Ten Perfect Things to Eat your First Day in Istanbul.

A fabled city is a 45 minute flight away from my home, and I had never been. It is so close, you always figure you can go whenever you like, kind of like the Chrysler building for New Yorkers. So I finally did, to turn my Mother's connection to San Francisco into a little holiday in itself. We had 48 hours- just enough to have the loosest of plans, with room to try everything. We left our beautiful little jewel box of a hotel at 3:30. By the time we got home after midnight, by luck far more than by design, we had tried these ten street food classics, and nothing but these. This really added to the pleasure- nothing that was not characteristically expressly Istanbul diluted the experience.

1. Kestane Kebab (Roasted Chestnuts)-

The two Charlenes standing in front of Agia Sophia, the Blue Mosque in the background

Agia Sophia closes at 5 in the wintertime- we don't like to rush, but we did not want to cram in everything the next day (given the next day's tragedy, we crammed in nothing at all but a reprieve so timeless it was surreal.). We were hungry enough it would prove distracting (I thought. In fact the Agia Sophia- curiously called "Hagia Sophia"- introduced to me first in my Smith College Art 100 survey, is so soaringly enormous that every sensation but sight is put on hold to take it all in, even then incompletely). Outside in the charming manicured plaza between Agia Sophia and the Blue Mosque are vendors with elaborate carts selling roasted chestnuts. Yes it could be Rockefeller center, or our own Aristotle Square, but as it turned out these are a truly Istanbul treat. In fact as time unfolded we saw roasted chestnuts everywhere, and always for the same price of 5 tl for the 200 g bag, just enough to stave the hunger of three. They were fat, sweet, easy to peel, As you see, the same stands sometime, but not always, sell roasted corn.

2. Dondurma (Ice Cream)-

Charlene getting faked out by the Dondourma guy

Turkish ice cream is like no other. Gelato gets its body from cornstarch, French ice cream from egg yolks. Turkish ice cream is bound from the pounded root of a wild orchid- salep- it is dense, sticky, stretchy. Fun to eat, and,apparently, fun to serve. They do this thing- since it is sticky and elastic they can pull it and twirl it around and spin it and move it from cone to cone and do little magic tricks with it and fake you out. A small cone- little bit of every flavor- was 7 tl, more than the chestnuts, and absolutely worth the show. It's also delicious, fun to play within the mouth.

3. Balik Ekmek (Fish Sandwich)

The man in black behind the cashier is actually on a boat-
that's where they grill the fish and make the sandwiches.

These are famous. We read about them in the Lonely Planet. Our friend told us about them, and the charming floating restaurants tethered to the docks by the Galata bridge. He said it is fun to go for fish sandwiches- a piece of grilled mackerel with some onions and lettuce. I said "that doesn't sound so great," and he said "no, it's not." and it wasn't- kind of fishy, lots of bread. But he was certainly right- it was fun to eat there, a covered garish and cheerful place with little low tables, and the fish itself grilling on a boat pitching to and fro on the choppy Bosporus. The sandwich- quite large, certainly as large as you would like- is 6 tl. There were some other visitors, like us, but local couples and families made up most of the crowd. A hidden bonus- the big bready roll makes you really thirsty, thirsty enough to try a cup of şalgam. 

4. Şalgam (Sour turnip juice)-

This bright red juice of fermented carrot or turnip or cabbage- we read different accounts- is sour, salty, a little piquant, and the plastic cup is jammed with pickles and crunchy leaves of pickled cabbage. Vendors outside the Balik Ekmek stalls sell it to the customers inside. The carts are elaborate and festive. Salgam seems like it would be an acquired taste and (salty and crunchy and sour, it's hardly a coca-cola) it is. But you acquire it right away- after that bracing first swallow you want more and more. We got another, and then later passing through on our way to the hammam, a third one to have as a post-sweat savory Anatolian gatorade. It was like nothing I'd ever, ever had. Şalgam redefines delicious and refreshing (2 tl).

5. Çay (tea)

“Caysiz sohbet, aysiz gok yuzu gibidir”

(Conversations without tea are like a night sky without the moon)

-Folk saying from Sivas, Turkey

That bowl in the foreground is filled with individually wrapped sugar cubes.

