Istanbul: Fresh as the Morning, or Rooted in Centuries Past

Snowden · 10-14-2006, 11:31

I dedicate this to oderman!

Istanbul: Fresh as the Morning, or Rooted in Centuries Past

Yoray Liberman for The New York Times
Tarihi Karakoy Balikcisi is small, but regarded as one of the best fish restaurants in Istanbul.

By HENRY SHUKMAN
Published: October 15, 2006

NAPOLEON said that if the world were a single state then its capital would be Constantinople. Even today, amid the traffic-choked streets of modern Istanbul, among the high-rises, the steep alleys and the glowing ancient churches and mosques, you can still feel exactly what he meant.
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Audio Slide Show A Feast in Istanbul

Yoray Liberman for The New York Times

Borsa specializes in Anatolian cuisine.

The air is thick with centuries of civilization, hallowed by history. Above the Golden Horn, once the wealthiest stretch of water on earth, hovers Hagia Sofia, perhaps the most beautiful church on earth, built in A.D. 537 by the Byzantine emperor Justinian with a dome so broad it was not superseded for a thousand years, until St. Peter’s in Rome. Just a quarter-mile away floats its rival, the Blue Mosque, finished in 1616, after the city had fallen to the Muslim Turks. Islam and Christendom; East and West; Asia and Europe: the clichés are true, they do all meet here, and have brewed up an atmosphere unmatched on the planet.

As you’d expect in the capital of the world, there are restaurants from all over. But I didn’t come to Turkey to eat Chinese, Italian or Russian. Cognoscenti say that Turkish is the best of the eastern Mediterranean cuisines, so I sallied forth in search of the most interesting indigenous kitchens.

As a visitor to Istanbul, you’re sure to be sent to Kumkapi, a district packed with fish restaurants. In fact, it’s nothing but fish restaurants, and by night it’s busy, frantic, overwhelming — a bit like wandering into a cross between a hotel theme-night party and a 70’s disco. Bright lamps, waterfalls of fairy lights, zithers and tambourines raging up and down the little pedestrian streets, amid terrace after terrace of outdoor tables — it gives new meaning to the word garish. Vendors stroll around selling everything you might need: Cohibas, dolls, teddy bears, and I even saw one man with a giant tin sailing ship hoisted on his shoulder.

With the Bosphorus, the Sea of Marmara, the Black Sea and the Aegean all within a morning’s drive, Istanbul is a great city for fish. But more interesting than any place in Kumkapi is Tarihi Karakoy Balikcisi in the Karakoy district.

Finding the restaurant, however, just behind the fish market near the Galata Bridge, is anything but simple. Down an alley lined with hardware stalls, past 200 yards of screws, drills and hinges, all that gives it away is a wood-framed doorway and a little display window with a small sample of the day’s catch. Everything here is of the day. When they run out they close. And it’s lunch-only, consisting of two tiny upstairs rooms and an even tinier one downstairs. You can’t make a reservation, although you can reserve a particular fish if it’s in (“Hold the sole, we’re on our way”). Choices go up on a blackboard.

Its owner, Hakan Ozkaraman, owner also of a ball-bearing store round the corner, is passionate about fish. “I’m amateur — this is the special thing,” he said, raising a finger. “Here, just I am selling fish. Not ambience, not view, not fancy plates — just fish.”

Start with the locally renowned fish soup, a rich chowder with flat-leaf parsley that will allay any immediate pangs of hunger. While our next courses were being prepared we had a plate of raw vegetables and herbs — baby romaine, rocket, carrot, cucumber, sage and mint, all coated in a thin lemon dressing.

Mr. Ozkaraman has identified a particular bay near the Dardanelles (whose location he prefers not to reveal further) where the currents keep the water the cleanest in the eastern Mediterranean, he said. Only small fishing craft work there, and all his fish comes from it. But he was emphatic about the sources of everything on the table: the vinegar from a farm in the hills is so natural it has to be thrown away if not finished within a few weeks. Likewise his olive oil comes from a particular Anatolian farm.

We followed with a kebab of rolled fillets of sole brushed with olive oil — clean and exquisite. A specialty is the sea bass wrapped in parchment, which arrived like a parcel on the table. Inside it, along with the sea bass fillets, were roasted tomato slices with blackened skins that added a richness that one was sternly instructed to mop up with bread at the end. This is the kind of hole in the wall one dreams of finding. No wonder it has been going, though a succession of owners, since 1934.

From the modest to the opulent: Asitane, a white-cloth establishment with a terrace under the almond trees at the back of the Kariye Hotel, offers not just rare Ottoman cuisine, but actual dishes from a feast given in 1539 by Suleiman the Magnificent to celebrate the circumcision of his two sons (which may not sound too appetizing, but the dishes are sumptuous enough for an emperor).

Under the Ottoman Empire the guilds of cooks were fiercely secretive about their culinary tricks. Consequently few recipes survive from the four and a half centuries of Ottoman rule (1453 to 1918). In a district of old houses just off a little square lined with plane trees, next door to one of the finest Byzantine churches, St. Savior in Chora, Asitane has devoted itself to the re-creation of this lost cuisine. Eating here is a live history class.

There is a good bit more to this article - click on the URL below and go to page 2.

