Thursday — April 22: Part IV
From the Ottoman tombs, we headed to the pedestrian-only Soğukçeşme Sokağı (Cold Fountain Street), which is lined with restored, wooden houses that date back to the Ottoman era. Some of these houses have been converted to hotels; one of them is a book repository with a collection of 10,000 books about İstanbul; yet another one is where the sixth president of Turkey was born. The narrow street requires a wider-lens for good photo ops, so I limited my shutter-clicking this time!
The Fountain of Sultan Ahmet III (1728) is on the way to Soğukçeşme Sokağı.
It is in the Turkish rococo style that became popular during the Lale Devri (Tulip Period).
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At the top of the street is a side door to Ayasofya that was added during the Ottoman period.
The green house (photo on the right) is where Fahri Korutürk, Turkey's sixth president, was born.
Detail from the Korutürk house.
For us Soğukçeşme served as a shortcut to historic Gülhane Park, which roughly translates as “rose place or rose house.” The expansive grounds were once the outer gardens of Topkapı Palace. It was here in 1839 that the reading of the “Gülhane Hatt-ı Hümayunu” (royal decree) launched the reforms of the Tanzimat Period. The goal of the decree was to modernize the empire both militarily and socially so that it could better compete with the great powers of Europe.
We had a beautiful afternoon to stroll through İstanbul’s oldest park and see the beds of colorful tulips on either side of the wide, paved path. By the way, contrary to popular belief, the tulip — or better yet, the “lale” — was first cultivated by the Ottomans, not by the Dutch.
Before we leave the park, we take a moment to rest our weary feet.
We’d planned to grab a cab after exiting the park at Kennedy Caddesi. One look at the traffic that was backed up and not moving an inch in either direction had us hoofing it to Sirkeci instead. The walk was far from pleasant — the air was filled with exhaust fumes; the sidewalk was only one-man wide. But at least we were moving instead of sitting still in a cab. A two-stop ride on the modern tram from Sirkeci across Galata Köprüsü; a quick 2-minute trip on the historic Tünel train from Karaköy up to Beyoğlu; a 5-minute walk along İstiklal Caddesi — we were back at our hotel, tired (very tired), but pleased with our afternoon of sightseeing.
Beyoğlu doesn’t lack for places where one can get a bite to eat morning, day, or night. There are cafés, meyhanes (taverns), patisseries, “simit” salons, elegant restaurants, simple eateries that serve “ev yemekleri” (home style cooking), and even street vendors to choose from. Some are on İstiklal Caddesi; others are on the many side streets that branch off in every direction. Some only offer inside seating, but many more offer sidewalk seating (in 2009, a law was passed banning smoking except in outside venues).
From the multitude of options open to us, we picked Gedikli Meyhanesi, in Asmalımescit, a once-prominent neighborhood of a time when Beyoğlu was better known as Pera. Gedikli’s location on Sofyalı Sokak, just a few blocks down from the hotel, was ideal for weary feet that didn’t want to go far.
Having made reservations in advance, we were seated immediately at one of the few remaining tables. (In fact, our table is in the bottom ce
How good was the food? Let me ask you … do you see any photographs of the mezes? We were already well into our feast before I even thought to take a picture or two!!! There was a crisp green salad; an excellent white cheese (aka feta); a yummy marinated octopus salad (this from someone who doesn’t much care for octopus); a tangy “semizotu” (purslane) salad made with thick, creamy yogurt; and sautéed “yaprak ciğer” (thin slices of liver) … not for me thank you very much.
The pièce de résistance, everyone agreed, was the “şakşuka” (chunky cubes of fried eggplant served with a fresh tomato sauce laden with garlic) and the “karides güveç” (shrimp sautéed in a clay pot) with sizzling butter for dipping bread. I can still taste both. Yummy, yummy, yummy.
Murat ordered “barbun” (mullet) as the final course. Having gorged themselves on the mezes, the three ladies opted out of this last dish, leaving Murat to finish up.
My tummy sated, I did remember to take a picture of the barbun.
We left Gedikli around 9:30p. Despite the damp, nighttime chill, the crowds dining al fresco on the sidewalks had increased. Though the real action in the streets of Beyoğlu was just getting started, for us it was time to head back to the hotel for a quiet night in our respective rooms.
Left: The historic trams of İstanbul run the length of İstiklal Caddesi.
Right: Time to call it a night!
Speaking of rooms, mine overlooks another wing of the hotel and the Russian Embassy next door (I told you it was nowhere near the Yerebatan Sarnıcı; read the previous post if this isn’t making sense). The room is nice and quiet. I hope A&M don’t regret insisting that I take this room (it was originally assigned to them); they’re in a room that overlooks busy İstiklal Caddesi!
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