It is our last day in Istanbul and we left the charming Armada Hotel -but please check out their wonderful breakfast; fresh seasonal fruit, dried fruit,all kinds of cheeses and olives,
Different home made jams, natural honey, yoghurt, grains, pastries, simit, different ways with eggs and many more. Over looking to Hagia Sophia and Blue Mosque, this has been the breakfast I look forward to every morning:)
And we started our journey towards the Dardanelles (the strait that connects Europe to Asia at the other end of Sea of Marmara) to see the battlefields of Gallipoli. We passed endless fields of sunflowers, such an uplifting, happy site to see.
On the way, sampled some wonderful fresh calamari shallow fried in a light batter and cheese and parsley filled “Sigara Boregi” for lunch.
And here we are crossing the Dardanelles – you can see the battlefields of Gallipoli
at the landing.
And before my internet connection goes away, here comes the replica of the wooden house at Troy. Look forward to sharing more later!:)
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Find out moreFascinating Grand Bazaar and Spice Market, Istanbul
The over 400 year old Grand Bazaar is worth a stop in Istanbul; this ancient mall seem to capture all the colours and spirit of the city,
Colours are so mesmerising; colorful lamps, jewellery, cups and bowls, leather, you name it,it is there. You would get tourist prices I am afraid, but it is a joy just to witness all the hub there – and in the meantime, master the bargaining!
My favorite part is shops selling olive oil soaps and lovely Turkish towels. The olive oil soap is wonderful to the skin, highly recommended!
And how can you not get mesmerised at the ancient Spice Market? Wonderful spices – Turkish red pepper flakes, cumin, sumac, black pepper, nuts, Turkish delight, all kinds of tea and many more.
Make sure the soak up the atmosphere at the Spice Market and stock up all the wonderful spices!
Baklava Uncovered, Gulluoglu – Istanbul
This whole post deserves to be dedicated to our Baklava Masterclass with the baklava experts at Gulluoglu. We have been looking forward to our baklava class for months to reveal how the genuine article is made – and here it is!
Gulluoglu Baklava is a family owned store and they have been making “hand made” baklava for 6 generations – the daily production ranges from 2-5 tons, all hand made!
They use organic butter, pure cane sugar – no honey!-, and it is a result of their mastership for 150 years, very impressive.
Here is the baklava making master class 🙂
The dough is being pushed thru a special machine (similar for making pasta) to stretch. This is the only step that involves machinery.
Once the pastry is paper thin (2mm width), we start layering on a buttered tray.
The hand rolled pastry is so thin that you can see through my logo, 
as well as the flags behind it!
Our baklava master layered 20 sheets of pastry ( and sprinkled melted butter on every 4 sheets) than generously spread finely crushed pistachios (or at some cases walnuts)on the 20th layer.
He cut the sheets first horizontally and poured melted butter over them – cutting helps the butter to penetrate every level. Then he cut vertically and splashed another dose of butter all around. The baklava is now ready to be baked in the oven at 165 C.
In the meantime, the syrup is prepared, consisting of pure cane sugar, lemon juice and water – no honey in it!
Once cooked, hot syrup is poured over the hot baklava, and then let it rested at the cool area.
And here is the real thing; wonderful, melt in the mouth delicious baklava. It is so light that you feel like eating the whole tray! I hope you get a chance to try the real baklava in Turkey:)