Istanbul: Fresh as the Morning, or Rooted in Centuries Past - New York Times

oderman · 10-19-2006, 09:01

Thank you Snowden about this post

Several images of Istanbul are in: Turkey » Cities » Istanbul

and some more in my personel folders

also do not miss Turkiye and The Turkish Culinary Culture (by sallys-place.com) in Chit-Chat

My blog was dedicated on Turkish Food but somehow I can not reach the blog section for some time...

Carnage_59 · 10-19-2006, 12:36

I was in Istanbul four years ago on vacation. It was one of the best vacations I've ever had. Next time I go, I want to go to Ephesus, Antioch (Antakya), and Chalcedon.

oderman, do you have any other suggestions on where to go in Turkey?

Snowden · 10-19-2006, 13:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by Carnage_59

I was in Istanbul four years ago on vacation. It was one of the best vacations I've ever had. Next time I go, I want to go to Ephesus, Antioch (Antakya), and Chalcedon.

oderman, do you have any other suggestions on where to go in Turkey?

Tom, did you get to the catacombs? I don't know just where they are, I believe in Cappadocia though. I would love to visit Turkey. I believe it's about the most unique place in the world - yet part of all the world, in a way as we are.

oderman · 10-20-2006, 03:07

Hi Carnage_59 (Tom?)

Since you've already been to Istanbul, there are remaining 80 more cities worth to visit with thousands of ancient and historical places, cultural events, sightseeing, culinary explorations, and more...

Travelling in Turkiye needs a good programming, since there are lots of opportunities. Your best route may show differences depending on the season, available time you have, personal interests (sea and leisure ?, travel and adventure? Culture and photography? ...)

I personally recommend Ephesus (in western Anatolia, near Izmir); a marvellous place: Ancient Roman ruins, well preserved theatre (sometimes used for international cultural shows), secret thermal baths (spas), last known residence of Virgin Mary (mother of the prophet Jesus) and many more.

Next option may be the Cappadocia in west Anatolia, a huge open natural rock formations preserving holy and historical underground cities (with catacombs, too). Under Pagan Roman pressure first Christian communities dig underground cities to protect themselves and worship God. You see Turkiye has many special places suitable for Christian pilgrimage.

If you like travelling in nature, sight-seeing, want to taste different food during your trip a one week tour of black sea coasts is a good candidate then.

If you prefer to rest in luxury hotels, swim in blue flagged preserved beaches, and go out of the hotel for short trips to ancient ruins, or for natural beauties, culinary expeditions near around; then, first Agean coasts, second mediterranean coasts are good candidates. These coasts offer the "Blue Voyage" short/long tours with sailboats or yachts.

Eastern and Southeastern Anatolia regions are unexplored secrets. If you like adventure I recommend a guided trip with jeeps possibly in these regions. You will see many Ottoman, or older Seljuk empire historical buildings, hidden natural reserves, many ancient Roman and unknown Anatolian civilizations' ruins.

If you like winter-snow tourism Bursa Uludag, Erciyes Mountain resorts, and many more wait for ski fans.

In sumary below I recommend few of the internet sites dedicated on Travel and Tourism in Turkiye:

GOTURKEY.COM
Go to Turkey!
All About Turkey
Turkish Culture Portal
Discover Turkey
Adventurous yacht cruises in the Mediterranean and Aegean seas: Bodrum, Turkey
Welcome to HiTiT Turkey - An alternative guide to Turkey
Travel Turkey (Boutique style tour operator- high quality, exclusively private and personalized travel options)
just enter in Google "travel in Turkey"

Quote:

Originally Posted by Carnage_59

I was in Istanbul four years ago on vacation. It was one of the best vacations I've ever had. Next time I go, I want to go to Ephesus, Antioch (Antakya), and Chalcedon.

oderman, do you have any other suggestions on where to go in Turkey?

Carnage_59 · 10-20-2006, 12:51

Quote:

Originally Posted by Snowden

Tom, did you get to the catacombs? I don't know just where they are, I believe in Cappadocia though. I would love to visit Turkey. I believe it's about the most unique place in the world - yet part of all the world, in a way as we are.

I did not get to the catacombs Marianne. We stayed in Istanbul the whole time. One of the best things I got to see was some of the uncovered icons at the Museum of the Church of the Holy Savior. These icons pre-date iconoclasm. Unfortunately, like Hagia Sophia, it is no longer a church, but a museum.

oderman · 10-26-2006, 02:35

Hi everybody
We had a 3 day Ramadan holiday so I just got online

Here is some new information (for me) about Ephesus :

In the year of 10 BC, Androclos, the son of King of Athens-Kodros, was searching a location for establishing a site. It was predicted by an Apollon oracle that a fish and a boar would show the location of the new settlement. Days later, parallel to the oracle's prediction, while frying, a fish fell down from the pan, irritating a hiding boar behind the bushes. The feared boar escaped immediately. Androclos followed the boar and established the city of Ephesus, where he had killed the boar. Since then, Ephesus has played a great role in the history of humankind for centuries. It was center of trade, of culture, of prosperity, and of technology. The Ephesus City has succinctly developed and used technology that made it a focal point in the ancient age (source: Ephesus ancient city. Artemis temple, virgin mary house, saint john basilica. Ephesus Turkey)

Where I just encountered this info: Science and Technology Policies