Beguiling Beyoglu.

Taksim Square and Istikial Street are heart of Pera. The square itself is nothing special. But the street which starts way up high and ends at Galata Tower, near the water, is famous, through I'm not sure for what. It's a pedestrian mall, with shops, restaurants and what else? I stopped at a GAP and almost bought a shirt before I came to my senses. There's a San Fransisco-style red cable car that goes up and down the nearly two-mile street and just seeing it climb the hill toward us  had me humming the Rice-a-Roni jingle for the rest of the day).

Along with the GAP and the "San Francisco treat" cable car are shops selling everything from hookahs to walking canes to couture. We stopped halfway down at a restaurant called Saray (established 1949), because it looked charming and in the window displayed the stickiest, sugar-syrup drippingest Burma baklava I had ever laid my peepers on. The "logs" were stuffed with pistachios and wrapped in what translates into "shredded wheat" (Kadayif) and is sliced into negotiable pieces.

Adina got something off the "milky desserts" section of the menu; keskul, a creamy pudding flavored with almonds and dusted with a bit of finely shredded, unsweetened coconut and, of course, pistachios, as is everything dessert in Turkey. She passed on the Tavuk Gogsu, which apparently is a pudding made with finely chopped chicken breast.

I ate one of my two slices and wrapped the other to go. I carried it down the rest of the road, past the Galata Tower and on to the metro to get back to Sultanahamet. Unable to resist any longer, I ate the burma baklava on the metro and had sugary, sticky fingers the whole way back.

Keskul (Pudding)
Often this is made with cream (half-and-half). My version is simpler and less heavy. Some people add a tablespoon or two of ground almonds to the pudding (add it after the sugar), but this makes the custard less creamy/smooth. 

4 cups whole milk
1/4 cup corn starch or rice flour (more traditional)
1/4 cup water
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. almond extract
Ground pistachios, garnish

Heat the milk in a medium heavy saucepan over medium-high heat until it just begins to boil. 

combine the cornstarch or rice flour with water in a small bowl and stir to dissolve. 
While whisking the hot almost boiling milk, pour in the starch/water mixture. Continue whisking until the mixture is thickened (like melted ice cream). Reduce heat to low and add the sugar, whisking frequently, until the sugar is dissolved in the pudding and the pudding is thickened. Stir in the almond extract, remove from heat and pour the pudding into serving bowls. Chill until ready to serve. Serve garnished with the ground pistachios (add some finely grated unsweetened coconut to serve it Saray-style). 

Modern Art.

I love art, especially modern art. It makes me think (something I'm not used to doing).
When wanted to go to the Istanbul Modern museum. It's located in Pera -- the other side -- of Istanbul. We hopped off our bus (our one stop) and went the museum. Paintings, sculpture, installations, all by Turkish artists. There was a special exhibition called  Past and Future and another special show called Modern Machinery, a selection from a Renault project with commissioned works from the 1960's through the 1980s.

Then we had lunch in the stylish, hip restaurant. Adina ordered a salad and I, lamb ravioli with yogurt sauce. I loved the olive oil presentation.  Divine.

NOTE: No photos allowed in the museum.

Hop off and Stay off.

We tried going on one of those Hop On, Hop Off bus tours in Istanbul. I had loved them in other cities -- Washington DC, Barcelona -- but it just doesn't work in Istanbul. We spent a lot of money, but only hopped on and off twice. Long waiting, infrequent busses, unmarked stops, heat. Not worth it.

Those red earphones did come in handy though on a hot day when I forgot both my hat and a hair tie ...

Narcissist.

I can't resist fresh pomegranate juice. Just seeing the word Turikish word "NAR" or spying those misshapen orbs with little crowns on top in baskets and piled into pyramids at every corner makes me want more juice, or suyu, in Turkish. Just cut those babies in half, and use a

lever-activated squeeze-down citrus juicer and 2-3 pomegranates later, I'm swigging down a glassful. Actually I sip, stretching the experience as long as possible. With the price of pomegranates in the US, I know I will not be drinking this as often.

Hagia Sofia, So Far.

Across the hippodrome past the fountain visible from the Blue Mosque is Hagia Sofia, built nearly 2000 years ago. At the time of construction, this was the biggest cathedral in the world. I can't even begin to imagine that Hagia Sofia was built in 360, especially when I'm inside. It occurs to me that we modern folk are still creating edifices that mimic the look of ancient buildings.

Hagia is pronounced Hiya or Aya. As with many historical houses of worship over the millennia, first this was church. Then it was a mosque.  Now it's a museum. 

I've traveled a lot, but I'm finally beginning to learn a bit about ancient architecture styles -- Ottoman, Greek, Roman, Byzantine and such. Hagia Sofia is an example (some say one of the best) of the Byzantine style -- Roman bricks, more elaborate, lots of domes, brighter interiors and mosaic embellishments. Emperor Justinian, when he commissioned the Hagia, also included bits and pieces, so to speak of other buildings -- including the green marble columns from Ephesus, Izmir (more later).  

 Of note to me, were four angels painted in corners of the sanctuary. Still in the throes of restoration, only one angel's face is visible; the others are still covered in paint from when the church became a mosque. 

(ASIDE) My guide book -- one I picked up in the lobby of our hotel, full of ads since it was produced by Avea, a telecom company (Adina says it was part of ATT) -- was actually quite bad. The English was so badly translated that it was distracting. Still, on the cover was a photo of a mosaic from inside the Hagia Sofia. That's how important this building is to the culture of Istanbul.  I've started thinking about a website devoted to wacky translations. I want to call it fixmycrappyenglish.com. Opinions?

