(Last Updated on Mar 21, 2024)

Our trip began in Istanbul, the historic city which resides on the border between Europe and Asia and the perfect place to experience Turkish food! We reached our hotel in Beyoğlu – very close to the Galata Tower by 4:30pm. This was on the European side. In fact, most of the monuments are also on the European side. Since it was mid-November, we did not have a lot of daylight left. I had put together a very ambitious itinerary for the roughly 1.5 days that we had here before the rest of the group arrived – and we were raring to go. In fact, Parth was super energetic and kept jumping on the hotel bed!

We walked out onto Istiklal street – a famous walking street. Just 2 days before, there was a horrific bomb blast on this very street which took the lives of some people. Due to this, there was extra security positioned all along the street. We weren’t planning to walk down Istiklal right away, we were keen on going to the Asian side of Istanbul! Before we head further, a disclaimer – this is going to be a food blog!

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We took a funicular, the Tünel, which connects Beyoğlu and Karaköy. A funicular is a cable-based railway line that is typically along a steep slope. Operating since 1875, this is the first ever underground funicular system in the world.

Once we were down at Karaköy, we crossed over to the pier to lay our eyes on the iconic skyline that we’d seen so many times in movies! With the domes and spires of the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia on the other side and boats and ships moving along the Bosphorus Strait, we felt like we were transported back to the Constantinople of a bygone era.

We made a mental note to return and spend more time here. For now, we took a boat to Kadıköy – the Asian side. Yes, that “i” did not have a dot. Before we move ahead, let’s do a brief Turkish alphabet class! Didn’t expect to learn Turkish today? Exactly why we will do it!

I found the alphabets of Turkish very fascinating. ç is pronounced “ch”, ş is pronounced “sh”, ğ is mostly silent – so, the place we were staying at, Beyoğlu would be pronounced “Beyo-lu”, ı (the i without the dot) is pronounced “e” as in “bread” – so, Kadıköy would be “Kadekoy”, the ö is basically an “o” with your lips pouting, ü is similar but for the “u” sound. Now, you’re ready to read Turkish! Try making the sounds as you notice these letters ahead and have fun!

Both the funicular and the boat accepted the Istanbulkart – the all-in-one travel card. Both Nam and I could use the same card – I’d swipe once and let her pass and swipe it again and enter myself. It was super convenient. We expected the boat to be a small one – similar to the ones we’d seen in Dubai or India. But what we got was a huge ferry – like the ones that run in the Croatian sea. The strait was rough with choppy waves – also due to the giant ships that were crossing over from the Mediterranean to the Black Sea. But we wouldn’t know it unless we looked outside – our boat was super stable and smooth! The boat stopped first at Eminönü on the other side of the Galata bridge and then at our stop in Kadıköy. Make sure you check the stop before disembarking!

The market area was bustling with beautiful shops all around. The vibe of the place was very different from the European side – in a good way!

We had a list of places we wanted to eat at – first up was Lahmacun at Borsam Tasfirim.

Lahmacun is like a thin and crispy pizza – topped with cheese and minced meat and this shop was considered among the best in the city. It’s a small shop along the street and we managed to find a table towards the corner. Within minutes, our hot and freshly made Lahmacun was here. It was amazing – crispy, full of meat, and was perfect with the greens and lemon that were given as sides. We had it with Ayran – a drink of yogurt mixed with salt and water (if you’ve been following our blog, you would’ve noticed Ayran from our Uzbek blog too). Parth also ate the lahmacun but couldn’t figure out how to use the straw for the Ayran – he just ended up chewing it.

The sun had set by now. We continued walking along the street to Pide Sun – to have pide! Pide is an oval flatbread stuffed with meat of different kinds and cheese. We had a basic one with chunks of meat and cheese. It was delicious but a bit too salty for our liking. It paired well with some hot tea.

The waiters came over and swooped up Parth. They played with him, showed him the chefs at work in the kitchen and went around looking at cats on the street. The locals were very friendly and even though we couldn’t communicate, we used sign language to get the message across.

We really wanted to explore more of the Asian side but it was getting late and we wanted to be back in our hotel’s neighbourhood. We started walking towards the pier. Parth was still a bit hungry as he couldn’t have the pide. We walked into a bakery and bought a bun for him. The shop owner liked him so much that he managed to get a free cookie!

We took the next boat back to Karaköy at 8:10 pm. By now Parth had slept and we put him in his baby carrier. The boat stopped at a pier – we thought it would be Eminönü – assuming that the sequence would be reversed on the way back. By some stroke of luck, I noticed the mosques on the other side of the strait and double-checked where we were – I realised it was Karaköy and we quickly disembarked – a couple of minutes before the boat left. Be very careful, especially at night!

We took the funicular back up to Istiklal street. The entire length of the street was covered with Turkish flags on both sides. There were dozens of shops on both sides – locals and tourists were there in equal numbers. It did not look like a place that had a deadly blast just a couple of days ago.

