Series: Going Back | Istanbul, Turkiye | Day 2/14
With a full day of soaking in Ottoman tiles, Arab pottery, European and Islamic architecture, and Turkish history on our first day, we slept pretty great! Jet lag hadn’t quite caught us. We woke up reasonably early, and set off to find a good Turkish breakfast. It was hard to find a place on google maps that I trusted to do it right. Honestly, after spending two weeks in Turkey, I think the best bet would have been just walking around and seeing what was open for “Kahvalti”. We did in fact find Poiká, which was an adorable cafe off the main road, “Divan Yolu”. It was a short walk from our Airbnb.
We each ordered the “Khavalti” plate and some coffee to start the day. While we waiting for our food, we wrote some postcards to our friends and family. I think this was a great entry into Turkish breakfast. As you will see later in posts, a more traditional version would be everyone sharing pots and plates of spreads and vegetables spread across the table, but I liked this modern twist too! We went to Poiká a couple times that week!
I’m going to be including some iphone photos and selfies because I want to have them saved somewhere as well! And I don’t have any photos of myself on my camera :/ whats new!
First stop of the day was a “cami” (mosque) I had heard about before but never been too. Bre was set on going to see it! Her friend, Liz had told her about it, and Bre’s book. I would highly recommend adding the “Suleymaniye Cami” to your list of places to visit in a short trip to Istanbul. Even after walking through the Blue Mosque a couple days later, we still all agreed Suleymaniye was our favorite.
I wouldn’t say it was a “hike”, but it was for sure a 30 minute trek (I think we took the hill route on maps haha). As we walked up the streets, we entered into what felt far more local and less of a tourist district. Instead of yelling “Hello, welcome, good prices!” the shop keepers and street sellers were shouting in Turkish. I think this was the first time I felt like I was actually THERE. IN Turkey. BACK. I didn’t spot a single foreigner but Bre, Michelle, and I. It was absolute chaos. It felt right. Everything made sense.
Suleymaniye Cami was one of the most beautiful mosques I’ve ever been to. We walked around the internal courtyard and gardens while waiting for the mosque to open. Michelle took a good nap, Bre read some, and I think I dozed in and out. Once the time of prayer began, we walked up to the main door. We brought our own head coverings so we wouldn’t have to use provided scarves. *When you take your shoes off at a mosque, only do so right at the edge of the carpet and stone. If you take them off too soon on the stone, your feet become dirty, and it defeats the purpose.* Once inside, we were completely blown away. The ceilings were breath taking. As we left the mosque, the call to prayer began. It gave me goosebumps listening to it echo through the courtyard.
After consulting the book I purchased from Poiká “Guide to Coffee Shops in Turkey”, we headed down to the water to hop on a boat to Karaköy. We wanted to check out Coffee Sapiens. I’m so glad we did. We got to explore a more artsy young area of the city. We walked down beautiful streets. People on dates at cafes and restaurants, friends bartering at little shops, and greenery draping from balcony to balcony, it was the best kind of atmosphere.
We found Coffee Sapians. Once we ordered and looked around the small indoor and outdoor space, we realized there wasn’t really any seating. The barista noticed our search, and he gestured upwards. There was a ladder nearby, and it let to a little over hand with a table and two benches. Up we went. We talked and laughed for at least an hour over our coffee. It was one my favorite cafes of the trip honestly.
Once the caffeine hit the bloodstream, we headed down the ladder, and out on the street again. Bre mentioned a restaurant in the area she had read about. It had apparently had an incomparable view, so we headed that way. I have T Mobile Magenta plan, which meant I had 3g data through Turk Cell. It was definitely in and out, but honestly SO helpful when it came to navigating. I usually would google and start navigation on maps somewhere with wifi, and then keep it going on the 3g data to the destination. It worked seamless for the most part!
Eleos was deep pretty high up in the streets of Karaköy. As we squinted in confusion looking around on a busy road at an apartment building that didn’t look promising, someone called out to us “Eleos?”. We nodded, and they gestured through an apartment door and said to take the elevator to the 3rd floor. We ended up take the winding marble steps. There was a small sign in a hallway we followed, and all of the sudden everything made sense. We entered into a beautifully arranged dining room. A waiter greeted us and asked if we had a reservation. We did not. He consulted another couple waiters - they all looked concerned, but said “Three?” We nodded. He explained there wasn’t any room on the terrace, but if we wanted to sit in here we could. Honestly, I was a little disappointed, however once they opened up the huge window behind our table, I was over the moon. The perfect breeze swept through the room, as we read over the extensive menu. We ordered a cold appetizer, Bre and I ordered Fish, and I can’t remember what Michelle had. Our waiter seemed concerned we hadn’t ordered a warm appetizer, and ended up bringing us crab pasta on the house. Turkish hospitality is something you never question. They brought us rounds of bread and even brought some Reki shots for us to try. I think one of my favorite things about this whole experience was how genuine our waiter was. Despite not making a reservation, looking a little too casual for the restaurant, and clearly not ordering in the appropriate courses, they treated us as if we had done it all right. This was one of the best meals, and for sure the best view I’ve ever eaten with!
We walked down the main strip of Karaköy, and stopped in great little shops. We accidently found the Galata Tower. I think that night we took the tram across the bridge home. Day 2 was great freakin day.