There's this fun little section at the heart of Kadıköy called the Fishermen's Market - a few lively blocks crammed full of colourful produce stands, pastry shops, pickle shops, dried fruit and nut shops, Turkish coffee shops, breakfast-stuff shops and, yes, fresh fish. When I'm up in Istanbul, I look for any excuse to go buy something there - a kilo of dates, some dried cranberries (which have, thank heaven, finally made their debut on the Turkish scene), some Turk Kahvesi to take home as a present. And even when I don't need anything, I'll go out of my way to take a stroll down this crowded back street, just to drink in the ambience. (Plus, it's impossible to get out of there without scoring some free samples!)
I wish I could bottle up the smells, the sounds, the flavours for you.....here's a visual sampling....
Mmm, dolma! Stuffed eggplant, stuffed tomatoes, cabbage wraps....
Pickled everything.
These grape leaves are used to make sarma - tight little rolls filled with rice and spices.
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