The typical dish of Istanbul would consist of  lamb, mutton and veal, to which a variety of vegetables are added. Pilaf, all kinds of pastry, bulgur, haricot beans, rich olive oil and vegetables are used as side dishes. Meat balls, shish kebab and doner kebab are the classic, most classic dishes found in any kebab restaurant, together with peppers, yoghurt, eggplant. Because of its coastal location, fish is also popular although is usually cooked simply, such as grilled or fried with olive oil and lemon juice.

Like the rest of the country, the usual way of starting a big meal is with mezzes, a selection of hot and cold dishes such as meat, fish, salads, vegetables and cheese, shared amongst the table and eaten with fresh bread. To finish your meal, pastry tarts, baklava, kadayif and a whole host of sweets are available not only in restaurants, but in pastry shops which have often been going for generations.

Because it is the commercial and cultural centre of Turkey, there are restaurants of many nationalities in Istanbul, like Korean, Russian, Italian and Chinese.

American-style fast-food outlets are becoming more popular, but for a quick snack it is more appropriate to fill up at the plethora of tiny takeaways with kebabs and snacks. It is easy to sample good quality regional cuisine in typical small restaurants, usually at low cost, especially in the commercial and business areas.
To wash down your meal, Turkey’s most famous two drinks are milky-coloured – although could not be more different: Ayran is a cooling, salty yoghurt drink which is refreshing in summer and can be found everywhere, from street stalls to restaurants. Raki, with the nick-name Lion’s Milk is a strong spirit with the taste of Aniseed, which turns milky-white when mixed with water. It is usually drunk to accompany food, especially at the beginning with mezzes. The main area of beer and wine production is Anatolia.

Turkish coffee is legendary, usually served very sweet and strong and drunk from tiny cups. It normally follows a meal, or is popular in cafes and offered when visiting people or even sitting in carpet shops! The expression, “a cup of coffee has a memory of 40 years”, has been repeated by Turks since the 16th century.
For a meal out which is lively and entertaining, the taverns and fish restaurants around Kumkapi, west of Sultanahmet, are great for outdoor dining and street atmosphere, and very popular in the summer. People have been meeting for years at Cicek Pasaji in Beyoglu for snacks and seafood specialities, and nearby is the narrow Nevizade street, the best place in Istanbul for eating Turkish specialties and drinking raki. On the Bosphorus, Ortakoy is another good nightlife spot, with a good range of nightclubs, jazz clubs, fine seafood restaurants and bars. At Eminönü don’t miss an opportunity to see fishermen dressed in traditional Ottoman clothes and their Ottoman-style boats cooking delicious fried fish, whilst bobbing on the water around Eminonu

Haci Abdullah Restaurant’s story has started in Ottoman era; A restaurant called Abdullah Efendi was opened in the final period of Ottoman Empire at Karakoy Quay. Sultan Abdulhamid II personally gave the managing licence. Private or official delegations of the foreign countries visiting Istanbul were taken to Abdullah Efendi as a sign of respect.

Abdullah Efendi Restaurant moved from Karakoy Quay to Beyoğlu to the ground floor of Rumeli Han in 1915, and continued to render its service, and here the restaurant survived from the master to the apprentice. Abdullah Efendi served native and foreign visitors at Rumeli Han for 25 years, then changed its name to Haci Salih, ownership transferred master to apprentice, moved Sadri Alışık Road in 1940 where the heart of Turkish movie sector beats.

The restaurant where protected Ottoman-Turkish culinary, kept its quality either under the name of Abdullah Efendi or Haci Salih, moved today’s location next to Aga Mosque, Sakizagaci Road in 1958. Haci Salih Restaurant’s owner Haci Salih, because of his age, left here to his apprentices in 1983. The name of Haci Salih always kept honour of quality but because of the official procedure the restaurant’s name has to be changed and took the 1888’s name of Haci Abdullah.

Our restaurant was Sultan Abdulhamid II’s personal choice and since then we kept the same quality and the same taste. You can find all this information between the pages of the book of honour that Ottoman Sultan’s grandchildren wrote there their sincerely feelings.

Adress:
Ağa Camii, Atıf Yılmaz Cad. (Eski Sakizagaci Cad.)
No: 9/A 80070
Beyoğlu / İstanbul
Tel: +90212 293 85 61 – 293 08 51
Fax: +90 212 244 32 97

http://www.haciabdullah.com.tr
haciabdullah@haciabdullah.com.tr

The Turkish Olympic Committee is organizing a swimming event on the Bosporus in Istanbul July.

This will not be an easy ride, because the Bosporus’s currents and strength will make the 6.5 km long journey a big challenge.

