Hello. I've been gone from blogland for awhile as I've been busy eating my way through Turkey - the country! Not everyone loves to read about travels but everyone needs to eat so I thought it might be fun to see some foodie photos...
We discovered Cafer Erol by accident as we wanted to drink some tea. It's a three floor tea/coffee/pastry shop with lots of eye candy to enjoy. We sat upstairs on the second floor and it was atmosphere heavenly. I actually enjoyed it more than when I had tea at Laduree in Paris.
I loved seeing these huge chocolate bouquets and I don't even eat chocolate. Wouldn't it be fun to give one of these as a gift?
Being Danish, I'm a big fan of marzipan. I've never seen such a display of fruits and vegetables made from almond paste such as this. They also had plain almond paste you could buy for baking purposes.
With it being autumn, seeing these red candied apples brought back memories of my childhood. Cafer Erol began business back in 1807 and is still going today.
We are finding our way around our new neighborhood and had to check out the weekly farmer's market down the street. They offered a wonderful selection of fresh fruits and vegetables along with other vendors.
There are a group of nine islands named the Princes' Islands, easily seen from Istanbul. Four of the islands are open to the public and can be reached via ferry. One day we took the ferry across and discovered a delightful place.
We ventured to the largest of the islands, Buyukada. The seafront promenade is lovely and I loved seeing this Ottoman style pomegranate stand.
Almost all of the restaurants served fresh fish but we decided upon kofte' as we had eaten fresh fish the night before. The islands are located in the Sea of Marmara.
I don't recall that I've ever been to such a quintessential place as Buyukada. The streets behind the seafront wind around with tree lined streets and quaint Ottoman style homes.
If you are a regular reader of Lilly My Cat you know that our family has a home on the southern coast of Turkey. My son and husband decided that they love the cosmopolitan feel of Istanbul; hence our home in Istanbul on the Asian side of the city. You can see the Princes' Islands from the balcony of our home. Sorry for the dark photos but it was overcast.
Lots of people ask me why Turkey? There's lot of reasons but for me and my family, it's a place where you can still experience the history and feel of times past and yet be in the modern world. Yes, there are Starbucks in this huge city but for me I love the little tea and coffee shops. The modern ones are beautiful inside and the older ones are timeless. Istanbul is an amazing city where the people take care of their city. And, they are very courteous to visitors.
I hope you have enjoyed this small taste of Turkey. To complete the meal, I'll leave you with a cup of traditional Turkish coffee.
Until next time,
Pat
