Akide Candy

      During the reign of the Ottoman Empire sugar acquired a new identity and became known as akide candy. "Akide" means a confession of faith and stands for trust, loyalty and solidarity. Every three months, a meal was served to the Janissaries in the palace garden when their remuneration was distributed. If the Janissaries were satisfied with their food and payment, they would present akide candy to high court officials as a symbol of loyalty to the Sultan... 

       A number of factors contributed to the characteristics of akide candy making its quality unique. The raw materials used and the mastery with which it was prepared ensured its high standard. Honey was added to enhance its flavour and the ingredients such as fruits and nuts where sourced from specialised regions, harvested at their peak and blended expertly depending on which type of candy was being produced.

      To make akide candy, sugar syrup containing 35-40% water is boiled in copper cauldrons over a wood fire to attain the correct temperature and consistency. The flavours are added to the sugar syrup while it cools. The malleable candy is then shaped into the desired form...

 You should try them at Ali Muhiddin Hacı Bekir, Şekerci Cafer Erol, or Üç Yıldız Şekerlemecisi in Istanbul... 

PIRI REIS

Did you know?

   Piri Reis’s last creation was a second world map, which included more detail than his first. This map included, for example, an increased number of ports, raising the number on the map from 130 to 210. Unfortunately, only a 1/4 of this map survives today.

PİRİ REİS

A GREAT SEAFARER,
A LEARNED CARTOGRAPHER... AND A SCOUNDREL!

   Piri Reis is a well known Ottoman-Turkish admiral, geographer and cartographer from the 16th century who lived between 1470 and 1553. Setting out to sea at an early age under his uncle’s command, he lived for a while as a pirate in the Mediterranean. After a call for help from the Ottoman sultan, he decided to assist the Ottoman Navy, fighting side by side with them in famous victories. Tragically, he lost his uncle in a sea accident, leading to his decision to exile himself for two years, during which time he gave himself over to learning and to research of naval knowledge. This led to perhaps his greatest victory: what is today the oldest scientific world map, created as a result of research and study of many historical writings from different countries and from different centuries. His drawing contained numerous details of the west coasts of Africa and Europe and the east coasts of America and the Atlantic Ocean, as well as, amazingly, mountains in the Antarctic. In fact, how Piri Reis created some of the map’s stunning detail and accuracy remains a mystery to this day. This milestone of maps, colorfully painted on parchment, now proudly lays claim to being the oldest map of the world. Unfortunately, only about 1/6 of the map remains in existence, housed in the great Ottoman bastion, Topkapı Palace. The map was finished in 1513—fitting then that UNESCO chose 2013, the 500th anniversary, to commemorate the Piri Reis Map. Not content merely with mapmaking, Piri Reis created his Kitabi Bahriye (Book of Navigation), which he dedicated to the peoples of the Mediterranean, demonstrating his great sense of humanity and understanding that skin color, language, and beliefs do not, or at least should not, separate peoples of the world.

Piri Reis would eventually lose his life thanks to the Governor of Egypt. Reis’s refusal to obey certain rules resulted in him being beheaded in Cairo. Perhaps today we can view his demise as a ‘romantic’ end to such a colorful and productive life. But what is undeniable is that Piri Reis’s creations stand as beacons of knowledge from his era. 

GOLDEN DREAMS SERDAR KOÇHİSARLI

  After 30 years in jewel crafting business, Mr. Serdar KOCHISARLI has decided to give up serial production after a long time of expertise and to follow his dreams. He started to design his own jewellery productions in his small studio in Sultanahmet – the Old City of Istanbul.

  Any object around him may be an inspiration source for him; a dramatic voice of a violin or happy sings of nightingales... His hands give life to gold and he treats his products like his babies. When you ask him about his “babies”, you can see his eyes shine with joy and you understand that jewellery is much more than just a profes- sion for him. He is a kind of storyteller; the only difference is that he uses gold, silver and gems instead of words...

  Mr. KOCHISARLI produces very special items for next generations and make his “babies” live forever...

Did you know?

  Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, a famous Ottoman Sultan from 16th century, is well-known as a brave, intelligent, even-handed leader but on the other hand, he was also a very skilful jewelcrafter... 

Ghosts of the Bosphorus

MEMORIES OF A CITY...

    The Bosphorus, replete with a magical beauty in its water, and the mesmerizing architecture of its houses, pavilions, and splendid palaces along the shorelines. Jason and the Argonauts sped through here, the Golden Fleece stowed, fleeing Phineus, the King of Thrace, resisting the temptation of the Harpies.Where the mouth of the Bosphorus meets the Black Sea was known as the Symplegad, meaning ‘Clashing Rocks,’ which crushed everything that passed between them. Stories of these rocks are numerous, but there is one heart-aching love story, about which rumors continue to this day.

   In the 19th century, Sadullah was paşa (right-hand man) to Sultan Abdülaziz. But Sadullah Paşa and friends supported the claim of would-be sultan Murad V, helping to exile the sitting ruler. Murad, though, found himself unable to deal with the pressures of royal life, losing his mental balance so that his brother, Abdulhamit, became Sultan Abdulhamit II. The new sultan did not trust Sadullah, and exiled both him and his friends. Sadullah lived first in Berlin before moving to Vienna. There, while his wife was waiting for him in Istanbul, he had a forbidden affair with a maid. When the maid announced that she was pregnant, Sadullah, torn, fell into a deep depression and ended up committing suicide. Yet, the story doesn’t end there...

