Here's what I've been drinking lately - The black tea with the rose petals in the lower left corner is "Special Turkish Tea" from the markets outside of the Egyptian Market (Spice Market) in the Old City of Istanbul. We heard the prices in the Egyptian Market were out of this world (60 euro per... Continue Reading →
Dining. We read many, many reviews detailing poor food and various ripoffs at dining establishments in Old City/Beyoglu/Istiklal/Karakoy. Yet somehow all restaurants are rated 4.8 in Google. And many with significant numbers of one star reviews under those 4.8 average ratings. It started to sound like Venice - bad food, bad service, high prices. Perhaps... Continue Reading →
Istanbul for me used to be one of those crazy places that "regular" people don't go to, like Antarctica or the Olympics, and I got just that reaction from several people when told of our destination. What really planted the seed was our visit to St Mark's Cathedral in Venice which houses the Triumphal Quadriga,... Continue Reading →
We walked into EspressoLab on Istiklal street and for a moment I forgot where I was. Me: Do you have Iced Tea?Young, mod Turkish Server's expression says: What are you talking about.Me: You know, tea over ice.Server: Uh, OK?... But Turkish tea!Me (finally remembering I am not in Starbucks in the US): Never mind. Coke... Continue Reading →
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