Foodie goodie of ISTANBUL

Having been to quite a few European countries, food is always not cheap if you plan to eat in a restaurant. However, in Istanbul, I think it has the most affordable good food in a restaurant! One of the best way to know more about local culture when you've been to place, is of course through their food. 

Occasionally it depends on your guts to try something in a foreign country such as fried cockcroaches as snacks in China or Thailand. Don't worry, food in Istanbul isn't anything like that. They are delish! The famous food you need to have in Istanbul is kebab which origins from Iran. You can probably find kebab like you'll get Chinese takeaways in almost everywhere in the world. Bear in mind that, kebabs in Istanbul has plenty of variety and many of them are so good. 

Our first stop in Istanbul after checking-in to our hotel was to look for food as it was time for dinner. We walked around the streets near our hotel aimlessly when we stumble upon this place called, Şehzade Erzurum Cağ Kebabi (TripAdvisor review). The guy was showing us some travel book in Japanese with their store picture and words. Clearly they thought we were Japanese. We decided to give it a go!

Turkish Tea.

It turned out to be really good for their kebab. We have small stomach and we decided to share kebab and Turkish salad. It isn't any lavish restaurants and just look like a typical 'kopitiam' (non-airconditoned food places) in Malaysia. After a while, we understood that their specialty is their kebab grilled horizontally rather than the usual vertical grill. The meat was finely grilled, neither too hard nor too soft, and seasoned to our liking! We were not sure how to eat the kebab served with some kind of soft bread. By looking at the table next door is the way to find out! Turkish tea is not as what I expect, that it's a bit bitter but the tea cup is something I truly adore! If you're in Istanbul, do not forget this wee shop for nice Cag Kebab! It was good that we went back again!

On another episode, we went to a restaurant called Pudding Shop (a.k.a. Lale Restaurant) near Sultan Ahmed Mosque (The Blue Mosque), which you should visit if you're there. They serves local food, affordable and yummy. Most of them are stewed dishes and are not too spicy. The outlook of it may not be too appealing but the food is good. It's more like a homemade food, and it was the only meal we had that's not kebab. This place has been long established which even has a Wikipedia (click here to see). When it's a place the locals would go, it can never be wrong!

Mostly Mosque - ISTANBUL

If you have been to Rome, Italy, or have seen it in television or movies, Rome is filled with churches in almost every corner of the city, and many of the properties belongs to the churches, too. 

It is not surprised that in Istanbul, Turkey, the mosques are all over the metropolitan city in the Islamic country. The religious component in the city is as strong as many other cities worldwide. Religiously, the people adhere to their prayers five times daily and the mosque is often really busy not just with tourists but the locals who pray in their local mosques.

I, myself, have been to Malaysia's national mosque in Putrajaya once, I'd say it's a very much modernised mosque compared to those culture-rich mosque in Istanbul. I must say, they are beautiful as a person who loves architecture and all things pretty. 

The Sultan Ahmed Mosque, a.k.a. The Blue Mosque

The Sultan Ahmed Mosque, also famously known as The Blue Mosque, is definitely a must visit when you're in Istanbul. It is known as The Blue Mosque due to the colour of the tiles of its interior. It will not complete or should I say, you'd not have not been to Istanbul without visiting to this mosque. Regardless of who you are and what you believe, this mosque is free to visit to all, as long as you adhere to the rules and respect the place, people and its religion.