Greetings from Istanbul!

I’m on a long flight returning from a week in Istanbul, Turkey, trying to get my thoughts together. So much history, so much culture, wonderful food, great views, and widespread political protests. It’s a fascinating city, located on two continents. We were mostly on the European side, where the Old City and Modern areas are separated by an inlet of the Bosporus called the Golden Horn. Across the Bosporus Strait from both of these areas, is the Asian side, which is more residential. The Bosporus Bridge was the first ever to connect two continents.

In the Old City, the history that I’ve learned about since elementary school is evident everywhere. So many churches from Constantinople and the Byzantine Empire, starting in 330 A.D., that were converted to mosques during the Ottoman Empire starting about 1300. Then there were various struggles, culminating in the rise of Mustafa Kemal – lovingly called ‘Ataturk’ or The Grand Turk – after WWI.

The interiors of the Chora Church, Hagia Sofia and Blue Mosque (also known as the Sultan Ahmet Mosque for its architect), are amazing, with intricate mosaics and painted tiles. We stayed right near the Blue Mosque, which was massive and stunning, and is in current use for prayers five times daily. We also visited Topkapi and Dolmabaçhe. These ornate palaces of the sultans had extensive harems providing housing for the 300-500 women who lived there. I wasn’t too surprised to hear that the ‘woman in charge’ was the sultan’s mother. It’s hard to believe that they castrated men so they could be around the women of the harem without getting involved with them.

We love eating Middle Eastern food here in the Washington, DC area, but I must say, toward the end of the week in Istanbul, we reached our fill of sistavuk sheesh or chicken kebabs. Although there were restaurants everywhere you looked, they all had the same menu – and I mean the same exact menu – but with different prices. One of them, Masal, had particularly good eggplant and tomato salad, a chicken and vegetable dish, of course excellent sheesh, and a very friendly owner, so we returned there 4 times. I was able to go into the kitchen (yes, other people go to Turkey to see the sites; I go to peek into ovens). These huge breads are made with just flour and water, brushed with egg and sprinkled with sesame seeds. The oven has a huge flame and bakes the dough, making it ‘bubble’ in a few minutes. There’s not much time between undercooked and burnt to a crisp, but the ones they serve are always perfect. Tearing pieces off made great scoops for our favorite appetizers, or mezes – hummus, eggplant puree and a tomato and eggplant mixture. I asked for the recipes, but they were like my grandmother’s – a list of ingredients, but no measurements. Oh well, I’ll have to get back to you after I experiment a bit.

As you would expect, I loved my time at the Spice Market. Within the next week or so, I’ll be posting an article about my favorite ones, their medicinal values, and some great recipes to incorporate them into your diet. We became experienced ‘sniffers’ and could tell the difference between the fresh spices sitting out in the bins and those sealed in drawers. Same thing with all the beautiful teas that include flowers. And who could enjoy tea or Turkish coffee without baklava – delicious nutty filling in layers of phyllo dough doused with honey. I was disappointed with the halvah, which I usually can’t resist, cutting away at the sesame bar sliver by sliver. There must be better bakeries that I missed – a good reason to return another time.

While we were away, there were daily protests across Turkey; in Istanbul, they took place at Taksim Square, which my tour book said was the place for anyone to take issues if they wanted media coverage. The protests were ostensibly about building a shopping center but were really about the bigger picture – they felt that Prime Minister Erdogan was becoming autocratic, making decisions without caring about popular opinion. You might have seen news coverage of police using tear gas one night and of people getting injured. We visited there yesterday during the day when all was calm. It looked like our “Occupy DC” demonstrations, with a tent city, but on a larger scale. There were signs everywhere, and young groups playing music and dancing. I’m interested to see how this situation plays out. On the surface, it appears to be free speech at its best. The hotel and restaurant owners we talked to, though, were concerned that news of the protests would impact tourism, which is their lifeline, even though the Old City has not been affected at all by the protests. They said that their counterparts in Egypt have not yet recovered from the impact of Arab Spring two years ago.

To top off our culinary experiences, on our last night we dined on the highest rooftop we could find – the Seven Hills Hotel. There was a magnificent sunset over the Blue Mosque on a breezy, warm clear night, while we devoured a half dozen mezes, including my favorite dolmas, or stuffed grape leaves. They were all much better than I expected since we went just for the view.

The Potomac River doesn’t quite compare with the Bosporus Strait, but as always, after I’ve been away, I’m looking forward to being at home and sleeping in my own bed tonight!

I’d like to thank my husband for sharing his wonderful photos with all of us.