Go Gozleme!

Leaving the Topkapi Palace turn right. Then turn left and start walking. There is a restaurant with an open window. Inside are women making stuffed griddle cakes on a saç -- an enormous, gas-heated, upside-down, slightly convex contraption. I had seen versions of this in Morocco and India, but never in a restaurant. Since I can't resist a food show, I stopped and watched. One woman pinched off hunks of dough and formed them into balls. The balls were rolled extremely thin with a dowel-like rolling pin into large (about 18-inch long) ovals, and filled with cooked ground beef, onions, cheeses, spinach or a combination of these. The fillings were spread over each of the flat circles and then the whole thing was folded, cooked and cut into nine pieces. 

I made a beeline for the door, was seated, reclining on Kilim cushions and ordered my Gozleme -- that's the name of these filled griddle cakes -- filled with spinach and  gooey cheese (they called it yellow cheese, but it was very creamy, like Meunster or Brick cheese.

Folks, these were delicious and right up my alley.  These pancakes satisfied  all my eating sensibilities since they are from one of my favorite food categories; hot stuffed dough.

Restaurants all over Turkey serve Gozleme, I cam to find out.

Since taking a saç griddle home with me in my carry-on didn't seem likely, I re-imagined these made on my crepe machine. 

I couldn't begin to figure out  a recipe for these, so I found one online that looks mighty good. When I get home to try this, I'll see for myself it this works. Below is the link and the recipe.

Gozleme http://www.sbs.com.au/food/recipe/172/Gozleme

Sammi from Rozelle Markets shares her special gozleme recipe with Food Lovers Guide to Australia's Joanna Savill and Maeve O'Meara.

For a tasty variation on gozleme, try Mary Gavalas' gozleme recipe. Also, browse ourTurkish recipes for more gourmet inspiration.

Ingredients

The Dough 
2 cups plain flour, unbleached
2 cups wholemeal flour
Some extra plain flour for dusting
1 tsp salt luke warm water
½ cup vegetable oil e.g.canola
(Makes six gozleme)

The Filling
2 cups grated feta cheese or a mixture of feta and another cheese (mozzarella, cheddar, ricotta)
2 cups finely chopped silver beet or spinach leaves (no stems)
½ cup chopped fresh mint leaves
½ cup chopped flat leaf parsley
½ cup chopped spring onion
½ cup diced brown onion

Mixed with the following:
1 tsp white pepper
1 tsp allspice
1 tsp mixed dried herbs (e.g. oregano, sage) 

Minced Meat Filling (optional)
½ kg minced lamb
2 cloves minced garlic
½ tsp ground cumin
½ tsp paprika (hot or mild) pickled or fresh red chillies (to taste)
1 medium carrot grated
½ cup of pureed tomato or juice olive oil for frying

 View conversion table

Preparation

DoughSift the flours and salt and mix with 1 ½ cups of water in an electric mixer with a dough hook or knead by hand for at least ten minutes.

Keep adding more water a little at a time until you get a very pliable, elastic dough that is easy to knead, but not so watery that it is too sticky to handle. Rubber gloves dusted in flour make the handling easier.

Dust frequently with the extra flour.

Allow the dough to stand, covered, overnight (at least 10 hours).

When ready to cook, divide the dough into six round portions. Dust with flour.

Roll one of the rounds flat with a rolling pin on a flour-dusted surface, into a rectangle shape, as thinly as possible.

Sprinkle on about a teaspoon of oil, then fold over into a square. Fold over twice more into a square. Repeat the dusting, rolling out to a large rectangle, folding, oiling, dusting process three more times.

Repeat the entire process for each of the six rounds. You should end up with six neatly folded, labour-intensive squares! 

Filling and Cooking
Take one of the folded dough squares and roll it out very thinly for the final time, into a large square. Sprinkle on the filling sparingly - as you would for a pizza topping but on half of the square only.

Start with a layer of cheese. Mix the spinach, mint, spring onion and parsley together in a bowl, and add some of this as the next layer. Top with some of the herb-spice-onion mixture.

If desired, add a little of the cooked savoury minced lamb mixture, as the last layer. (For the lamb - pan fry the mince in a little oil until browned, add the other ingredients and continue cooking until the carrot has softened. Add the tomato juice as the mixture begins to dry out. Continue to cook on a low heat for another five minutes.)

Fold over the uncovered half of the square to cover the filling. Press down lightly all over. Cook on pre-heated oiled BBQ hotplate or large skillet, but not too hot, because it should take about ten minutes to cook through, without burning. Turn often. Cut into smaller squares and serve with lemon wedges.

Dueling Muezzin.

Early, really early. Sound asleep. Speakers blare. The Islamic call to prayer. This morning at 5:30 a.m.-ish. It's the muezzin advising worshipers that the time for prayer is now, this moment.  But it's not just the call from the minaret next to my hotel, but from mosques  everywhere -- broadcast from several speakers perched near the top, or on top of each minaret.

Once one muezzin begins, they all begin. Each a different man's voice. The calls overlap and often are a second apart, not beginning at exactly the same moment. While I think they are not all calling the same words, I am certain they are all the same. Or maybe not?

The first two mornings, I didn't hear the call. The next morning I heard it clearly. And it was loud. The Blue Mosque nearby has six minarets, each with several speakers on top. Four more times a day the muezzin will sound the call to prayer, recorded, not live, I imagine, though I could be wrong again.  Hear what the mezzuin sounds like by clicking this link.