Spoonful of Stories

Few months after our marriage while we were watching a travel show I said, let’s plan a trip to someplace unexplored. After an exhaustive research which lasted for a fortnight the destination was fixed and Turkey it was!

For next many days we checked various websites and watched lots of Vlogs to plan our itinerary; checking about things to do, places to visit, food to eat etc. It became our daily regime to share with each other whatever information we could gather. This was the 1st trip we planned on our own. From flights, intercity travel to figuring out intracity transport, day wise itinerary and list of not to miss foods. Planning it together was fun!

We excitedly told about our trip to family and friends and the 1^st question was, why Turkey? What’s there to see? We don’t know anyone who has visited it, Is it safe? These questions made me doubt our decision, but my husband said; we have done thorough research, have checked all the hotel reviews, tourists reviews etc. So don’t fret. Let’s go ahead with this adventure; and it was worth every single penny!

Turkey is a middle eastern country, straddling eastern Europe and western Asia with cultural connections to ancient Greek, Persian, Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman empires. It has a rich history with influence of all the rulers. They have preserved each one’s culture and is evident in all the historical monuments. The best example of this is the iconic Hagia Sophia, the former Greek Orthodox Christian patriarchal cathedral, later an Ottoman imperial mosque and now a museum in Istanbul. I was amazed to see how two drastically different cultures are conserved under one roof. Each and every place in Istanbul speaks History to you but at the same time, it has embraced modernization with ease.

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We visited many cities, regions, small towns across Turkey, each one unique and beautiful in its own way. A visual treat for your eyes.

One of the days we planned to visit Kadıköy, a cosmopolitan district in the Asian side of Istanbul.Istanbul is one of those very few cities in the world that lies in two continents, Asia & Europe. This thought itself was so mesmerizing for us, we wanted to witness it. Imagine, standing at a point you look at your left and there is Europe, just turn the face to the right and you see Asia, sounds so mind boggling, right? To go the other side, you need to take a ferry to cross the Bosphorus, a narrow, natural strait & internationally significant waterway, separating 2 continents.

When we reached there, we were pleasantly surprised. It was so vibrant and colourful, bustling with its famous fish and produce offering. We roamed around the markets, with fresh produce accompanying us everywhere. For lunch we chose a restaurant with outdoor seating, facing one of the vegetable vendors. We ordered fresh salad, calamari & grilled fish. One thing that got stuck in my mind was, their way of taking care of the customers. It was cold outside, and I was shivering a bit. While we were waiting for our food to come, the attendant offered a blanket, to make me comfortable. A small gesture but speaks a lot about their hospitality& friendly nature.

Our food arrived and it looked delicious! A simple salad with native cucumber, tomatoes, some greens tossed with olive oil, herbs and lemon juice made my day. It was so flavourful, with the juiciness of tomatoes, tanginess of lemons, crunchiness of cucumbers; my taste buds were dancing! The Salmon was perfectly cooked. Soft, fresh, tender & full of flavour. The calamari was to die for! Glazing & completely socked in butter, it was the best calamari I ever had. The taste still lingers on the tip of my tongue.

After this hearty lunch and taking in the market vibes, we were ready to continue our beautiful journey, to visit the famous Fenerbahce football stadium & to wander around the lively lanes of Kadıköy. At that time my heart said, hoşbulduk!

(PS: hoşbulduk means happy to be here.)

You go anywhere in Turkey, you will hear people saying hoşgeldiniz, means welcome! In response you would say – hoşbulduk, happy to be here!)