Charming villages of the Aegean 2 : Bozcaada

     "God created Tenedos so people could lead longer lives" said Heredotus. Bozcaada really is an extraordinary heaven with its streets adorned with oleander, begonia and honeysuckle. It features local wines, historical fortress, clean sea and warm - hearted people... 

 
  Bozcaada's Greek  and Turkish traditions have greatly influenced the island's culture.  Throug the island's longtime  Greek residents moved away, Bozcaada's Greek district still retains its original street plan and traditional Greek homes.  The Turkish district has a completely diffrent look and feel with beautiful mosques, narrow streets, fountains and hammams.

   Once you get to Bozcaada, all you may want to do is eat some divine local food, swirl some Turkish wine or rakı and relax on the beach or in a white - washed chair

    

   

    The island’s town center is divided into Greek and Turkish sections, referring to the groups who originally built the districts. You’ll see a mosque and Ottoman architecture on one side and an old church with a tall clock tower and white-washed houses like you find in Greece on the other side. 

  Bozcaada is known for its Turkish wines, so you can sample the likes of Talay, Corvus and Çamlıbağ in the city center.

 

   Try some of the amazing local food! The island's gastronomy reflects the culinary traditions of 500 years of Turkish - Greek cohabitation. 

  Çayır Plajı, Ayazma, Akvaryum and Tuzburnu Plajı, are also good places to take a dip in the crystalline water. 

If you find yourself in Turkey and you’re craving a taste of island life, make time for Bozcaada...

Charming villages of the Aegean 1 : Şirince

    When a group of room feeling the harsh living conditions of the City of Ephesus climbed the mountains, they discovered Şirince, a secret heaven. To keep its beauty a secret, they called this heavenly place "Çirkince"( Ugly). People from diffrent cultures and beliefs lived in peace and understanding here for centuries under the shadows of century - old trees. With plenty of valleys, waterfalls, vineyards and bird chirping, the village offers a fairy tale- like vacation to those who love peace and silence. Don't leave here without tasting the homemade fruit wine... 

Highlights of the Sirince:

• Tasting the homemade fruit wine 
• Visiting St Johns church which is being restored
• Tasting olives and olive oil and buying hand made olive oil soap
• Visiting the restored Orthodox church with fountain and statue of the Virgin Mary
• Shopping in the  market street 

A Tower, Two Mosques and a love story

Mihrimah was the beloved daughter of Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent and the only sister to his five sons from his beloved Hürrem Sultan. Her name  is Mihrimah which means the "sun and moon" in Farsi.

When Mihrimah is seventeen,a good age to get married in those years,there are two lovers of hers. One of them is Rüstem Pasha(the governer of Diyarbakir) and the other one is Sinan the Architect,the head architect of palace.

The padisah weds Rüstem Pasha and Mihrimah as Sinan is 50 and already married but it is clear that Sinan is deeply in love with Mihrimah Sultan.Though he isn’t able to achieve his dream, he wanted to reflect his feelings to his art.

Sinan was commissioned to design the  Mihrimah Sultan Mosque near the Bosphorus in Uskadar in 1548. The design mimics the silhouette of a woman in a skirt. After Rustem Pasa died, Sinan designed a new mosque without palace approval. He built the Mihrimah Sultan Mosque on the highest hill of Istanbul in Edirnekapi (1565).

‘Mihrimah’ means the ‘sun and moon’ and so Sinan designed the Uskadar mosque with less windows, symbolizing the moon. The Edirnekapi mosque has many windows signifying the sun. The Edirnekapi mosque also has one minaret to symbolize Sinan's loneliness and longing for one woman.

The love story suggests that on 21 March (Spring Equinox and Mihrimah's birthday), the sun will set over the single minaret in Edirnekapi and the moon will rise over the mosque in Uskadar.

 You can see both mosques from the Galata Tower. For hopeless romantics, the story is a great excuse to climb the medieval tower during a springtime sunset.

WINTER IS COMING !

   Winter is coming so we thought it would be nice to introduce some of flavours you might come across in Istanbul during the year's coldest months. These tastes are so much a part of Turkish culture that they don't just fill our stomach, but also shape our winter experience too. Below our some of favourites..