We had two more places on our list for the day – first was Dürümzade – famous for its Adana kebab. It is a hole-in-the-wall shop on one of the streets perpendicular to the main Istiklal street. Anthony Bourdain claimed that the wraps here were among the best – so we couldn’t skip them! We were still too full and packed it for later. 

Next, we went to Hafiz Mustafa for Kunefe. Kunefe is the most amazing dessert filled with cheese, pistachio, semolina pastry – crunchy, cheesy and sweet! We paired it with some tea and grape juice. Parth slept all through this and sadly couldn’t taste the kunefe. It was not as good as the one we had in Jordan from Habibah – but it was decent nonetheless. Better than the ones we get in India.

After stuffing ourselves, we walked back to our room and quickly went to sleep. Parth woke up at 2 am having completed 5-6 hours of sleep – he was still not at the age where he would sleep throughout the night. We stayed up till 4 am entertaining him and meanwhile ate our Adana kebab. Even when it was cold, it was delicious! We could only imagine how it would have tasted hot and fresh! Maybe, next time!

Day 2

Next morning, we got up and packed our bags. We left at 8:30 am and walked to the nearby Cafe Privato – known for its breakfast spread. The place hadn’t opened yet and they asked us to wait till 9 am. So we walked around the beautiful neighborhood and went to the Galata tower. It looked beautiful against the clear blue sky.

We picked up some bananas for Parth as he was hungry by now. Munching on those, we walked back to the Cafe. 

The Turkish breakfast spread was amazing – dozens of jams and spreads, olives, different breads, a cheese platter, omelettes, egg pancakes and many other dishes. Our table was full and more kept coming in. Parth went crazy and wanted to eat everything. He was given a very unique high chair to sit on – the unique part was that he could also stand on it while having the tray in front of him. Thanks to that, he also enjoyed eating from the table! I found the serving of the tea very interesting – first concentrated black tea was poured in the glass followed by hot water to dilute it. Otherwise it would be really strong and bitter. 

We spent more than an hour eating breakfast here. Favourite items – honey, berry jam, cheese, avocado, hazelnut paste. 

We decided to walk down to Karaköy along the sloping road. Parth was happily sleeping after the heavy breakfast. There were many quirky shops – mostly musical instruments. We spotted dozens of cats – something that Istanbul is famous for. The road was so steep that the footpath was made of steps at many places. There was a street entirely covered in umbrellas on top and funky wall art. It was a nice morning walk in that neighbourhood – something that we would recommend. Nam said her morning cardio was done as she was carrying Parth on that stretch!

Next stop was Karaköy Güllüoğlu where we bought some baklava to go. This place was famous for serving baklava in homemade style along with tea – it tasted absolutely out of this world! Sadly, no pics as we were too busy eating and Parth was asleep.

We had two more places on our list – one was a tiny shop selling balık ekmek – fish sandwich. But it was 11.15 am and they would only open at 12 pm. They had just brought in the fresh catch and were prepping the fish. So we had to skip it for now.

We continued walking to the pier, and sat on a bench next to an old man. We sat there for a while, watching a person fishing and the boats passing by. Parth had missed most of the walk so far. He finally woke up and stood there watching the birds flocking around the boats.

We clicked a few pics and took the funicular back to our hotel. We checked out at 12 pm and kept our bags at the reception. 

Next plan was to take the metro to Taksim, eat Menemen (a version of Turkish scrambled eggs), come back to the hotel, take our bags and book a taxi to the bus stand. We got to Taksim but realised that we did not have time to do all of that and still take a bus to the airport before 1:30 pm. Sigh – the plan was too ambitious!

So, we skipped the Menemen and walked all the way down Istiklal street and back to our hotel.

We tried booking an Uber but the rates were insanely high. One driver even asked for 300 lira for a distance that shouldn’t cost more than 50 lira. In the end, we reloaded our Istanbulkart and again took the metro back to Taksim and this time with our bags. 

We managed to get a bus just as it was leaving at 1:20 pm. We reached the airport at 2:15 pm, went to the arrivals area. After a couple of phone calls, we joined the group that we’d be travelling with for the rest of the trip. We couldn’t wait to get back to Istanbul for more Turkish food!

Check out the other Turkey blogs here:

• The Turkey Itinerary – planning a perfect trip to the crossroads of Asia and Europe
• Unfinished business in Istanbul and an Earthquake – unforgettable experiences
• Troy, a giant horse and forgotten Greek cities in Turkey – travelling in western Turkey via Çanakkale, Asklepion and Ephesus
• Cotton Castles and Whirling Dervishes – exploring the towns of Pamukkale, Konya and Sultanhanı Caravanserai
• Fairy Chimneys, Windy Days and Atatürk – the fascinating world of Cappadocia, a salt lake and the capital city of Ankara

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