Strolling Along the Bosphorus in Istanbul

When it's hot in Istanbul and you can't get out of the city, do as the locals do.

Dive, jump or simply swim in the cool waters of the Bosphorus strait - the large waterway that divides Europe from Asia.

This Turkish teenager perfectly posed for me as we walked by along the Bosphorus. 

The water certainly looks tempting enough as temperatures hover daily around 32 C/90 F. But I fear the jelly fish, the pollution and the strong currents.

Despite those worries, from as early as 6 a.m. to at least as late as 11 p.m., I've observed young and old men, trying to keep cool in the Bosphorus. Yesterday, we actually saw several older women and a couple young girls in the water too as we walked along the shore.

A nice dive into the Bosphorus.

Families, such as this one, watch as their children cool off in the Bosphorus.

Swimming in the Bosphorus definitely is a man's sport as indicated by the photos I took. At least, several hundred women competed in the 2012 Intercontinental Bosphorus Race we watched recently.

To that tune, I keep ribbing my husband to join the locals in the Bosphorus. "Look, that guy is probably in his 60s and he's swimming out there. You should do it too," I tell him.

I figure he should do it at least once while we live in Istanbul just to say he did it. There's no harm in that, right?

If you want to enjoy a long walk along the Bosphorus, I'd recommend walking from Ortaköy to Bebek; or from Bebek to the Rumeli Hisarı area. We've even walked farther all the way to Emirgan Korusu (Emirgan Park), but you need to be ambitious.

You'll also see plenty of fishermen along the Bosphorus.

A fishing line filled with the day's catch of small anchovy-like fish.

You'll find plenty of cafes, restaurants and stores to pop into as well as a couple of green areas where you can relax. Be sure to pop into TAPS Brewery like we always do in Bebek for a decent malt beer.

Just maybe you'll be tempted to jump into the Bosphorus like the locals too.

And if you get hungry on your Bosphorus stroll, you'll find plenty of street food carts selling corn on the cob, Turkish tea, sandwiches and sometimes even pop corn.

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2012 Intercontinental Bosphorus Race: Photo Post

Yesterday, we watched the swimming competition of a lifetime - the only one in the world that spans two continents just like Istanbul itself.

More than 1,000 people, including former Olympic-gold winner American Mark Spitz as well as U.S. Istanbul Consulate's Consul General Scott Kilner, whom I have met and even saw yesterday, participated in 2012 Intercontinental Bosphorus Race. The race spanned a course from Kanlıca on the Asian side near the second bridge to the neighborhood of Kuruçeşme on the European side.

The fastest swimmers finished the course in under an hour. The winners were awarded medals in seven different age groups for both men's and women's categories. See news article here.

Two swimmers in the 2012 Intercontinental Bosphorus Race in Istanbul on July 15.

We watched the swimmers tackle the strong current of the Bosphorus along the shores of Kuruçeşme Cemil Topuzlu Parkı. I took a ton of photos and even a short video to give you an idea of what the day was like. Click here to see a video clip of the 2012  Intercontinental Bosphorous Race inIstanbul on YouTube.

I was amazed to see all the swimmers either beat the currents and push ahead in the race, or get stuck in a place in the Bosphorus where they seemed to go nowhere. There were several lifesaver boats in the water in case people needed assistance as well as a helicopter flying overhead.

On the left-hand side, you can see one of the helicopters above the bridge that was watching the swimmers for any dangers.

Later, we even saw a medic helicopter fly under the Bosphorus bridge, but missed taking a photo because we were so engrossed in the moment.

It was scorcher of a day, and I was wearing a black-striped sundress. Dumb me! We decided to take a stroll along the Bosphorus for awhile.

We saw families having picnics in the park and kids playing everywhere despite the heat.

Turkish families having a picnic in the park on Sunday.

These two girls were having fun in the park.

Before we got to Arnavutköy, we also saw a wedding party on a gorgeous wooden yacht. Fancy Turkish wedding.

Turkish wedding party on the Bosphorus in Istanbul.

We ended up walking 3.5 km and rewarded ourselves with some nicely chilled beer at TAPS Brewery in Bebek. I swear it's the only place in all of Istanbul where you can drink a brewed beer that's not Efes Pilsner or Turborg on tap. Not that I don't mind Efes.

Look at all the boats passing through the Bosphorus after the waterway was opened following the race.

It was another beautiful afternoon in Istanbul together, but next time I need to remember to apply sunscreen if we are out for that long! Sunburned shoulders. 


Who else watched the swimmers yesterday?

Docking near the finish line.

Here you can see the results for the female swimmers age 30-39.

Fully covered woman on the left while young boy sits along the Bosphorus.

I kinda thought this photo was funny. One of the swimmers between two ambulances after the race.

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A Hint of Paris in Istanbul

After just a few minutes outside reading and studying my Turkish, bird droppings landed on our table.

About 10 minutes later, a giant splotch of red bird poop plopped right in the middle of Jason’s book that he was reading. Not to mention, a young couple were basically making out nearby.

Forget this! We scrambled back inside Starbucks to find a seat and enjoy our Sunday afternoon. The Starbucks located in the “luxurious” neighborhood of Bebek in  Istanbul has a wonderful view of the Bosphorus. For the price of a café latte, you can sit seaside all day if you so desire. 

