Juice stand/Vitamin shop: Istanbul, Turkey
Craving some fresh squeezed goodness…
Sunday funday photo
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Tag Archives: Turkey
Sunday funday photo
May 2011: Hangin’ out at the Lycian Necropolis in Kaleköy, Turkey.
Take me back to Constantinople part 2
There are countless museums and historic sites to see in Istanbul and they’re all worthy of a visit. Even though I’m a huge museum nerd, looking back on our time in Istanbul I think my favorite activity was walking through the bazaars and food markets looking at the gorgeous textiles, fresh produce, and sampling food carts.
The Grand Bazaar was our first adventure in the world of Turkish shopping so our fearless leader gave us a crash course in price negotiation. During our tutoring session, we enjoyed a strong cup of tea and coffee at the Shark Cafe or Sark Kahvesi, before putting on our shopping game face.
Several of us (me included) looked ripe for the picking… sweet, wide-eyed, young American women let loose in one of the largest covered markets in Istanbul on a textile mission! We tried out our negotiation tactics after a while and made our first textile purchases. After looking at our loot, our teacher simply said you must keep practicing. We eventually got pretty good; by the time we hit Bodrum, the ladies and I were excellent negotiators.
There are food carts everywhere in Istanbul. One of the most popular were the roasted corn and chestnut stands…so good! 
One of my favs- the vitamin shops…offering freshly squeezed orange and pomegranate juices.
No trip to Turkey would be complete without visiting one of the candy shops to try Turkish Delight. Turkish delight isn’t my favorite but the Turkish baklava rolled in pistachios was amazing.
The next night our teacher took us to the Asian side of Istanbul to visit the Kadikoy Market (aka food paradise). There are several ways to get to the other side but we decided to take the scenic route by ferry. I’m so glad we traveled this way; very cool to see a different perspective of the city and really feel how huge Istanbul is.
When we arrived at the other side, we were absolutely bombarded by the number of food vendors and specialty shops. It’s not a good idea to go there on an empty stomach- sensory overload.
Food is a big deal in Turkey… With a long culinary history dating back to nomadic Turks and the Ottoman Empire, the Turks lay claim on yogurt, baklava, and the kebab. It’s also one of the few countries in the modern world able to fully support its own national food needs.
Having little knowledge about Turkish food would be like before my trip I was pleasantly surprised by what we found…lots of friendly vendors and shop keepers eager to share their goods with us, so many choices, always fresh, and always delicious.
Related articles
- Take me back to Constantinople (emsontheroad.com)
- Anthony Bourdain No Reservations Istanbul
Take me back to Constantinople
This time last year I was walking down a cobblestone street in Turkey on a whirlwind study abroad trip focused on city planning and heritage preservation. Our guide, a city planning professor and native Turk, showed us the landmarks and hidden gems of this beautiful and bustling city on that straddles both Europe and Asia. He hustled us through tiny, crowded streets, showed us the magic of the Turkish food cart, and taught us how to cross the street like a Turk (no need for traffic signals; you just hold your arm out as you walk into the street and hope for the best). My childhood friend Celia and her husband are headed to Istanbul soon for several days on one of their mini vacays. They can do that because they live abroad for the time being…jealous? Yea me too. Having spent some time in Istanbul, she asked me for some of my favorite spots, so I thought I’d share them with y’all too.
This behemoth beauty was once a byzantine church, Ottoman Empire mosque, and is now a museum for the Turkish republic. The interior architecture, mosaics, and decorative details are incredible. Hagia Sophia is one of those buildings where you are constantly looking up…there are endless things to see.
With such a diverse history, the stories of this religious place are literally piled up on the interior in the form of mosaics.
recovered Mary mosaic
More Hagia Sophia
Medusa head as column base
This is the largest of the cisterns in Istanbul and was once used by the Ottomans to supply water to Topkapi Palace. This site is so unique because unlike the rest of Istanbul, it is so quiet beneath the ancient streets. It is a popular attraction, but people were much quieter down here than on the busy street above. *Fun Fact: a scene from the James Bond film From Russia with Love was filmed here.
The Blue Mosque
Across the main square in Istanbul is the Blue Mosque or Sultanahmet Mosque (named for the young sultan who commissioned the structure in the 17th century). Unlike Hagia Sophia, this grand building is still an active mosque. It is known as the Blue Mosque because of the thousands of blue tiles that adorn the incredible interior, and like Hagia Sophia, the chandeliers create a mysterious yet beautiful glow throughout the space.
entry to courtyard
Breathtaking building inside and out, but I will say that years of bare feet on carpet does a number on one’s nose.
More to come…stay tuned!
Sunday funday photo
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This time last year…Bodrum Bodrum
Sunday Funday photo
Hagia Sophia minbar
A minbar is a pulpit used by the imam to give the Friday sermon in a mosque. Hagia Sophia’s minbar was installed by Sultan Murat III (1574-95).
The interior of Hagia Sophia is partially illuminated by enormous chandeliers that fill the former sanctuary space. These chandeliers combined with the natural light coming through windows created the most intense, mysterious glow that reflected off the interior walls. Once a Byzantine church, then an Ottoman mosque, Hagia Sophia is now a museum. Visitors can see actual layers of history throughout the space, as mosaics and other nods to the past continue to be discovered. This building begs to be photographed.
Time for çay
I’m desperately trying to maintain productivity today…class in about 2 hours..time to bust out some çay- Turkish tea don’t mess around. Here is one of my favorite pics from my trip to Turkey in May 2011. 
I was so taken with this woman at the periodic market in Mugla, Turkey. The market as a whole was so busy and loud; this woman stood out to me as she sat quietly on the ground of her booth surrounded by other women, probably daughters and or sisters, methodically separating her veggie loot to sell… Watching her process immediately transported back to the summers of my childhood, sitting in my grandmother’s living room, as she taught me to snap beans (after a long day of pickin’ of course) to get them ready for canning. Somehow I communicated to the Turkish woman my want to photograph her and she graciously obliged.
Em's on the road 
