Hellos from Istanbul – Istanbul'dan Merhaba!

Entrance of the Istanbul Culinary Institute, Istanbul

A very warm welcome to you all from Istanbul! It’s been a few days since we have been here, and it feels fantastic to be back home:) There are so many special moments to share, and I will try to give you a little glimpse of the few days in this fascinating city.

I visited the wonderful Istanbul Culinary Institute, we are all set for my Turkish cooking class at the Institute on Tuesday, 7th August! They are still taking enrollment for the class, so if you are in Istanbul and like to join us, please sign up for your spot at Istanbul Culinary – Classes

Istanbul Culinary has also a wonderful cafe, with seasonal fresh produce – a great spot in Beyoglu for a delicious lunch or drink.

Anyone for a freshly squeezed orange juice?

And this has been my daily, freshly squeezed orange juice – can’t get enough!

Cheesy toast - peynirli tost with salad

And this has been a favorite lunch – peynirli tost; cheesy toast with a salad of tomato, cucumber, greens and olives. Coban Salata, Shepherd’s Salata is a wonderful traditional salad of sliced tomatoes, cucumbers, green (pointy or bell) peppers, dressed with lemon juice and olive oil; so refreshing.

Pera Museum, well worth visiting

If you are in Beyoglu area, Pera Museum so well worth visiting; they now have the “Intersecting Worlds; Ambassadors and Painters” Exhibition.

Tram is a great way transport in Beyoglu

Once you are in Beyoglu, Istiklal Street, you can go all the way up or down the long Istiklal Street with the traditional tram – fun too!

it was wonderful to meet with Joy from My Turkish Joys

I was delighted to meet up the fellow blogger Joy  from the wonderful blog My Turkish Joys at Galata Kiva, sampling delicious, regional Turkish dishes.

Delicious spread of local dishes, sini oruk (ground meat and spices between layers of this bulgur mixture), stuffed onions and many more Galata Kiva

Galata Tower, worth visiting for a panoramic view of Istanbul

While you are in Beyoglu, you can easily walk to Galata, and visit the Galata Tower for a  spectacular view of Istanbul.

Irresistable Turkish Breakfast spread

One thing I can’t get enough is our traditional Turkish breakfast consisting of white cheese, kasar – Turkish cheddar cheese, delicious olives, slices of tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, fried egg with Turkish sausages – sucuk, local honey, sesame seeded simit – bread rings. We met with friends by the Bosphorus and enjoyed this feast!

Here we are with happy smiles after the wonderful Turkish breakfast 🙂

Cafe with a view; I am grateful to be here and taking all these precious sights in

I loved this painting of the Vapur, local ferry with passangers on

The Rumeli Fortress by the Bosphorus

If you can, take the local ferries – vapur – along the Bosphorus, wonderful way to see and appreciate both sides of Istanbul.

I hope you enjoy the photos, and one day, have a chance to visit Fascinating Istanbul.

Best wishes for happy travels from Istanbul : )

Ozlem