This is the view from the second floor of Starbucks in Bebek.

That was our plan until the damned birds came along.

Yesterday, the weather warmed up to 50 F here. The sun was shining brilliantly. Jason tortured me with a run through our neighborhood in the morning. In the afternoon, we headed to Bebek for brunch and to spend time relaxing and studying.

I probably ruined the efforts of our run by ordering eggs Benedict for brunch at Happily Ever After. But hey, it’s not very often I get to eat real bacon. I couldn’t turn down that menu item!

Jason fared a bit better with sautéed mushrooms and fresh tomatoes with his eggs, potatoes and bacon. The restaurant is a cute place - super crowded – but it has a great outside seating area.

After our brunch and coffee, we stopped by the newly opened Laduree along the main street in Bebek. Back in September, I saw the sign that proclaimed “Laduree coming soon.” I’ve been waiting patiently to try these macarons again!

The storefront of  Laduree in Istanbul is decorated for Valentine's Day.

Laduree is a famous Paris-based patisserie with a long history. In 1862, the patisserie opened as a boulangerie (bakery) and later became a pastry shop and tea salon in 1871 when a fired forced founder Ernest Laduree to rebuild. As a professional pastry chef, I had dreamed about this place. In May 2009, my wish was finally granted with my first trip to Paris where Jason proposed. I specifically chose our hotel based on its proximity to a Laduree store.

May 2009 - Here I am in Paris.

Inside Bebek’s tiny Laduree, there are rows and rows of pastel and brightly colored macarons. Each macaron is priced at 3.45 lira or about $2.20 USD. I chose six flavors – Chocolat, Framboise, Cassis Violette, Citron, Chocolat and Caramel Beurre Sale’ – to sample. (The store does not allow photos to be taken inside.)

The French macaron is a light, elegant, slightly crispy and chewy confection. The two "cookies" usually are sandwiched together with buttercream, ganache or jellies/jams. I used to bake hundreds of macarons and serve them as one of my petit fours in the restaurant. In Istanbul, many of the Turkish pastaneler (pastry shops) such as Baylan, which is also located in Bebek, bake decent macarons.

Rows of macarons available at Baylan

But, in my opinion, nothing still compares to the delicate French macaron.

At home, I bit into the rosy framboise macaroon. I have to admit I was slightly disappointed. The macaron didn’t taste as fresh as I thought it should be. Something just seemed a bit off.

Next time I’m craving a bit of Paris I’ll give our local Laduree another chance. But hopefully someday, we’ll return to Paris to savor the true French macarons.

August 2013 UPDATE: The Bebek location of Laduree has closed, but you can find a new branch in Nişantaşı at Abdi Ipekçi Cad. No: 5/1.

Afiyet Olsun!

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Beer and Bebek

Ahhh….there’s nothing like sitting near the water, drinking a cold beer and enjoying the lovely weather. And for once, it wasn’t an Efes.

Don’t get me wrong. I do enjoy drinking Efes here, but I miss a good, heartier draft beer.

Over the weekend, Jason and I decided to spend the afternoon in Bebek, which is one of the wealthier neighborhoods of Istanbul on the European shores of the Bosphorus. I just think it’s a super cute area where the streets are lined with great restaurants and gourmet shops. The neighborhood also has one of the best Starbucks in the world because of its water view.

We’d heard there was a real brewery in Bebek called TAPS. The company brews all-malt beers with ingredients imported from suppliers in the E.U. Apparently; the beer is even being exported to Japan, Sweden and the U.S.

The menu listed about 20 different craft beers, but our server told us there were only four available that day. I’m not sure if the brewery rotates the beers it has available or how it works exactly.

Well, I was happy to order a TAPS Vienna Lager, and Jason selected the Smoke Lager (Rauch Beer). My medium-bodied beer had a slight malt sweetness to it and reminded me of some local beers back in Baltimore, MD. Jason’s beer definitely had a smoky flavor, and I didn’t like it.

The brewery also offers a typical bar/pub menu filled with fried appetizers, hamburgers and brick-oven pizzas. We ordered the Freda Farm pizza with chunks of fried chicken and a ranch-like dipping sauce. Beer and pizza always goes well together.

We had a wonderful time just sitting by the Bosphorus, relaxing and talking throughout the late afternoon. I love being by the water. It’s quite tranquil and allows my mind to wander freely. I think all those years of living landlocked in the middle of the Midwest finally got to me. I’ve been living by a body of water ever since I moved to New York in 2004.

Later on, we decided to walk around Bebek and popped into a few of the shops. I bought 200 grams of heavenly Italian prosciutto and a few other food “necessities” from one of the gourmet stores.

We ended the evening at Kitchenette, a popular French Bistro that we’ve taken a liking to as well. We continued our food binge and ordered a beef carpaccio, a small carafe of white wine and an oh-my-god-to-die-for “hot chocolate tart.”

The tart shell was filled with a molten dark chocolate ganache that oozed out as soon as we put a fork into it. The dessert was amazing! Very rarely do I find a dessert that fits that description, but this was it.

If you make a trip to Istanbul, I’d highly recommend setting aside a few hours to stroll through Bebek.

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