   Sadullah’s wife, Necibe, waited for her husband for more than fourteen years during his exile. Sadullah had told her that pink was ‘her’ color, and when she received news of his death she ignored the truth, continuing to wear only pink and continuing her wait for him. In time, she lost her mind, but still no one could stop her from wearing pink, and only pink, as she waited for her lost husband. Since her death, some say a lady in pink appears in the house at night, walking slowly from one room to another...

    The story of the Sadullah Paşa family is full of sadness. Even today, their yalı (a house next to the sea) is empty as a result of the story and its reputation for bringing bad luck to subsequent owners—all of whom either had accidents or suffered bankruptcy while living in or after leaving this now famous yalı.

   Today the yalı stands aloof in Çengelköy with its rose madder color. And who knows, maybe you will see the lady in pink during your Bosphorus cruise...

Simit / Ayran - King of the Street Foods

Simit is a type of bagel that has a magical power that everyone love it; from rich business men to broke students. Traditionally it is standard bread-dough shaped as a circle, boiled in hot water with a little pekmez (Grape molasses) for a few seconds and then covered with sesames and finally fried in stone owens. It smells great, a taste of heaven... You can have your simit without anything or you can dip it into your hot tea... But perfect the combination of the simit is with Ayran...

Ayran is very traditional drink made of yogurt, cold water and little bit of salt (if you like). In Anatolia, for good ayran, generally sour yogurt is used and a yogurt + water combination is put in a wooden churn and then depending on the region, shakes or beats them all together and is then drunk cold. It is always preferred along with meals, especially hot ones...

In Turkey, eating simit along with drinking Ayran can be counted as local meal mostly as lunch. It is delicious, nutritional, healthy, cheap and easy to reach. Unfortunately, not all street-sellers simits’ are as tasty as stone-oven ones but during your stay, you should taste it as it is warm, crunchy. Professional simit lovers like it a little burned.

Museum of Innocence

Masterpiece of Orhan PAMUK

I did not realize that was the best moment of my life...


Memories are the sole shelter when we feel sad or bad. Especially from youth which always mist over our eyes because of our pure and naive thoughts and feelings... Now think about a book; written by Orhan PAMUK (Nobel Award winner) who listened the story from the main character and collected all the materials which had been the subjects of the book and exhibits them in the house where one of the main characters has really lived...

This novel is generally a read twice novel; first before visiting the Museum and then after your visit. Seeing all those remnants of pure and innocent love will force you to read the book again, questioning if this love could be possible, so pure and so naïve... Mr. Pamuk lets you to understand the dynamics of the fragile land which has blended with many suffers, happiness and fights... In the melancholic mist of the country, he found the way to connect the hearts from the past to the present... They lived, he wrote and we still admire...

If you are looking for a meaningful gift for your lover, this book will be the best option to attract him or her...

Sahmaran DEADLY BEAUTY...

Maran refers to being part human and part snake. Snakes are common in legend for being mysterious creatures, and are connected to many stories and beliefs. South-eastern Turkey is full of such legends. One legend tells that Sahmaran was the sultan of the Maran. Though the original legend tells of him being a man, a more commonly known and romantic version tells that Sahmaran was actually female.

Once upon a time, a shepherd accidently fell in a cave full of snakes. Afraid for his life, he heard a soft voice calling to him. “Do not be afraid...” it said, and the snakes proceeded to move aside and open a path for him to follow. At the end of the path, he found a beautiful woman sitting on a throne covered with jewels, and from her waist down she was a snake...

On account of a prophecy foretelling that this man would cause her death should he leave, she had to find a way to keep him in her cave. Inviting him to stay with her, she fell in love with the willing shepherd, and would tell him many tales as a way of filling his loneliness. But still the shepherd began to miss life outside, and miss his mother, so one day he asked Sahmaran that he might spend a day outside the cave, promising to return and never to tell a soul of her and the palace in the cave. Sahmaran, though, knew full well what would happen if she were to let him go...

Meanwhile, the king of the land had fallen incurably ill. Only the flesh of Sahmaran could heal him, it was said. An evil witch told the king to force all the people to go to the hamam (Turkish baths), there to disrobe, because it was said that part of the body of whoever had seen Sahmaran would be covered with snake scales. When the shepherd returned to his village, he was taken captive by soldiers and brought to the hamam. Forcing him to take off his clothes, they found snake scales on his back.

They took him to the palace and threw him into the dungeons to compel him to tell them the whereabouts of Sahmaran... After several days of suffering, the shepherd finally told them that he could bring Sahmaran to them, and so they released him.

The shepherd went back to the cave and told Sahmaran that if she wanted, he could show her his village. Sahmaran looked into the eyes of her lover, and even though she saw the truth in them, she accepted his invitation. Together they left the cave and traveled to the village. In the hamam, the soldiers attacked her. But with one simple move, she defeated them, declaring that should anyone dare to approach her, she would kill them with the snakes on her head. Only the shepherd could kill her, she told them. “Cut my body into three pieces,” she said. “Whoever takes a bite from my snake scales will gain the secrets of the world; whoever eats my body will be rid of all illnesses; but whoever takes a bite from my head will die instantly.”

The shepherd turned on his lover, killing her. The witch forced to him take a bite of the head, while she took a bite of the scales, and the king a bite of the flesh. The king was healed, as foretold, but the witch got her comeuppance and died, while the shepherd was not affected at all. Even as Sahmaran passed away, she took care of her love...

Today, Sahmaran has a well-known form: a part-snake / part-human body with six snakes for legs. She wears a crown adorned with ram horns, and generally in the background is a big rose. A common belief is that paintings of Sahmaran protect houses from fire. Even today, Sahmaran paintings can be seen in Eastern Turkey, especially as part of a girl’s dowry.