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 One
last dinner and one last drink in İstanbul is a most plausible last wish for anyone
who is a real gourmet. One cannot help believe that one reason for the recurrent
use of the Arabic word "keyf" (defined as health, fitness, satisfaction, pleasure,
light-heartedness, joy, enthu-siasm, ardour, etc., in dic-tionaries) could be that
taking delight in eating and drinking has only recently become a national pastime
for Turks.
One comes across convincing
statements on the eating habits on Turks, which more or less took on the quality
of fulfiling an obligation, such as depicted in the memoirs of a Spanish prisoner
captured by Turks in 1552 who later dwelled in Admiral Sinan Pasha's palace during
the era of Süleyman the Magnificent. The following sentence, written during
the most exuberant days of the empire is especially striking: "They aren't excessively
fond of eating. In my opinion, they eat to live, not because they take any delight
in eating."
İstanbul is one of
the few enchanting cities in the world which has finally managed to cast its spell
over a nation that had preserved its modesty even in the most glorious of days. Byzantine,
in full justification of the attributes the French have bestowed upon it, has succeeded
in transmitting its lifestyle to the present-day Turks. This verifies the Roman saying
that the conquerors will ultimately be forced to yield.
It would be totally
unfair to presume that tavuk göğsü (pudding with chicken breast),
which is still uncannily delicious in spite of the fact that most pudding shops in
İstanbul now sneak in starch, is the only remaining splendor of the Roman Empire.
Rome, for example, is still alive in İstanbul in the varieties and flavors of its
breads. Widely recognised names such as Süheyl Ünver MD, who has a special
interest in gastronomy, and the French historian Andre Cloit, a specialist on the
era of Mehmet II the Conqueror, write that there are very few dishes Turks have —anthropologically—
"borrowed" from the Byzantine and Roman cuisine. In my opinion this is essentially
unfair. The fact is that Turks, from the time of their arrival in Anatolia, assimilated
into the Roman culture—within the confines of Islam. For Turks have never been a
conceited and obstinate nation, in spite of the important positions they presumed
throughout history. They are imbued with the virtue of adapting to the circumstances
in such a way as not to deprive themselves of the already existing charms.
Thus, Sultan Mehmet
the Conqueror took great care to make his city appear as a meeting place of several
civilisations, and tried to assemble in İstanbul the most distinguished citizens
from across the Empire, during the city's resettlement after its conquest. (This
cosmopolitan atmos-phere survived for a while longer, fighting against all odds,
even following the National Liberation War in early 1920s.) This cosmopolitan character
plays a leading role among the many other factors that render İstanbul's cuisine
unmatched. Furthermore, this is not just an eclectic diversity as seen in certain
European and American cuisine. It has always been difficult to pinpoint where Armenian
cuisine starts and where it runs into Greek cuisine. Greek and Turkish cuisine have
always been intricately interwoven, not forgetting the close relationship Arabic
cuisine has the three mentioned above. The Turkish kitchen is one of the few areas
where it is nationalism finds it hard to infiltrate. The imperial heritage constitutes
an umbrella covering all, from the Albanian to the Circassian, from the Tatar to
the Arab. It is usual to encounter in an İstanbul restaurant Tatar pastries, Albanian
fried liver, Circassian chicken with walnuts and Damascene desserts. The very same
menu may include Beef Stroganoff or Chicken Kiev. The Empire never extended its borders
as far as central Russia, but İstanbul was the city that hosted the Russians while
they were escaping from the Red Army during the October Revolution. These Russians
fleeing Trotsky's comrades, were the first to introduce western style restaurants
in İstanbul, which a few years after the revolution also hosted Trotsky, the former
com-mander in chief of the Red Army.
Unfortunately books
about the old days are rare. But from those that exist, we can see that meyhanes
have remained the essential domains for dining and wining for years-on-end. In spite
of the strict Islamic tenets, wine reigned in İstanbul where the Ottoman sultans
and the head of the religious estab-lishment (eyhülislam) resided. Şeyhülislam
Yahya Efendi, one of the brightest clerics of the Empire, wrote the following meaningful
verses: "Let hypocrites carry on with their hypocrisy in the mosque / Let those with
no hypocrisy and no lies come to the meyhanes."
 It would
be a great insult to rakı, considered to be the Turks national drink, to say that
drinking is only tantamount to wine in Turkey. In fact, rakı is a dis-tilled drink
flavored with the aroma of anise, which exists in various varieties all over the
Mediterranean. Greek "ouzo", Lebanese "arak" and French "pastis" are all a very similar
drink. The Turkish sensitiv-ity on this issue lies within the etiquette of drinking
rakı. This etiquette can only be observed at a rakı table fully laden with mezes.
