Istanbul_ The Collected Traveler_ An Inspired Companion Guide - Barrie Kerper [238]
Şerbet
When I first encountered the word serbet (or sherbet), I thought it was Turkish for “sorbet.” But in fact it refers to a uniquely Turkish drink, which is very sweet and is meant to be diluted with ice-cold water. One tablespoon of serbet is enough for one small glass. Among the excellent ethnographic displays at the Sadberk Hanım Museum is one on childbed customs, as the periods immediately before and after childbirth have a place of special importance in the customs of the Turks. After a birth, pitchers of a specially prepared serbet would be sent out to relatives, close family friends, and neighbors to announce the good news. If the baby was a boy the neck of the pitcher would be tied with a red ribbon; if it was a girl, the mouth of the pitcher was tied with red-dyed cotton gauze. In the days that followed, guests coming to offer their congratulations would be served serbet in cups set in silver holders. On the seventh day after a birth, the childbed—typically a hanging cradle—would be dismantled, and the Mevlud (a poem celebrating Muhammad’s birth) or passages from the Koran would be recited and serbet would be passed around to the guests. The closest equivalent to serbet I can think of are the Italian-style syrups (like Torani), which come in a wide range of flavors, that you mix with cold water and serve over ice.
Soccer
The Turks are nuts for Turkish football (soccer), and most follow one of the three Istanbul clubs, Beşiktaş, Galatasary or Fenerbahçe. I found out how intense the rivalry can be when my friend Maha and I tried to buy a soccer jersey for her brother. A merchant we befriended in the Grand Bazaar asked one of his assistants to take us to a shop just outside of the bazaar where we would find a full array of all the teams’ jerseys. We didn’t really care about the team as much as the style of the shirt, but when our friend’s associate found out we might not buy a shirt from the team he supported, it was clear we had made a blunder. In fact, he told us in no uncertain terms that he could not stand in the shop with us if we didn’t buy a jersey representing the Galatasaray team. He then brought out his cell phone and showed us a video he’d taken when the team had recently arrived at the airport. The scene was one I’d describe as mayhem, with people screaming as at Beatles concerts, and Maha asked, “Is that a fire there in the corner?” and he proudly said it was, a celebratory fire to be exact. So we looked at all the Galatasaray shirts, since it was clear we couldn’t purchase any other kind, and as it turned out none of the styles were quite right for Maha’s brother so we left empty-handed. But our new friend had a big smile on his face.
London-based writer Emma Levine—author Frommer’s Istanbul Day by Day and A Game of Polo with a Headless Goat: And Other Bizarre Sports Discovered Across Asia (André Deutsch, 2000)—has been avidly following Turkish soccer since 1999, when she lived in Istanbul. She told me that the most sought-after tickets are for local derbies (those between the Istanbul clubs), which might not be the best introduction to the game as the atmosphere can be pretty frenetic. For other matches, tickets usually go on sale several days in advance. The best place to get them is any outlet of Biletix, Turkey’s ticketing system. Ask in your hotel for the nearest one. City center outlets include İstiklâl Kitabevi 79-81 and İstiklâl Caddesi, Beyoğlu. Ticket prices for matches vary according to popularity, but usually range from 30TL-60TL (about $25-$50).
Sokak
The Turkish word for “street,” sokak is sometimes abbreviated as Sk.
T
Tanzimat
Tanzimat is an Ottoman Turkish word meaning “reorganization” or “reformation,” referring to the Ottoman Empire. It