We love the grace tea adds to any moment in our household. It adds grace to seemingly ever hour in Istanbul too. Adding to the charm? The beautiful little glasses, tiny spoon, and individually wrapped sugar cubes. Our first of many cups of tea was on a random commuter ferry we boarded at Eminönü. A man circulated with a tray of hot tea (1,5 tl) and Sahlep, and long thin toasted sandwiches- a genteel, fully catered commute.

6. Sahlep-

The thing that gives the ice cream its body and chew also makes a hot drink. We have sahlep (salepi) in Greece too- viscous, a little yellowish, a little clear. I have never been crazy about it. Everyone said the salepi is different here and it was! Creamy and gentle and completely opaque white. A soothing drink. The thickness keeps it ultra-hot for a long long time. We just held the cups to warm our hands as we watched the passing banks of the Bosporus aglow in the evening light, breathing in the sweet scent cinnamon, until it was cool enough to drink. I would take a commuter ferry just have it again.

7. Osmanli Lokmasi- Loukoumades (hot honey syrup drenched donuts)

A town outside of Thessaloniki is famous for two things- loukoumades, and racism. There was this really unpleasant incident where townspeople did not want the kid with the best grades to carry the flag at the parade because he was from Albania. One of the small minded women was actually making loukoumades during the tv interview. So: the fact that some Turkish kids beat her hands down at loukoumades made us smile. As if we weren't smiling enough already. And these were even cold! They usually aren't worth eating cold. We got another, asked for a hot one this time, and gave ourselves over to the pleasure of the moment, completely wrapped up in this little plastic cup (3 tl) of bliss in the chilly evening, by the greenish fluorescent lights of the stand. We thought of getting a third, but got another turnip juice instead, so we would not be overcome at the hammam. I passed by a loukoumades stand at the agricultural fair today and they turned my head, but I wouldn't risk tainting the recent memory of perfection. Besides, it would have been unfair.

8. Sirma Lemon Soda

This was next to the soda- I didn't take a picture because I didn't know how delicious it would be. Here are some gorgeous '60's graphics,
and Aryan (like a buttermilk) in plastic foil-topped containers.

The best lemon soda I have ever tried. That is saying a lot- Greece has many small family run soda-pop factories and they all turn out delicious, zingy lemon sodas with lots of natural lemon juice. This one, with something on the label that said vitamin C, was cloudy and so thick with fresh lemon it was almost, but not quite, too sour. 

9. Döner kebab

We went to the hammam for the whole of the late evening. It closed at midnight, so we were happily hungry again. A few Döner places were still open.The man laid out one oblong thin bread and crossed it with another, added salad and a sauce of yogurt and mint that we could not get enough of, and wrapped it into a tidy cylinder where every bite has the right amount of everything. A dog followed us- we had to share it with him.

10. Pişmaniye

We got a box of this dreamy cotton-candy halva hybrid spun sugar toasted flour treat and ate it in bed in our hotel room after the hammam, washed down with sour turnip juice. We put balls of it in wine glasses and pulled off shreds with our fingers. From touch alone you would never think this is food- it feels like some gossamer insulation or packing material- dry, fluffy, delicate. You put wisps of it in your mouth and it melts on the tongue, leaving a lingering faint coating of richness from the roasted flour. Because of this flour, it is less sweet than cotton candy, so you can just keep eating wisp after wisp of it until you fall asleep, which is exactly what we did.

Love at first sight? Oh yeah. Here are five things that add grace and charm to everyday life in Istanbul.

Istanbul's Urban Transportation is a delightful (and sometimes fully catered) adventure! More about that here. 

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Celebrating Christmas in Greece.

Agia Sophia. Thessaloniki.

For the most part, we have to make do without a sugar-coating of snow (unless we drive up to the mountains- never far!). Apart from that, the Greek holiday season has everything going for it, classic, spontaneous, and above all, authentic. Festive, generous, and maybe not so commercial.

Christmas-

It is not St. Nick or Claus that the children await, but St. Vassilis, who is celebrated on January 1. Even if you are not religious (or Christian), it's refreshing to have this otherwise gargantuan holiday have less emphasis on shopping, more on generosity, friends, and gratitude. 

