Istanbul_ The Collected Traveler_ An Inspired Companion Guide - Barrie Kerper [145]
Akin was included in the Saveur 100 in 2007, and six of her recipes for a Turkish dinner menu were featured in the May 2007 issue of Bon Appétit (her recipes may be found online at epicurious.com). Details of her cooking school in Ula, on the Aegean Sea, may be found on her Web site, enginakin.com. Though I’ve not yet been to Ula, a visit there would be a perfect post-Istanbul respite, not only because of Engin, the food, and the beautiful accommodations in Engin’s family home, Nabiye Konak, but also because the program is just four days, allowing visitors to plan an extended Mediterranean Turkey trip and not be locked into a weeklong commitment.
Circassian chicken is a renowned Turkish dish, and recipes for it are plentiful. In Life’s Episodes: Discovering Ottoman Architecture, Godfrey Goodwin relates that he had once been invited to a dinner where this dish was the pièce de résistance. He asked his host how the dish had been made, and the host replied that Circassian chicken was “an Ottoman dish which could not be made much longer because first of all one needed eight grandmothers. These set to work one day earlier shredding the breasts of young chickens, thread by thread. Others were crushing the juice out of fresh black walnuts. Then a rectangular terra-cotta flower pot had a line of chicken threads laid across it and these were painted with walnut juice. Another layer of chicken followed and was painted in turn. By evening the dish was full and a brick was placed on top. It was set by an open window and would be ready for lunch next day.”
You will see Hamdi Restaurant (Tahmis Caddesi Kalçin Sokak 17, Eminönü / +90 212 528 0390 / hamdirestorant.com.tr) recommended often in guidebooks and articles, and with good reason: this renowned place serves delicious specialties from the southeastern part of Turkey and has a view of Istanbul to die for. Founder and owner of the restaurant Uncle Hamo left Birecik (near Urfa) over forty years ago and came to his uncle’s house in Istanbul. He attended Haydarpaşa high school for a total of twenty-six days, and that was the end of academe for him—he dabbled in carpentry after school and then completed his military service before starting work at a kebab restaurant. Hamdi has been at its present location, in a five-story historic building that once was a porter’s office, for over 140 years. In case you wonder why you have to step into an elevator when you enter the building, it’s because the breathtaking views of the Golden Horn and Galata are obviously to be had from the top floor! In warm weather, request a seat on the outdoor terrace. It may seem hard to imagine until you’ve tasted them, but the kebabs and köfte here are absolutely among the best in all of Turkey. There are five choices of kebab: hashish (I’m not entirely sure that’s what you might think it is), aubergine, pistachio, garlic, loquat, and testi. Testi is prepared for at least ten people; the filling—meat, tomatoes, shallots, garlic, and green pepper—is put inside a pot which is closed with pastry, and then it is served by breaking the pot. Hamdi’s tomato, walnut, and mint salad with pomegranate molasses is out of this world. But the real surprise is the baked goods: never, ever have I tasted baklava as good as Hamdi’s. Since Hamdi doesn’t ship overseas, one would be wise to consider packing a box of this in your carry-on.
“The first time I went to Istanbul was in 1957. I was the only woman visible on the street and in restaurants. Istanbul was only three million people at that time. I returned thirty-five years later to a city with twelve million people, a three-hour ‘rush hour,’ and women driving tractors in the countryside, wearing the head scarf and veil. Quite a change!
“There is great food in Istanbul—I loved eating fried