And İstanbul meyhane keepers prepare the best mezes. Among the mezes are dishes,
referred to as "cuisiné" by the French, that become magnificent and delectable
after meticulous prepa-ration, such as stuffed mussels, mussels or fried calamari
with tarator (bread crumbs with garlic and walnut) sauce, Albanian (fried diced)
liver, very thin rolled pastries seasoned with fresh herbs; as well as those that
are not part of the "cuisiné", such as chunks of hard, full-fat white cheese,
a sweetly scented slice of melon, Çengelköy cucumbers with drops of morning
dew when cut in season, or roe in wax "putargo". Turks welcome all pleasant and delicious
dishes on their meze tables without creating any uproar in the matter. There is no
end to the list of good meze shops in İstanbul, which forces me to implore that my
fol-lowing statement should not be taken further than just being an example in this
context. Swissotel's Şark Sofrası, or the small meyhanes on Nevizade Street
located behind Çiçek Pasajı, serve some of the best mezes around.
Fish and seafood dishes
rank just as high as the famed İstanbul mezes. Fernand Braudel, a French historian
and an expert on the Mediterranean, places the Bosphorus on the top of his list along
with the few Mediterranean locations that serve fish worth tasting. Any restaurant
by the Bosphorus, be it luxurious or humble, will serve you the best and the fresh-est
fish in season in İstanbul. I must mention here that those who seek fish in fancy
sauces will be disappointed. For Turks like to eat fish in the most simple form possible.
Even though this is not taken as far as preparing "saşimi", they eat their
fish grilled or fried in olive oil, whole if its size permits or in big chunks. Crisp
fresh salad served alongside, followed by fruit, constitutes an ordinary, dogmatic
menu. Rakı, which used to be an aperitif taken only with mezes during the last century,
is now a customary drink of fish restaurants.
It is quite ordinary
for a foreigner to order wine to accompany a palatable fish dish. İstanbul-lites
with refined tastes do the same. Wine making is one of the sectors receiving the
great-est state protection. The progress achieved is not proportional to the amount
of state support received, yet there are still a great variety of wines that are
quite pleasing to the palate. Concluding an evening out in İstanbul without tasting
some of these would be a tragic loss in life. It also seems to be an appropriate
place to mention, now that we have embarked upon it, that Turkish coffee, lately
facing a challenge from the "espresso", is a "molto vivace" finale to end a meal.
In returning to the prelude... As a consequence of its cosmopolitan nature, İstanbul
hosts a variety of restaurants. While Rejans is fighting for its survival, there
are still some other more modest Russian restaurants. There are the new excellent
Italian restau-rants such as Spasso at Hyatt Regency, Monteverdi at the Conrad Hotel,
and Villa Medici in Arnavutköy. There are the undeservingly over-priced Chinese
restaurants at the Hilton and Polat Renaissance Hotels, in contrast to the marvellous
Chinese restaurants run by the Chinese in the Taksim region. German restau-rants,
in the meantime, became a thing of the past 20-30 years ago, and none have replaced
them until recently.
The Bierstube at the
Polat Renaissance Hotel continues to excel and is perhaps the sole and the best Austrian
locale of the city. There also is an Austrian-Hungarian restaurant which resumed
service in Gümüşsuyu only just a few years ago.
However, hidden behind
a curtain, are still quite a few excellent restaurants waiting to be discovered in
their modest spots. For example, there is a charm-ing Bosnian restaurant in the Kuruçeşme
vicinity on the Bosphorus, where immigrants of this distressed country offer their
authentic cuisine to and to the visiting guests of the city.
 Another factor that con-tributes to the cosmopolitan nature of İstanbul
is the culinary variety brought by the immigra-tion from all parts of Anatolia. This
local Anatolian cuisine, which used to be confined to homes, has recently started
to be commercialised by daring entrepreneurs. Pafuli in Kuruçeşme is
known for its Eastern Black Sea cuisine and dishes of the Laz peoples. Arif Develi
pre-pares the most sumptuous Antep kebabs at his modest locale in Samatya. His compatriot
Nadir Güllüoğlu bakes and sells a wide variety of Antep baklavas
and pastries. You can try the best herbage (vegetation) and olive oil dishes of the
Aegean region at Ece's.
To sample excellent
examples of Turkish cuisine that are now identified with İstanbul, you must visit
a good "local tradesmen's restaurant" such as Hacı Salih in Beyoğlu and Kanaat
in Üsküdar. Hard to prepare dishes that require a lot of devotion can still
be found at these locales. For the modern, more western "haute cuisiné" versions
of these dishes, it is necessary to stop by Tuğra Restau-rant managed by Vedat
Başaran at Çırağan Palace Kempinski.
It is not possible
to offer a complete description of the food and drink varieties available in İstanbul,
for its pebble, as a poet says, he would forfeit the whole of Persia. As I am writing
down these lines in my office off the main street in Beyoğlu, a sound of violins
and darbuka accompanied by rhythmical hand-clapping flows in through my open windows.
It is late at night
and I am impatient to go to a restaurant in İstanbul, filled with a sensation accentuated
by having skipped lunch. I will start feeling guilty if I spend a little more time
here and miss a charming, pleasurable dinner. Be true to yourself and never do anything
that you'll regret in İstanbul.
Tuğrul Şavkay
He is a culinary critic who regularly
writes in the daily newspaper Hürriyet,
and also a contributor to the book
Dining & Wining in İstanbul.
(InterMedia, İstanbul 1995)
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