First Impressions - Istanbul, Turkey
4 Stars This place was Great visited Sep 15, 2005
First real döner in turkey: disappointing. We were starving and went into the first doorway we saw with a kebab spit out the front. Turned out to be a kebab joint that aspired to restaurant status, complete with red plush seats and leather menu holders. We ordered one overpriced dürüm döner and a drink to share. It was entirely without sauce and dry and horrible. We'll have another asap, from an ordinary street kebab joint this time. Real Turkish Delight: We have found a wondrous shop. They have every sort of turkish delight and halva that you could possibly imagine. We are already regulars, and it's only 24 hours since we found it. I started with plain, vanilla turkish delight. Much chewier than any I've had before, and strongly and deliciously flavoured. Turkish Icecream: I never knew it was different! We bought an icecream each today when in need of a sugar fix. I can honestly say I have never uttered the phrase "I still have icecream stuck in my teeth" before. Turkish icecream is thick and slightly chewy, and very strong in flavour. And the chocolate is a rich dark brown and actually tastes like cold, soft, chewy chocolate! Incredible! The Bazaar Quarter: See, this isn't all about food! We wandered into the bazaar quarter today pretty much by accident, while looking for a post office and internet. At first it was wonderful, although the crush of people and noise and hawkers trying to sell you things by practically pushing them up your nose was slightly worse than in most of the rest of this city. We thought we'd just try to get through to the other side. Bad idea. Several tiny streets and alleys and uphills (there are some serious hills in this town) and millions of people later, my agoraphobia is getting the better of me, and we turn for what I think is the quickest way out along the quietest streets. The variety and quantity and fascinatingness of the things for sale is amazing and fantastic and looks incredible, but I think I will have to be more psychologically prepared before I wander in there again!