The week leading up to Christmas-

Make Kourabiedes and Melomakarona- they are in every house and every shop. Or buy them (but at least make the Kourabiedes- they are all about the butter and the store bought ones are with cheaper alternatives. Also they are very easy to make.) 

Buy mandarin oranges- they make the house smell fabulous! Everyone has them around for the holidays. Get a few kilos- forget pointsettas, you want mountains of these! Get them at the weekly "laiki" market- cheaper, fresher, more fun.

Christmas Eve day- 

This used to start early, really pre-dawn early. Why? The "Calanda." I would lose sleep for this custom any day. Kids go door to door singing one specific carol (they come back New Year's Eve day, with another specific carol). They say "Should we sing it?" and we answer "sing it!" and they do, as fast as possible, not always skilfully, and with triangles clanging hectically. Why so fast? We give them money. They make a shocking amount! In the past the bell would ring constantly. Now, we are lucky to have five or six groups a day.

Hope for the best and start saving up your change. We want to keep the custom alive so be generous- a euro each and five for a larger group is not too much. 

Christmas Eve Day-

Resist the practical urge to shop for your meal in advance at a well-stocked supermarket on the edge of town. Get whatever you can at your small local specialty shops (reserve your meats in advance)- each is decorated and full of cheer.

My favorite shop on Kalidromiou,
Exarchia, (Athens)

Leave a few of the lighter-weight purchases for town and brave your central market- three days a year seized with madness- today, the 31st, and "Tsiknopempti." Buy your cheeses and meet up with friends at the impromptu street parties at every cafe and shop. Smoke from grilling souvlakia fills the air. Gypsies are out with drums and clarinets (better from a distance). Gypsy kids are out too. I'm pretty sure they don't get to keep the money they gather, but they will definitely eat the chocolates that buy specially in order to stuff into your jacket pockets or bag to share with them. And get some roasted chestnuts!- Thessaloniki, Athens, Rockefeller Center- smells like holidays. And a cup of Salepi- a thick hot drink from the pounded root of a wild orchid-

Too loud and crazy? Stop into a church, light a candle, and think about things to be grateful for-

Agios Dimitrios, Thessaloniki. 

Try to get home in enough time for a nap, because Christmas Eve is family first, and "Reveillon" later- after a family dinner, many go out for Reveillon at bouzoukia and bars, returning in they soft gray light of dawn. In addition to the holiday, all the Christos and Christinas have their name day tomorrow, and many are out celebrating tonight.

Christmas Day-

A big family dinner- lamb or goat, or often the only time a year a Greek family buys a turkey. The typical stuffing? Rice, with chestnuts and pine nuts. No cranberry sauce (they totally do not get it. "Jam? Jam with the meat?"). It's delicious anyway. More Korabiedes and Melomakarona, and usually some Champagne!

The 26th-

Businesses and shops are closed for the second day of Christmas- a relaxing day for seeing family and friends. But cafes and bars are open (Clubs too- we are having our Christmas party with the Speakeasies, Thessaloniki's fabulous Swing band, and special cocktails by Charlene- if you are in Thessaloniki, come by!)

Now we have the rest of the week to prepare for the New Year's celebrations- a holiday Greece does superbly.

Kala Christouyenna.

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Urban Holiday!

As the saying goes, the best things in life are free. For many of the lusher sensual pleasures of life, you may need a little money. In the '70 's, my parents had this travel guide called "Europe on $5 a Day." In our generous, abundant Greece, this is almost still true.

Years ago, when money flowed with more abandon, we used to go to an island for vacation (magnificent Crete- land of wild goats, rich bronze wine and zesty meaty snails with rosemary and vinegar). We would stay for several weeks. It was very nice. But we didn't know what we were missing: summer in the city is full of pleasures. Our era may be one of resourcefulness, but certainly not of austerity- long shimmering days are filled with one delight after the next. Urban holidays are full of allure. 

