I want to recount a lovely evening out on March 5th. It was Kristiana's last night and Umut decided to show us one of his special places along the Bosphorus. We got into a taxi and took a short ride down the hill to the straight. The place required a reservation the day before, so I knew it had to be good!
We went inside and I was instantly impressed! It was a restaurant associated with Istanbul University and usually reserved for professors and affiliates of the school. I am not sure how Umut was able to get in, but I was happy nonetheless. We walked over to our table, which was covered in a white tablecloth and contained candles. Livia, Umut, Kristiana and myself sat down to a gorgeous view overlooking both the Bosphorus and the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge (the 2nd of the two bridges in Istanbul). The restaurant jutted out into the Bosphorus (Boğaziçi) strait.
We took drink orders and I decided it was time to try a new type of Turkish cuisine -Yeni Raki.
For those of you who do not know, raki is the Turkish national drink. It's very similar to the Greek drink ouzo. The drink is clear until you mix it with water (as is traditionally done) to make a milky drink. The drink itself also tastes very similar to ouzo--a strong licorice taste. I decided that I did not like it very much, but still finished my drink throughout dinner.We then had a salad shared by everyone. The salad was pretty similar to a salad you might find in the US. It had all sorts of greenery and whatnot. I can't say that I paid too close attention to the salad as I am not a big salad fan. I took some lettuce and then passed it on.
Dinner itself was really fantastic. I ordered an assortment of different types of meat with french fries on the side (French fries are a little bit higher class here and are even served in really nice restaurants). The meat consisted of two types of beef, two types of lamb, and chicken. It was just a small sampling of each, but was enough to fill me up. It was also served with some broccoli. Yum!
Following dinner, we decided that we wanted to have some dessert. Umut discussed with the waiter our dessert options and the restaurant provided us five types of dessert on the house! We had a type of fig, a type of pumpkin, and three other different types of dessert which escape me. I liked the pumpkin stuff the best (which is a cooked pumpkin in some kind of sweet sauce). I hope to learn how to prepare it before I come back to the states (our neighbor in our apartment sometimes prepares it and gives us a plate of her extra desserts).
The most surprising part of dinner was when we got the bill. For four people, including alcohol, salad, dinner, and dessert, the cost was only 99 Lira (or about 60 dollars)! What an incredible deal! Of course as in any city, you have to know where to look to find these kinds of places...but I was amazed by the location, quality of food, and overall bang for the buck if you will.
Following dinner, we walked a few feet down the road to a hookah bar to relax after a fulfilling meal.
At the hookah place, which also overlooks the sea, we all shared a hookah. Umut and I played tavla (backgammon), which is the Turkish national game. As a young child, I used to play backgammon with some relatives. Umut and a few others have been surprised that I had heard of and played the game before. I thought I would do okay with my level of experience, but I have clearly underestimated how much Turkish people play this game! They play in sets of five and the first to win five games, wins. After Umut handily beat me my first week here, I have made it my personal mission to beat him before my time is finished here in Turkey. Unfortunately, the results of this evenings tavla game did not turn out in my favor (you can bet when I finally do beat him that the event will receive its own special post!). It started off well, I won the first three games! I was so happy...and then I lost the next five in a row to lose. Sigh...The rest of the evening was spent conversing about different things, sitting by the Bosphorus, and enjoying hookah and çay. Overall a very classy and enjoyable evening.
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