We sat for lunch at Dolphin restaurant overlooking the Bosphorus after we had got
off the boat at Sariyer, a stop before
Rumeli Kavagi on the European side, when
pointing towards the right, Filiz Uzunkusak, our guide, said “There. That’s the Asian part of Turkey.”
It was really an exhilarating experience – for how often does one sit in Europe and gaze at Asia!
On a cloudy September morning we had boarded an empty boat at Eminönü as it sailed on the Bosphorus. The previous day we were warned that the boat would be crowded but the clouds and drizzle had
dampened the spirits of tourists! As the boat sliced through the tar black waters, we enjoyed the sights of Istanbul – hilltop
mosques, waterfront houses, pink palaces, bridges, Ottoman fortress walls and picture postcard houses sporting red-white Turkish flags, ambassadorial bungalows, museums, university, heritage houses, etc. – while all along digging our spoons into powder sugarladen Kusak yogurt – the local version of our misthi doi. Yogurt was introduced in Europe, thanks to Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent who dispatched his |
physician to
treat the acute diarrhea of French King Francis I with yogurt.
As it poured outside, our table inside was being taken over by mouth-watering Turkish delights like meze, spinach with cheese, dolma, kebab, börek, bugra, grilled fish with
bay leaves, flat bread, and a variety of dishes made of zucchini or brinjal. Interestingly, brinjal (disparagingly called begun in
Bangla, meaning ‘with no merit’) is the most favoured vegetable in Turkey and you’re likely to come across it in mezes (starters), side dishes,
salads, moussaka and main dishes – where it is served along with cheese, yogurt, minced meat, kebabs or
wrapped up inside stuffed vine leaves. Try ‘Her Majesty’s Favourite’, a delicate formal dish made of the velvety purple vegetable. The name refers to
Empress Eugenie, the |
| wife of
Napoleon III, who fell in love with it on her visit to Sultan Abdülaziz. |
 |
A wooden house on the
river front
|
|
| Obelisks at
Hippodrome |
|
