Hip Istanbul, a hot view & good people.

So let's talk about the good stuff in Istanbul. The free people. The scene that has [a little more] money and knows where to go.

The evening started of at a friends place. He rents an apartment in the groovy district Cihangir. It has everything one could want from a [temporary] place. Lovely old paintings on the stairways, where the teeth of time have left there marks, the stains of water leaking and many a dent of all the people and goods going up and down in the never ending struggle for life and security.

The details in the apartment all tell a story or two. About the original intent and the good & the bad. The attempts to improve or to restore. All have left their traces.





Later that night I went to a place called 5.Kat [in English: the fifth floor]. What a lovely view! Great view over the Bosporus and an even better crowd. Then enters the owner: Yasemin Alkaya. She just to work as an actress and now runs one of the hottest bars|restaurants in town.

She cooks, waiters, hosts and entertains her guests with such ellegance and style that it was love at first sight for me. I will be back here, as often as I can.

Other places:
Sabahattin Fish!
Develi Kebab
Changa International
Ulus 29 see and be seen

With thanks to Erdal Gökyıldırım for his tips and comments :D

The best baklava from Istanbul!

I love real good Baklava. The best in Istanbul you have to buy at Karakoy Gulluoglu in the Rihtum street, Karakoy. It is close to the Galata Tower.

See for yourself:

Grotere kaart weergeven

I met the founder, Mr Mustafa Gullu who started the shop and workplace in 1949. Since then not a single other shop was opened. If you want the best Baklava in Istanbul, you have to go here. No alternatives :D

Since I normally stay at the Moevenpick and it takes about 30 minutes of frantic driving throug the city. Cab driving in turkey is something that follows a few simple rules:

1. Change lanes, just because you can
2. Do NOT look to the cars in front of you
3. Keep no distance

Being a passenger means you avoid sitting next to the drivers and concentrate on anything but the traffic...