around Uskudar, we found fresh morel mushrooms of superb quality. The
price, a mere fifteen million . . . Turkish Lira, that is, or about $10 per pound. These delicacies, which count among the
5-star mushrooms of any connoisseur’s kitchen, store well, and can travel intact back home, where they can be enjoyed
fresh or dried for future use. Take a stroll in any of the many Asian-side food markets, and you will find these treasures
and more. You will find ferries departing regularly for various Asian-side ports from the Eminonu wharfs.
Furniture & Home Decor
With their tradition of handcrafting and one of the only European locations that still has sufficient timber
resources, Turkey produces elegant wooden furniture, often combined with hand woven kilim or carpet upholstery to make for
unique and gorgeous home or office decoration. Custom ordering is the way to go, even to the point of picking out particular
rug designs and colors you want used in your furniture. You can also provide samples of the style you would like reproduced
and choose from a variety of hardwood options. Always deal with actual manufacturers, and not those representing the work
of others. Two service-oriented options: Find Kenan Can at Can Hali Pazari (Klodfarer Cad. No. 25, Sultanahmet). Kenan is
a charming customer service professional, who will assist in furniture design and also attend to packing, shipping, and brokerage
services. Faruk Tekin of Seyitagaogullari (see above under rugs) also makes furniture and is a specialist in the use of old
kilims for upholstery as well as stylish shoes, handbags, and briefcases.
For a variety of home decoration options to compliment your new rugs and furniture, Istanbul’s best
lies in hand painted ceramic and quartz tiles, textiles other than rugs, and hand worked silver. The most stunning and most
prized hand painted tiles descend in tradition from the artisans who decorated the resplendent Topkapi Palace and other historic
residences of Sultans and Pashas. Made from quartz rock rather than ceramic, these tiles literally gleam and glow with vibrant
colors. We recommend talking to Mr. Ozgur Aydin of Amphora in the Arasta Bazaar, No. 147, who has a wide selection of both
ceramic and quartz objects.
Hand worked silver, including wonderful vases, traditional rose water holders, and candelabras, have remained
a tradition from Ottoman times. Mr. Semih Arkan’s store Khalkedon, on the Galata Bridge over the Bosphorus, has selected
some of the finest silver decorative items as well as jewelry (Galara Koprusu No. 15, Eminonu Tel. +90 212 528 95 43).
Taking Some Time Out for Yourself
Shave, Facial, Massage, & more: Step back to the time before disposable razors and hectic schedules.
Your hotel barber or any of the many around Sultanahmet will treat you to an hour or two of a double straight-razor shave,
facial cleansing, and upper body massage. There’s nothing better after a hard day of selective shopping. The Turks excel
at the art of relaxation in other ways, too. TheHammams are direct descendants
of the Roman baths, Turkish Hammams provide a total body cleansing and thermal treatment plus massage. Ask your hotel concierge
for a local recommendation.
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Inestimable Istanbul: Shopping & Food
Like taking an historical
curve a bit too fast, we passed from Granada, Spain to Istanbul, Turkey in a day. The crescent moon and a single bright star
out the taxi window on the 4:00 am drive to Malaga airport foretold our destination. The particular symbolism of this trip
persisted, for we passed from a world in Granada where every mosque had in the 15th century seen conversion to a church, to
a place where the opposite had occurred at just about the same time. The connections run deeper, of course, for the Jews expelled
from Spain in early sixteenth century went to Istanbul and the Ottoman menace became a preoccupation of the Spanish kings.
Malaga itself had controlled trade with Byzantium in earlier times, though riding on the aging 757 and MD87 jets of Iberia
Airlines made the trip much faster than for our forebears.
Istanbul charms. Rome
amazes, but Istanbul charms. Rome has always been Roma, while Istanbul stands as itself and its predecessors, all at once:
Byzantium and Constantinople and Istanbul. It's a hackneyed truism to talk about Istanbul serving as the bridge between east
and west, between Asia and Europe, but it is truer than one can put into words.
We speak to people who
drive nonchalant confidence to Afghanistan, we feel the East in every crowded street, we breath Asia from across the Bosphorus,
and sense the frontiers. The city exudes an indelible cosmopolitan air that gives true meaning to this overused word. It is
an Islamic place, there's no mistaking it, but not the Arabian Muslim ethic; another more practical, perhaps more mercantile
spirit dwells here.
Food-wise Istanbul ingratiated
herself to us. The cuisine is noble and well-established, and being a coastal place, replete with seafood. The Mediterranean
has left its strong impression here, but so too has the interior and the intermingling of so many cultures over time: Hungarian,
Central Asian, Caucasian, French & Italian, the latter two being at different time cultural models for sultans bent on
modernizing their country. Let's not forget that much of the French patisserie tradition passed via Austria direct from the
Ottoman Empire.
In Istanbul, buying
a rug is almost obligatory, and though it's a racket, the kilims, sumacs, and carpets assembled in Istanbul's shops will not
disappoint. Kilims are flat-woven rugs (no pile); carpets have pile; and sumacs combine sections of flat-weave and carpet
in a single rug. We spent perhaps too much time rug shopping, trying to learn, to distinguish qualities, to compare prices.
Many places obviously offer tourist fare, poor quality, intentionally aged, with terrible dye quality. With a little time
and forethought, you can weed out such offerings. Don't be offended by the rug hawkers constantly trying to grab your attention--simply
be polite, engage in a little conversation, and then tell them you're still thinking and you'll come back to their shop later.
We stayed at a small
hotel with a wonderful location just off the ancient Hippodrome, and near the Islamic Art Museum, Blue Mosque and Haggia Sophia.
The latter counts among the architectural treasures of the world, and would be worth a trip to Istanbul on its own. Our hotel,
the Ibrahim Pasha, has recently transformed its previously teeny-tiny rooms to more spacious accommodations, and the
"deluxe" room on the 4th floor has even more space and a bath tub.
The staff are incredibly
helpful, the rooms clean and well-appointed. Breakfast is included, and there's a pleasant lobby with a fireplace (if you
visit in winter as we did, it's a nice touch). Recommended, but don't expect luxury. Istanbul also has a full selection of
international tourist- and luxury-class hotels, with the Kempinski being perhaps the best (and most dear). Our strong recommendation,
however, would be to stay in Sultanhammet, the historic center.
For eating, consider
the numerous seafood restaurants of Kumkapi, a good choice being Okyanus. Here, you can select from about 20 restaurants next
door to one another, all providing fresh seafood and live music. The atmosphere is very pleasant. You might also venture across
the highway to the shore of the Marmara Sea, where there are additional restaurants, some with pleasant views.
Balikci Sabahattin gets our best recommendation for seafood, in the center of Sultanhammet, with skillfully prepared and presented cuisine in
a traditional wooden house of some elegance, all for an excellent price. You can order a six course dinner topped of by a
Turkish liqueur for 25 euros. Tel. (0212) 458 18 24
Turkish wine producers have had to struggle for survivial
until recently. Now, Turkey offers an array of different wines and styles, including intriguing domestic varieties.
An example of one producer is Mahzen, www.mahzensarap.com. Most wine is produced by large companies, one of
them formerly controlled by the government. As one article indicates, wine production is advancing rapidly in Turkey. Some
of the big producer have made fine efforts, though we prefer to see a boutique wine industry develop as well.
A recent tasting: Kavaklidere Narince-Semillon, 2002 made from the native
Narince grape blended with French variety Semillon.
Some more information on Turkish wines
Mymerhaba page on Turkish wine in recent competition
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