I recently spent four wonderful days in Istanbul. Here's a few notes on five unexpected delights of this great city: Dried fruit. While this is probably not the first reason most people visit Turkey, you have to try the dried strawberries, pineapples, figs, peaches and several others that's available in the Spice Bazaar. I don't know why I've never had (or seen) dried strawberries before, but this should be a compulsory ingredient in any dessert. It comes with a warning though: dried fruit is not cheap. While we're at fruit, also try the amazing watermelon (served in a bowl with a plastic fork) sold in the Sultan Ahmet park between the Hagia Sophia and Blue Mosque for about 5 lira (roughly R25) every evening.
Turkish delights
Turkish delights
Turkish delights
I recently spent four wonderful days in Istanbul. Here's a few notes on five unexpected delights of this great city: Dried fruit. While this is probably not the first reason most people visit Turkey, you have to try the dried strawberries, pineapples, figs, peaches and several others that's available in the Spice Bazaar. I don't know why I've never had (or seen) dried strawberries before, but this should be a compulsory ingredient in any dessert. It comes with a warning though: dried fruit is not cheap. While we're at fruit, also try the amazing watermelon (served in a bowl with a plastic fork) sold in the Sultan Ahmet park between the Hagia Sophia and Blue Mosque for about 5 lira (roughly R25) every evening.