In 1978,  the officials were informed that a group of German tourists would visit Istanbul the next year, who run marathons in the countries they visited, the Nile Marathon in Egypt being the most recent race they participated. It was then decided to realise the Eurasia Marathon project.

Emperor Iustanianus (527 – 565) wanted to construct something even bigger than the original two and appointed architects Isidoros from Miletos, and Anthemios from Tralles to build the Aya Sofya which still stands. Columns, heads, marble and coloured stones were imported to İstanbul from ancient cities in Anatolia for the purpose.

It used to be a church for 916 years, then a mosque for 481 years, and since 1935 has been a museum. Thought to have been constructed by Emperor Konstantinos I (324 – 337) it was burned down during a revolt. Rebuilt by Emperor Theodosium II, it was opened for worship in 415 and once again was burned to the ground, during the Nika revolts of 532.
Emperor Iustanianus (527 – 565) wanted to construct something even bigger than the original two and appointed architects Isidoros from Miletos, and Anthemios from Tralles to build the Aya Sofya which still stands. Columns, heads, marble and coloured stones were imported to İstanbul from ancient cities in Anatolia for the purpose.

Traditionally the more valuable goods were in the old central area, called Ic Bedesten, because it was more secure. As quite typical of the area, most streets are laid out and devoted to a particular trade, for example gold on Kuyumcular Caddesi, leather on Bodrum Han, and shoes on Kavaflar Sokak. But the trade has also spilled out onto the surrounding streets, and it is very common to see Russian traders buying up huge sacks of leather jackets or shoes outside the main entrance. Even the streets leading to the Golden Horn are lined with outdoor stalls, which have traditionally been controlled by strict trading laws to reduce competition between traders.

If, among all the masterpieces which are imbued with the genius of Master Sinan Master and of his pupils, there is one that fills more perfectly than the others these fundamental conditions of Ottoman architecture, it is undoubtedly the Süleymaniye. Situated at the top of a hill dominating the Kantarcılar district between the Ministry of Wlar and the Office of the Sheikhulislam, the Süleymaniye soars majestically towards the sky with nothing to hinder its ascent. From the vast platform of its enclosure, one captures at a single glance Europe and Asia, the two seas that bathe Istanbul, and the smiling Princes Isles. Further still, in the vaporous transparency of the horizon, the giant Bithynian Olympus takes shape against a pure sky, standing like an ever present witness to the memory of the cradle of ancient Ottoman power. Confronted by such a tableau, the spirit can conceive only noble ideas. Founded in year 964 of the Hegira (1556 of the Christian era) by Sultan Süleyman the Lawgiver, for whom history has also decreed the names of “the Great” and “the Magnificent’; the Süleymaniye is preceded by an interior court or square flanked by four minarets. By this number, according to tradition, the founder wanted to indicate that he was the  fourth  Ottoman  sovereign  since  the  aonquest  of Constantinople.  In the same way, the total number of the bal conies of its minarets indicates that he was the tenth sultan since Osman Ghazi, the glorious root of his line.

Sinan managed to blend the bearing and functional elements into a work of art. The first aqueduct Sinan built here was destroyed by violent floods (1563) so Sinan obviously went to greater lenghts in his second attempt.

The aqueduct, which is two storey, has 8 big partitions in the first storey and 8 little partitions in the second.

It was built in between 1466 and 1478, a couple of years before the death of Fatih. Unlike any European Palace, its architecture is predominantly Middle Eastern in character. The initial construction was Cinili Mansion, a Glass Palace finished in 1472, and the imposing main gate facing Sultanahmet, Bab-I Humayun, and the Palace ramparts, were completed in 1478.

There were originally 750 residents of the Palace, during Fatih’s period, which became drastically more congested reaching 5000 during normal days and 10,000 during festivals. Extensions had to be built, and the harem was completed in 1595 during the third Sultan Murad’s era, after which the harem residents were moved in from the palace at Beyazit, with a total of 474 concubines. Special tours of the Harem are available. The Harem, literally meaning “forbidden” in Arabic, was the suite of apartments in the palace belonging to the wives, concubines and children of the head of the household.

Kariye is located at Edirnekapı section of İstanbul. The dictionary meaning of Kariye (Chora) is “outside of the city”, or “rural” in old Greek. The existence of a chapel outside the city walls is mentioned in some very old sorces. The first Khora Church was built on the site of this chapel by Justinianus. The building which managed to survive until the times of the Commenos with various additions and repairs, gained importance when the Imperial Palace Blakhernia near the city walls was expanded.

At the end of the 11th century Maria Dukaina, the mother-in-law of Emperor Alexi I had it rebuild.