Stock up on your storecupboard spices during a visit to one of Istanbul’s many food markets
PHOTOGRAPHS: JONATHAN GREGSON, GRANT FAINT/GETTY IMAGES, PETER ADAMS/AWL IMAGES
Spice up your life!
With the crowds of summer long gone but its warmth still lingering in the air, now is a great time to explore Turkey’s history-packed metropolis. Intrepid Travel’s Bite-size Break to Istanbul is a chance to get to know the city through one of its most irresistible attractions – its food. The three-day trip begins with breakfast and sweet tea at the aromatic Spice Bazaar, where visitors meet sellers of spices and Turkish delight, and sample cheeses and syrup-soaked künefe pastries. Then there’s lunch at a historic han (inn) and a wander through the Grand Bazaar, one of the oldest (and largest) markets in the world. A taste of contemporary cuisine comes in the buzzing districts of Beyoğlu and Karaköy, home to the city’s coolest restaurants and bars, where travellers can dig into meze, baklava and street food, such as the much-loved and greasy ‘wet burger’. The trip also includes a full-day cruise on the Bosphorus, stopping for local specialities in villages along the Asian shore, and an evening with a local family, feasting on a home-cooked meal. Accompanying these belly-flling outings is a satisfying side order of culture, with trips to the magnifcent Süleymaniye Mosque and the ancient, mosaic-lined landmark of the Aya Sofya.