We caught the first flight out of Nevsehir back to Istanbul, and were greeted at the arrivals by a Jonas Brother look-alike who took us to the car service I had reserved. Before we knew it, we were back at our apartment off busy Istiklal. Today is the eve of Eid al-Adha, the Feast of the Sacrifice. The streets and shops seemed extra crowded, perhaps because the locals were preparing for tomorrow's festivities. Though Turkish Airlines managed to feed us breakfast on our one-hour flight this morning, we were hungry, so we found our way to Zübeyir Ocakbaşı. Ocakbaşı means "grill house" and this little restaurant served up shish kebabs of all kinds cooked right in front of us. We started with a cold meze of black eyed peas that was delicious, then ordered variations on kebabs of minced meat which were a lot like sausage. They were served on pide with grilled urfa peppers and tomatoes.
Skewers of urfa peppers and tomatoes, grilled as accompaniments to kebab orders
After lunch we walked down Istiklal and over the Galata Bridge to do some wandering on the back streets around the Grand Bazaar. We spent a few hours slowly exploring some of the quieter alleys and streets, and came across a few busy veins as well.
A busy day in the markets
Because of the holiday, some of the shops were beginning to close up early, while some were already shuttered. I think the three consecutive early mornings - never mind the jet lag - were catching up to us, and not after long we felt like sitting for a drink. The weather was a bit too chilly for sitting outside comfortably at a cafe, so we took refuge again in the Four Seasons lounge, a warm and peaceful setting for a few cups of Turkish tea.
After some warm tea and wine, we trekked back to our apartment for a little downtime, and did a load of laundry. During our check-in, Selma had mentioned that in addition to Hayvore, the Chinese restaurant down the street, Cin Bufe, was a very good option in the neighborhood. We'd been eating nothing but Turkish food on our trip with the exception of Shake Shack night, and were really craving something familiar. We'd peeked several times at Cin Bufe's open kitchen facing the street and the tables inside since we'd walked past it leaving and coming back each day and the wok always looked good. There was always a decent amount of people inside too. Tonight we gave it a go, and it hit the spot.
All over Istanbul, especially on thoroughfares with lots of pedestrians, we've seen dondurma carts and shops. The men slinging this treat, outfitted in red velvet vests with gold embroidery, are constantly churning different flavors in their stands or pulling out entire globs on long paddles like taffy and swinging them around to keep them soft. They're frequently whacking the bells above them with the paddles to attract the attention of passerby, too. At dinner this evening, I saved a little room for dessert so that I could finally buy a cone from the guy that's got a cart at the end of our street. Dondurma's texture differs a lot from regular ice cream in the U.S.; it's pliable, kind of gooey, and a little bit sticky. If you put in an order, it tends to come with a little show as you can see below.