baklava in karakoy
last night 5 of us ate at dulcinea in taksim. very nice, moderatelyexpensive, and decent food. i had chicken fajitas which were not
the greatest fajitas on the face of the earth, but they fit the bill!
just what i needed. that, and a little white wine.
came back, then the boys went out, while sara (my new british
friend who is married to a turkish guy named omar) and i sat
around and gabbed. it was nice to have a little "girl time" and
hear about what her life has been like since moving here a year
and a half ago. she's a bit older than me, but it seems like we
come from similar backgrounds. she's hilarious in a very british
way-- and she tells it like it is!
i had today off, so i decided it would be the day of the haircut.
i wasn't quite sure where or how this was going to happen, but
thank god my boyfriend is mr. fashion guy.... he insisted he
went with me to a place he knew, so he and i, and this other
friend of his (whose name i CANNOT even ATTEMPT to spell!!)
took a taxi to taksim.
having your haircut/color described by your boyfriend to the
stylist is one thing, then being left with a stylist who doesn't
speak english is a WHOLE new experience. we attempted a bit
of conversation (me: "i speak very little turkish" him: "hmmm....
i don't speak any english.") well.... OK. so the color went on, i read
a couple of turkish magazines, and then he washed my hair. when
he started cutting my hair, i began having a mini-panic attack
that he was going to cut it all off..... i'm watching hair fly all over the
place and i start to wonder what the hell is going on!
this is when i realize: let go. just relax and see what happens--
the guy is obviously good and i'm probably overreacting. so i sit
back, and start feeling like i'm on one of those makeover TV shows.....
let's just see what he does and if it looks good! well, honey.... it looks
great! i am pleased with the cut and the color looks great. yay!
after that, hulusi, the guy whose name i can't spell, and i walked
down through cihangir to karakoy to buy baklava from the BEST
baklava place in turkey: gulluoglu baklavaci.
oh dear lord.
here is a photo with me and mr. gullu, the owner:
i learned about how they make baklava (very interesting!). did you
know that each piece of baklava has about 40 layers of pastry dough?
and each layer of dough is so thin that you can read the newspaper
through it? well, i didn't! mr. gullu let me read an article written about
him from the chicago tribune (from the january 25, 2005 issue-- i can't
find a link).
and yes, the baklava is GOOD. really, really good. he gave us each a
piece of chocolate baklava to take home, so there's a piece of heaven
waiting for me to devour it later tonight!!!!!!
walked back to sultanahmet over one of the bridges and experienced an
excellent sunset.
and me, walking to eminonu.
posted by camille @ 9:23 PM
1 Comments:
I have read several entries and though I don't actually reside in Istanbul, I was there (living on the Asian side) 10 weeks this winter and then 8 weeks last summer. I can relate to so much of this! I watched my fiance's Mom make baklava for neighbor's who were returning from hajj. It was amazing! I watched her roll out cuntless sheets of dough, helped with the fillings, and was in awe when I watched her pour the boiling oil on the set and cut baklava and saw all the dough crisping right before my eyes, it was magical! Then she put it in her oven (made just for baklava). Once it was cooked, she let it rest overnight, then the next morning she poured the sugar water on top, and that set all day and night. I never got to try it, as it went to the neighbors, but she promised to make a tray for me when I come back. Oh and that chocolate baklava is so amazing. I have only had it from Carrefour, their sweets are really really fresh and good. I love Carrefour! It's like a mall with a Super Wal Mart. And I love Eminonu!
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