   Sahlep is special local drink containing gluten and made from grinding the dried tubers of the orchid,milk and sugar.After boiling,all the ingridients together, it is served with cinnamon powder and drinked as scalding hot. Traditionally it has the reputation here for curing digestive problems and gum disease as well as increasing resistance against coughs and colds.

   Another common drink as well is called ''Boza'' a fermented beverage made of maize,sugar,water and cinnamon powder while serving it. Boza is one of those very traditional drinks and it is typically sold in winter although it is not a hot drink It is associated with cold days because it has warming effect. If you want to taste those drinks,Vefa Bozacisi since its foundation 1876,is still the best adress in Istanbul.

HALİÇ - KNOWN AS GOLDEN HORN BY WESTERN PEOPLE

The Golden Horn geographically separates the historic center of Istanbul from the rest of the city, and forms a natural, sheltered harbor that has historically protected Greek,Roman, Byzantine, Ottoman and other maritime trade ships for thousands of years. While the reference to a "horn" is understood to refer to the inlet's general shape, the significance of the designation "golden" is more obscure, with historians believing it to refer to either the riches brought into the city through the bustling historic harbor located along its shores, or to romantic artistic interpretations of the rich yellow light blazing upon the estuary's waters as the sun sets over the city. Its Greek and English names mean the same, while its Turkish name, Haliç, simply means "estuary", and is derived from the Arabic word Khaleej meaning ''gulf''.

There are many myths about Golden Horn told from generations to generations. One of the most famous is about Keroessa, heroine of the foundational myth of Byzantium. According to the historian Hesychius of Miletus,[3] as Io, changed into a heifer and being chased by a gadfly on behalf of the jealous Hera, was passing through Thrace, she gave birth to a girl, Keroessa, on the banks of the Golden Horn, by the altar of the nymph Semestra. Keroessa was reared by Semestra and grew up surpassing other local maidens in beauty. She had intercourse with Poseidon and in due course gave birth to a son, whom she named Byzas. He became the founder of Byzantium and named the Golden Horn after his mother.

According to one of the 14th century excursionists Ibn Battuta, Golden Horn was like a forest of boats, from galleons to small fishing boats, It was vast and was blocking the view and also people live in European side called people live in Asia side ‘blind people’ as they always ignored the importance of the Golden Horn.

Turkish Breakfast is always a good idea!

                                                                                                                                                               
How about starting your day with an amazing Turkish breakfast?

Turkish breakfast is both a meal and an event. In any case, it’s an unmissable experience on any trip to Istanbul.

A classic Turkish breakfast, better known as 'kahvaltı' consists of fresh cheeses like feta,  black and green olives, fresh-baked white bread, black and/or green olives, fruit preserves, honey, kaymak, mihlama, börek, fried egg with sucuk,sliced tomatoes and/or cucumbers, jam  and plenty of brewed black tea served in Turkish tea glasses.

Highlights of Turkish Breakfast: 

1- Fried eggs with sucuk -  A Turkish breakfast favorite is sucuk cooked on a pan mostly with eggs (sucuklu yumurta). Sucuk is dried sausage made of ground beef with garlic and a variety of spices like red pepper, cumin and sumac. It may be somewhat spicy and fatty, but it sure is awfully delicious.

2- Simit -  Simit  is a circular bread with a hole in the center, covered with sesame seeds. You can buy simit at bakeries across Turkey, as well as from street sellers in the mornings.   

3- Börek -  Börek is a dish made with yufka, a dough much like phyllo pastry. Inside the layers of yufka you'll find a display of Turkish creativity: from minced meat to eggplant, cheese to potatoes, börek comes with various fillings each designed to give you a different experience. 

4- Mıhlama - A quintessential Black Sea dish made with butter, corn flour and cheese; can be eaten any meal of the day...

5- Bal/ Kaymak - There is nothing more decadent than a bite of bal kaymak (honey and cream). Kaymak is clotted cream, scraped off the top of fresh milk and refrigerated. Because nothing here is ever done half-heartedly, Turks spread kaymak on a slice of bread - and on top of that, a layer of honey.

6-
Olives (zeytin) -  Black zeytin range from small, luscious oil-cured to rather dry, too-salty ones. Green olives are flavorful but tart, sometimes bitter, and rarely stuffed with pimiento.

7-  Menemen - Turkish style scrambled eggs with tomatoes, cheese and sliced green peppers..

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...