Hagia Sofia

It was an early morning, and I had a few hours before leaving Istanbul to fly back home to the US for the holidays. After a nice pudding breakfast, I took a walk down the cobbled streets to see the most famous landmark in all of Istanbul - and perhaps all of Turkey.

Hagia Sofia

Hagia Sofia soars high above the surrounding buildings. The massive stone structure is far bigger than I had imagined before seeing it in person.

Originally, I didn't think I'd have time to visit the Hagia Sofia on this short stopover in Turkey, but after learning that it was about to be closed for possibly decades for renovations and restoration, I decided to try to squeeze a short visit in. Gates open at 9:00, but it was just 7:30 when I arrived. I stood by the entrance, and a queue formed behind me until, by the time the gates were opened, and we were allowed to enter the historic building, the line of people stretched far out behind me. I'm glad I had arrived early, even if it was just by chance.

When the security guards opened the gate, I hurried ahead of the crowd. Since I was the first in line, I wanted to see inside of the beautiful old holy site before the crowds filtered in behind me.

the fountain for ritual ablutions

When you enter, you first step inside a narthex where you have to remove your shoes. The first glimpse inside the Hagia Sofia already feels ancient. The heavy stone and golden mosaic tiles lining the roof give a strong sense of time long past. Due to the way it's constructed and the reverence that people show inside, it's also very, very quiet.

Hagia Sofia, which means "Holy Wisdom" in Greek, began its life as a Christian church. Not just any church, though. Consecreated in 360 during the reign of the emperor Constantius II and finished in 537, Hagia Sofia was the Cathedral of Constantinople, the central Orthodox church in the Eastern Roman Empire, and would stand as the largest cathedral in the world for over 1,000 years.

In 1204 during the Forth Crusade, Constantinople became part of the "Latin Empire", a crusader state seeking to restore a Catholic emperor to the Roman throne. Hagia Sofia became a Catholic cathedral.

In 1261, the Byzantine Empire was restored, and the church was once again consecrated as an Orthodox cathedral.

Finally, in 1453 Constantinople fell to the invading Ottoman Empire. The invading Sultan Mehmed II entered the city and performed the Friday prayer inside Hagia Sophia and declared it a mosque. The church was stripped of its altar and baptistry, and Christian art and icons were plastered over. The construction of several minarets on the outside of the building gave Hagia Sofia the look it is known for today.

During the Occupation of Constantinople in the First World War, Archimandrite Eleftherios Noufrakis, a Greek military chaplain, held the first and only Divine Liturgy in the Hagia Sofia since the fall of Byzantium.

When the Ottoman Empire collapsed, Turkey became a secular republic. In 1935, Hagia Sofia was converted into a museum and opened for all people to visit. A massive restoration effort was undertaken to uncover the ancient art and icons that had been hidden for centuries. Hagia Sofia became a UNESCO World Heritage Site and attracted visitors from all around the world.

In 2020, the nationalist government of Turkey declared Hagia Sofia a mosque once again to great controversy. Today, it's still open to visitors, but it's closed multiple times a day for prayers.

Stepping inside the building is breathtaking. Because I had hurried ahead of the crowd, I was able to take a photo of the Hagia Sofia totally empty before anyone else entered. It was a really surreal experience.

As I was taking photos, a very friendly cat came up to see me and started rubbing against my legs. I bent down to pet her and was soon joined by her baby. The mother cat and kitten were obviously not afraid of people at all and were used to lots of attention from tourists and visitors.

Suddenly, two guards appeared. They looked really serious and at first, I thought they were going to shoo the cats away, but they just bent down and began petting and playing with the cats too.

In 1498, Bernardo Bonsignori was the last Western visitor to Hagia Sophia to report seeing the ancient Justinianic floor; shortly afterwards the floor was covered over with carpet and not seen again until the 19th century.

Today, most of the floor is covered in the thick green carpet typical of a mosque, save for one square are where the original 6th century marble is left uncovered.

This is the Omphalion, the spot where Byzantine emperors were crowned for centuries.

There is no longer an altar, but you can definitely tell where it used to be. Now, the apse houses the mihrab which points towards Mecca. It is flanked by two massive candlesticks brought to Constantinople by Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent after his conquest of Ottoman Hungary.

In Islam, it is forbidden to make art depicting God, prophets, angels, and other holy figures. The ancient mosaic icons were covered up (though they were restored when the Hagia Sofia became a museum). 

The central dome has four beautiful fresco paintings depicting four six-winged seraphim, the angels who protect the Throne of God. During the Ottoman era, the faces of these angels were covered up with golden shields depicting stars.

Today, the face of one of these angels has been uncovered to show what the art originally looked like. Hagia Sofia is unique in its history. Even though it is a mosque, art depicting many holy figures are still on display in the form of Orthodox icons and art - something that is taboo in Islam.

I am so glad that I decided to pay a visit to the Hagia Sofia after all. I almost didn't have time! My visit was very short, and I would have loved to have stayed longer and maybe even taken a tour.

The building is about to undergo a long period of restoration, and I figured that if I didn't visit now, it could be years or even decades before I could see it again. It was a very special experience!

The Pudding Shop

Since 1957, Lale Restaurant, affectionately called "The Pudding Shop", has been the spot where travelers, tourists, adventurers, and wanderers from all around the world gather in Istanbul to meet up and swap tips and tales of their journeys over a bowl of delicious Turkish pudding, a hot coffee, and maybe a beer or two.

