Saturday Culture - Istanbul Day 2
Alright, it’s been a few days since I have gotten the chance to write, and am currently sat on a ferry heading for a day excursion outside of Istanbul, but more about this day will come later. For now, let’s pick up where we left off!
We woke up in the early to mid morning, feeling refreshed after our flights the previous day. We headed down to have the breakfast offered by the hotel - a Turkish breakfast nonetheless. I really appreciated having access to a Turkish breakfast here at the hotel, as it meant I wouldn’t have to go on a daily basis and have one in a different place. The breakfast spread did not disappoint whatsoever ever, and had a lot of great offerings and options, both Turkish and international.
For me, the best part of the Turkish breakfast are the meats, Menemen (Turkish style of eggs), and the Simit (Türkiye’s take on the bagel, though likely older). With some tea, we were both ready to start our morning around the city, though were faced with one problem, our plan. Neither of us really had a plan for Istanbul, so whipped something quick together for the day, deciding to explore some neighbourhoods on the Asian side of the city where we already were, and planning for a late lunch or dinner on the European side. What we did not know at that point was that our day would take a somewhat different turn.
We started to walk towards the neighbourhood of Moda, which was supposedly a quieter neighbourhood filled with a few hipster style cafes and eateries. Just walking alone made me realize how much quieter the Asian side of the city really is, and I was truly impressed. I felt that this is what the real Istanbul was like, rather than the tourist filled shops and all the vendors in your face trying to sell you anything, as I have typically experienced every time I stayed on the European side of the city. After some uphill walking, we reached the main street of the neighbourhood, which was lined with coffee shops and restaurants. It was unfortunate that we just ate but I was very fond of the vibes.
At that point, we decided to head down and walk the beautiful path set along the sea. The path was full of locals having a likely routine Saturday. My favourite part of the walk were definitely all the cats sat all over the place, lounging in the sun, and getting all the attention that they could possibly want. After no longer than an hour on the boardwalk, we decided to break off and head back into the city.
Having been there on my first trip to Istanbul, I suggested we have a coffee and a snack on Bagdat Street, one of the famous streets on the Asian side of Istanbul. After a lot of walking, we reached the point where the street came to life, and it was filled with lots of options. We had drinks at Dunya Kahvasi, which can basically be thought of as Türkiye’s take on Starbucks. I had a Salep to help warm me up while Karim went for the hot chocolate, and neither of us were disappointed. While warming up, we decided to keep walking along the street, since there was a restaurant on our list that had a branch over here, as well as the Magnum Istanbul shop, an outlet created by the well-known ice cream brand.
We walked some more down the street, where the crowds were starting to pick up as Istanbulites headed out for their Saturday afternoon shopping, and the Black Friday weekend sales were at full swing which only seemed to increase them in numbers. Ah capitalism! I find it fascinating how something like Black Friday has crept its way to so many places around the world, uniting us all in a very random way. I may not necessarily be a fan of it but still, it was just cool to see this unison.
After some light shopping, mostly visual for me, we decided to grab lunch as we were both starting to get hungry, or at least, our stomachs were declaring their feelings. We visited Günaydin, an upscale steakhouse with several local and international locations for a non-vegetarian friendly meal. The food did not disappoint, and we had a variety of dishes, including salad, carpaccio, and steak. I will likely do a proper post reviewing the restaurant so won’t go into too many details here, though I would recommend it to everyone.
We decided to not grab dessert as we wanted to have ice cream from Magnum, so we headed out and continued walking and window shopping to try and digest the ton of food that we had consumed. An hour or so later, we found ourselves at the ice cream joint. It hit me at this point that I was probably crazy for having ice cream in this cold, especially since all the seating was outdoors with no heating, but hey, gotta do what you gotta do!
So I will explain how it works at the Magnum Istanbul - you pay a set price for the ice cream, which comes with options of toppings, dips, and drizzles. I naturally went for a dark chocolate dip, topped with rose petals (I can never say no to any rose options, whether food or drink), pistachios, and hazelnuts, and finished it with a drizzle of milk chocolate. On the other hand, Karim had a white chocolate dip, topped with mixed chocolate chips, hazelnuts, and pistachios, and a drizzle of dark chocolate. We both savoured our ice creams in the cute street side seating, and were wowed by the options and the pricing, especially considering that it was the same price as buying a regular Magnum bar for a local store back home (whether in UAE or Canada).
After the snack, we started walking back towards the hotel, realizing that it was over an hour walk. I found it interesting that the streets were becoming busier now during the night (sunset is early) than during the day, so was happy to get outside the busy part of the street and to break off away from the crowds. We got a bit lost on the way back and experienced a slight delay, but were back on our way and somehow in the top part of the markets of Kadiköy which we visited the previous night. We found our way back to the hotel to freshen up and recharge a bit, which would turn into an affair of a few hours.
So here’s the nice thing about Istanbul, things close very late. So at 9.30 pm, when we were done resting and decided to go out for a quick coffee, we were not short of options in the markets, all filled with locals which I appreciated even more, as it gave a quick glimpse into the way of life. A few drinks later, we were back on our way to the hotel, where we washed off and headed to bed. Interestingly for me, I did not go to sleep till about 5 am in the morning, due to other reasons, a decision which I would come to regret the next day when I woke up.
Overall, it was a great day in Istanbul, and a very interesting chance to get a closer insight into the local way of life rather than the same old tourist experience you get on the other side of the Bosphorus.
What did you think of our day? Have you had any similar experiences when visit g a city twice, staying in different areas? Let me know in the comments below but until then, stay positive!
