 | Istanbul Local Customs | Tips 1 - 10 of 324 |  |
 | |  |  | local food: Kokoreç | Tip Rating:   |  |  | |  |
Kokoreç, oh my, Kokoreç! :) Sold on many street corners throughout Istanbul, it is basically a flattened sandwich on toasted bread, with sheep intestines and a little pepper and spices. My friends, who are native Turks, decided to play a little trick on me one night, and tell me we would get some street food, that was made of beef. When we got some kokore? at a local street vendor near Taksim, I began eating it, and thought it was quite delicious. I never even suspected I was being dooped! :) After we finished, my friends informed me of what I had really eaten! After my initial gag reflex went away, I was like, "Hey, whatever it was, it was pretty good!". It is definately a great tasting fast food choice while in Turkey. But the question is, do you know what you are eating?!! :)
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| | | | local food: Simit....the Turkish fast-food | Tip Rating: | | | | |
All over Istanbul, you'll see small carts with circles of bread covered in sesame seeds for sale...this is simit. Although it doesn't really taste of much, just bread that's almost stale, it is surprisingly addictive...and if you don't like it, you can always throw it to the pigeons in Taksim Square, or to the seagulls as they follow the ferries. The man who seels simit is called a simitci, and simitciler are found on practically every street corner, especially around breakfast time.
Recently, a number of cafes have taken simit on a step further, removing the hole and adding fillings such as cheese, olives and spicy sausage. Look out for Simit Sarayi, which has branches all over the city, and its copycats Simithane and Istanbul Simit. They are always popular with students, as you can get a cheap and filling breakfast here at any time of the day. The one next to Burger King at the top of Istiklal Caddesi has a particularly nice rooftop terrace overlooking Taksim Square, and many a heated discussion went on there over a simit and a steaming glass of cay. Leave a Comment
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| | | | clothes: Scarf-watching in Istanbul | Tip Rating: | | | | |
I don?t profess to be an expert after less than a week in Istanbul, but in the short time I was there, I found the whole ?fashion scene? tremendously interesting. People are always going on about how Istanbul is a blend of East and West. Well, that may be true to an extent, but I definitely felt that I was more in the East. Despite all the talk about Turkey banning headscarves, I saw them everywhere, on women young and old, including on the campus of Istanbul University.
These scarves added a vibrant splash of color, and while they did cover the women?s hair in keeping with Islamic ideas of modesty, they were clearly a fashion statement. Coming from Israel, where headcoverings for women are also very common, I noticed a difference in the way the scarves are worn. They don?t follow the contours of the head, but seem to bulge slightly in the back. My guess is that some kind of form is worn underneath to get that elongated shape. The most interesting thing was that many of these girls in headscarves were also wearing tight jeans and revealing tops. Some were walking hand in hand with their boyfriends.
Other women were swathed from top to toe in black abayas. Sometimes their faces were uncovered, and sometimes the black veiling was clipped tightly over their noses, leaving only their eyes visible. Incongruously, these same pious ladies were accompanied by men in sleeveless undershirts and fashionably torn jeans. Leave a Comment
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| | | | Beer - the local flavour | Tip Rating: | | | | |
I went to a pub and asked for dark beer but they did not have any. So, I decided to taste Turkish beer, which meant having Efes Pilsen.
I should say that I was pleasantly surprised by the beer. I liked it even though it was not dark. So, if you are a beer fan I would recommand to you not to leave Turkey without tasting Efes Pilsen.
I had put a link to their web-site but actually it doent worth following it unless you know Turkish.
Here is some infor I found on the net:
In 1969, The Anadolu Group started production in its first breweries, the Erciyas Brewery in Istanbul and Ege Brewery in Izmir.
Efes Pilsen has long been the preferred brand of beer-lovers in Turkey. With its state of the art technology, high production capacity and export potential, the Efes Beverage Group is a major contributor to the Turkish economy.
Efes' Ege brewery produced the first canned beer in Turkey in 1986. 1993 saw the introduction of first Efes Light, then Efes Extra. The company's product range was further expanded in 1995 with the addition of Everest Beer, followed by the introduction of Efes Dark in 1998.Also in 1998, the Lüleburgaz factory was purchased; this marked the introduction of Marmara beer brand to the Group's product line.
The sales and marketing firm of Efes Pilsen, Efes Pazarlama, has one of the most powerful distribution networks in Turkey, with distribution organisations in the provinces of İstanbul, Adana, Bursa, İzmir and Ankara, sales offices in Antalya, Samsun and 300 main distributors. Efes Pilsen, Turkey's beer market leader, has an annual production capacity of 910 million litres of beer, 97,500 tons of malt and 2,000 tons of hops. Leave a Comment Website: http://www.efespilsen.com.tr/
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| | | | local food: Turkish Coffee | Tip Rating: | | | | |
I'll just start out by saying that I am not a coffee drinker. Never really liked the stuff. So I wasn't really excited about trying Turkish coffee, but wanting to try anything and everything I could while I was here, i gave it a shot! I have to say that I was plesantly surprised. I really enjoyed it, and I had some everyday for the rest of my time in Istanbul, and continue to enjoy it to this day. The differences between Turkish coffee and other types of coffee are of course it's being quite strong, and the fact that it is very finely ground. But the big difference is in the way it is prepared. A couple of spoonfuls of the coffee are added to hot water in a "cezve", the small stovetop pot that is used to make it. The mixture is not stirred, and while heating up, it starts to rise to the top of the cezve. When it gets to the top, a small portion is poured into a Turkish coffee cup, which is small in size, similar to an espresso cup. Then the cezve is placed back on the stove until the coffee rises again, and then some more is poured into the cup. This is repeated 1 or 2 more times until the cup is full, and then it's ready to be served. Occasionally a little sugar is added to the coffee while in the cezve, but I tend to like it without. Definately something to try though while in Turkey!
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| | | | Istanbul - "THE" City For History Buffs! | Tip Rating: | | | | |
There are many cities around the world that have long & rich histories. When we think of these historic cities, the first places that come to mind are of course Rome and Athens. Many cities in China, India, even Africa have histories that date back many millennia. But I challenge anyone to find a city in the world that has a history that not only dates back as far, but also has as diverse a history that Istanbul has had! It is quite amazing to think that the modern city Istanbul, one of the world's largest with well over 10 million people, just 800 years ago was a city that had a completely different culture, different language, and a different people, yet was, as it is now, one of the world's largest cities!
It was back in the 7th century B.C. when this area along the Bosphorus was first colonized by the Greeks, and named Byzantium after the legendary king Byzas. Centuries later in AD 330, the Emperor Constantine made the city the new capital of the Roman empire. The city thrived under the Romans, and later the Byzantines, becoming a metropolis of 1 million people at it's height. Then, after its conquest by Mehmet II and the Turks in 1453, it still remained a capital city, becoming the center of the Ottoman empire for over 500 years.
For myself, an avid history buff, this incredibly varied past intrigues me to no end. I had studied much about the history of Istanbul before my first trip here, but there is absolutely no comparison in reading information about the Byzantines in a book for instance, and standing in in the middle of Sultanahmet square with Ayasofya right in front of you! If it is history you crave, and an astonishing history at that, Istanbul is where you need to visit!
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on February 14, 2007
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