June 24, 2026
One of the things we love to do when we travel is a food tour. Even if you think you know a lot about a country's cuisine, nothing beats walking around with a local and visiting some of their favorite places.
We booked a food tour with an Istanbul native named Alp who works with a group called WithLocals. He was the perfect guide as he had a culinary arts background and a deep love for his hometown. You can find him here.
Our two remaining sisters and spouses were taking a day to recover from travel, so it was just Dave and Bonnie, Chris and Stan, and Bob and I again. Alp suggested we meet in Taksim Square, which was about a mile from our ship, and when we ventured out in the morning, we decided it was the perfect day for a walk. We located Taksim Square on our phones, set the GPS, and started out.
We'd walked a few blocks away from the docks and came upon an area full of fancy shops. This zebra outfit is especially lovely, don't you think? I wonder if the mask comes with the dress?
We enjoyed the walk and sea breeze for a few more blocks, but then our GPA led us away from the waterfront, and suddenly the terrain changed.
The ensuing route was full of steep flights of as many as 40 to 50 stairs, and since our group included our sister-in-law in a wheelchair, we looked for ways to bypass the stairs. We soon understood why there were stairs when the streets we took instead seemed to be going straight up. In a few places, Bonnie got out of the chair and managed a flight of stairs, but it was difficult for her, and so the men banded together to help with the challenging ascent.
After about an hour of strenuous climbing, we finally reached Taksim Square--the highest point in Instanbul, which we had accessed from sea level. We were a little bit late, but Alp was waiting patiently for us.
The square itself was interesting--definitely a gathering place for young people. That's the Ataturk Cultural Center on the left below, which opened in 2021, and the Taksim Mosque, also opened in 2021, on the right.
Several streets radiate from Taksim Square, and many of them include these red and yellow flags that celebrate thhe local football club, Galatasaray. The street itself, Istiklal Avenue, is a pedestrian street lined with old buildings and a lot of restaurants.
Our first stopping place was Köfteci Hüseyin 1958, a restaurant that serves traditional Turkish meatballs (aka köfte).
The tasting began with these half-loaves of crusty bread. We were hungry and the bread was good and we ate way too much, filling up before we even began.
They did have a few English menus, which was nice. To give you an idea of prices, 500 Turkish lira is about $10.
First (or second, if you count the bread), we had a salad of white beans, parsley, onions, and tomatoes:
I had a bottle of Arslan Kara Maya Ayran, a traditional yogurt-based drink that reminded me of buttermilk.
The meatballs were garnished with a roasted pepper, spicy red sauce, onions, and thinly sliced marinated red peppers. We had several plates of this, and honestly, I was already beginning to feel full!
For anyone who is afraid to travel to Turkey, I just want to say that this area of Istanbul feels very, very European. It is spotlessly clean, the people are friendly, and there is plenty of Western influence.
Our next stop is the equivalent of American fast food. Well, not really the equivalent; it's much, much better. It serves traditional Turkish street food in an indoor setting. It is known for a regional dish called
tantuni, which is finely chopped beef or chicken cooked with spices and served in a wrap or with yogurt.
Our guide Alp was good about introducing us to side dishes and drinks. We tried pickled yellow chili peppers with lemon and a traditional Turkish spicy fermented black carrot and turnip juice. The latter was not something I'm craving, but it wasn't as bad as it sounds.
The wraps were good, so good that I forgot to take a picture until there was only one left.
I can't get over how good the bakeries were. There is definitely a French influence. Here you can see Dave, Bonnie, Bob, and Stan examining the pastries in the window.
Check out this towering stack of phyllo dough pastry filled with pistachios and soaked in syrup (left below). Alp went inside and got us what is known as kazandibi, a traditional Turkish carmelized milk pudding with a browned, crispy layer on top. It was like eating a cloud. SOOO good.
This is a street food cart famous for its handmade stuffed bulgur meatballs. This little cart has been run by the same family for decades. One köfte (meatball) costs about $2.00.
Our next tasting experience was the Sakarya Dessert Shop . . .
. . . where we had a slice of ekmek kadayifi, a traditional spongy Turkish sweet bread soaked in a rich carmelized syrup and topped with cream made from buffalo milk. While not my favorite, I have to admit it was pretty decadent.
We ended the food tour in the traditional Turkish way--at a teahouse, where we had some kind of herbal tea. I'm an herbal tea lover, and I enjoyed both the tea and the atmosphere.
We had started the tour a little late, so we ended a little later than planned and were in a bit of a hurry to get back to the ship by the departure time. We walked to a taxi station a block away and waited and waited for our turn to get in a taxi. Dave and Bonnie took the first taxi, and the Joneses joined us in a second taxi. Dave and Bonnie's taxi took off, and we were a little slower to get out of the lot. About two blocks in, our driver side-swiped another car. He got out of the car to engage in a shouting match and basically ignored us from that point on. After a few minutes, when it became clear that we weren't going to get anywhere with that driver, we got out of the taxi and walked to a corner and hailed another cab. We barely made it to the ship for embarkation time.
And with that, our time in Istanbul was over. Next up: Çannakale, better known to most Americans as Troy.
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