The "Therino"-

One of the most fabulous things about summer in the city in Greece- the verdant, blossomed outdoor garden locations of independent movie houses. Deck chairs sink into white gravel, fuschia bougainvillea glow in the darkness from high walls, cicadas sing, and they serve hard liquor in good short glasses at the snack bar. The program is a little broader and richer than we find in the main season- just the right mix of Culture (yes with a capital "C"- Last Year at Marienbad, Pranzo di Ferragosto), classics (The Birds! Charade!), and whatever pleasingly commercial first-run movies we missed in the winter. The breeze is silky, jasmine scented, leaving from occasional cigarettes only the faintest trails of blue smoke and glowing points of light, like fireflies. Tickets are usually 5 Euros at the beginning of the week. From my favorite cinema in Athens, you can see the Parthenon off to the left. But the tiny back balconies with clean laundry hanging from them that surround my favorite Thessaloniki therina have their own charm. (of course they have outdoor cinema on the islands, but in Thessaloniki we have close to a dozen).

"Kafeneia" (Old-man cafes)-

There are two main genres of coffee houses in Greece- "Kafeteria" and "Kafeneia." Kafeterias have modern decor, chic clientelle, elegant service, an exhaustive menu of specialty coffee drinks. Along with all this, they have a slightly amped-up atmosphere. Kafeneia have none of these things. 

In winter, classic Kafeneia have an equally classic Jim Jarmusch circa Stranger Than Paradise- cool vibe of bleakness; in summer though, they have tables in the juicy deep shade of the fabled plane tree. Kafeneia are characterized by several things:

-they are frequented by men over 70 who have come to debate or play backgammon

-they are blindingly bright (that bleakness);

-for watching an important match they are without equal; 

-they are extremely inexpensive; 

-there is almost never any music (and when there is, it's delightfully pre-'70's) 

-best of all- the prime locations seem always to be occupied by one. 

Drink local: by day a Greek coffee or an orangeade of syrupy concentrated sweetened juice and cold water. After siesta, an ouzo meze (a sort of mixed tapas a la Greque)- this is a small glass of cloudy white ouzo on ice (...pastis a la Greque) with a saucer of assorted savory bites- maybe an anchovy, a cucumber spear, an olive, a smear of pink taramosalata. Having one will not interfere with dinner; a second one makes for a satisfying snack and a stiff drink. Beers come in the large-sized bottle. They will bring you a glass, but no one will mind if you don't use it. The rhythmic sound of dice and backgammon tiles is like pebbles in the surf (there is a word for this sound in Greek- "fleisvos".)

(Sub)urban swim:

When I spent summers in Crete, the sea was right outside my door. Now I take 2 buses to the beach on the outskirts of the city- it takes about a fat half an hour. Greek friends make fun of me for swimming in the low rent suburbs. But then I grew up swimming in Brooklyn (the A train to Coney Island), so I'm really in no position to be getting uppity. 

Stillwell Avenue, Coney Island, B'klyn.

It's a proverbial sardine can during the shank of the day; when I return from an early swim I see the tightly packed buses on their way out, and when I go at dusk they are crowded in the other direction. In the opalescent dawn sea with the octogenarians, 

or much later on, completely alone, bathed in the light of an apricot moon and velvet waters of the Aegean, 

The sea by night is flat like glass,
even with a lightning storm in the distance.

it's a slice of postcard-perfect holiday for 1 Euro and 20 cents. 

This brings me to the next pleasure, the day itself.

The Greek Summer double day:

The hypnotic, shimmering heat slices the day like a cleaver into two: a rosy-fingered dawn of solitude (strong bitter coffee, cool tiles under your feet, that early morning swim), and a long social evening, heavy with the perfume of fig trees. Dawn starts at about 5:30- a much less inspiring hour in winter- but even rising at 7:30 offers a taste of it. By the time a slow and lazy lunch draws to a close, having been up for so many hours you can enjoy a fat siesta in a darkened bedroom while the heat pulses outside and the cicadas lull you to sleep. Hopefully you will wake vaguely disoriented, just in time for the evening promenade or a dusk swim, aperitifs, maybe a movie, and that best of Greek pleasures- another long, sociable meal stretching late into the sweet hot night.

Marie Antoinette would be the first to say "yes"
to a moonlight swim and an aperitif.

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