The Pudding Shop holds a special and quirky place in Istanbul's 20th century history. Situated in the vibrant and historic Sultanahmet district, it has a storied past that dates back to the 1950s and gained international fame in the 1960s and '70s as a hub for travelers exploring the Middle East and Asia on the famous overland journey known as the "Hippie Trail."

Originally named "Lale Lokantası" (Tulip Restaurant), it earned the nickname "Pudding Shop" due to its popular desserts (travelers passing through often couldn't remember its name and would tell their friends to meet them in Istanbul at the "Pudding Shop").

I was out for an early morning walk on my final day in Istanbul. It was still dark on a cold, windy morning, and the warm inviting lights of the Pudding Shop invited me inside to sit down and warm up before continuing my adventures in the city.

While the menu is extensive, I knew I wanted to try fırın sütlaç, the famous Turkish baked rice pudding that quite literally put Lale Restaurant on the map. I ordered a bowl of pudding and a cup of Turkish coffee and made small talk with the old Turkish men who were having an early breakfast at the table next to mine.

Today, the Pudding Shop continues to welcome visitors seeking a taste of both traditional Turkish cuisine and a slice of its legendary past. Though it may have shifted and calmed down significantly from its wild freewheeling heyday, The Pudding Shop remains a cultural landmark in Istanbul, inviting both locals and tourists to savor its famous pudding and soak in the nostalgia of its vibrant history.

The walls are plastered in newspaper clippings, postcards, letters, and photographs from travelers dating back decades. It's a piece of living history commemorating a free-spirited past and evoking a sense of wild adventure and history.

Fırın sütlaç is a sweet Turkish rice pudding that is made from fresh whole milk, rice, sugar, vanilla, and eggs. It's baked and served in a shallow clay bowl to give the top a caramelized crust - similar to that of a crème brûlée but much softer. The pudding is then chilled for several hours and is served cold with a dusting of cinnamon.

The pudding is thick and rich, like a sweet vanilla custard. While generally considered to be a dessert, I found it to be a fantastic and indulgent early-morning breakfast.

The rich, sweet pudding goes great with a cup of world-famous Turkish coffee.

Turkish coffee is considered to be some of the best in the world. The finely-ground coffee is boiled in water and served in small cups without filtering. The super strong brew is traditionally served in a very small porcelain cup called a kahve fincanı (literally "coffee cup").

The resulting coffee is strong - some of the strongest coffee I've ever had! You can get it with sugar or without. Coffee is served all throughout the day in Turkey.

The Pudding Shop is located just steps from Hagia Sofia, probably the most famous and iconic site in all of Turkey. I didn't have a ton of time before my flight, but I wanted to at least get a glimpse of this legendary landmark.

A Taste of Anatolia (Asia)

We arrived by ferry in Anatolia, the part of Turkey geographically located in Asia, to continue our "A Taste of Two Continents" food and walking tour.

The first restaurant, where we would be having our first lunch (and third meal of the day), was Kebapçı İskender.

There is no menu at Kebapçı İskender. They specialize in one thing and one thing only: Iskander kebab. I've always felt that having no menu or an extremely limited number of dishes on a menu is a sign that your meal is going to be something really special.

The base of the dish is a piece of pita cut into bite sized squares and spread out to line the bottom of an oblong serving dish. The bread is layered with hot tomato sauce and heaps of döner kebab meat made from lamb and slow cooked over a fire. The plate is served with charred tomatoes, green peppers, and a huge portion of thick, rich, and buttery homemade sheep milk yogurt.

What makes Iskander kebab special, though, is the final ingredient: a pan full of hot brown butter made from sheep's milk that is poured over the entire dish at the table right in front of the guests. As the butter hits the meat, it sizzles.

The meal was served with a tiny glass of Üzüm Şerbeti, or grape sharbat. This sweet non-alcoholic cordial is made by fermenting Syrah grapes until just before it turns into wine. This gives it a light, refreshing sort of flavor, similar to a fermented kombucha. It's a great way to cut through the richness of the kebab after your meal.

As we walked from the restaurant, Sinan, our guide for the day, told us about the culture of the eastern part of Istanbul.

The Asian side of the city, he told us, is far more modern than the European side. This part of Istanbul only dates back to the 19th century. It's a lot more modern, he told us, more politically progressive, and much cheaper than the European side. It's also significantly flatter, which made walking around far easier than it had been in the morning.

While the European side of the city had a mosque on every corner, the Asian side was home to far more churches (mostly Orthodox or Nestorian).

I had arrived in Istanbul in late November, and the city was already starting to decorate for Christmas. While Islam is the dominant religion in Turkey, Christmas is apparently a big deal.

Sinan explained that while Jesus is still considered a holy figure in Islam, he is especially popular in Turkey (perhaps due to the region's history as part of the Eastern Roman Empire, the constant cross-cultural exchange along the Silk Road passing through Istanbul / Constantinople, and the historical visits of Saints Paul, Andrew, Philip, and John). Christmas is widely celebrated, and not even necessarily as a secular holiday.

After several heavy meals in a row, Sinan thought we needed something to help with our digestion, and took us to Özcan Turşu, widely regarded as one of the best pickle shops in the city.

Pickles are a popular snack or side dish in Turkish cuisine, and the locals swear by the health benefits of cups of briny pickle juice, which is sour, salty, and full of electrolytes.

Pickle juice, or the brine in which the vegetables are pickled, is also valued in Turkish culture. Some people drink it as a refreshing beverage or believe in its health benefits, considering it good for digestion or as a remedy for various ailments. That's what we were there to try.

We each got a small cup full of bright red pickle juice and pieces of various pickled ingredients such as sweet green peppers, garlic, tiny young plums, carrots, cabbage, and red carrots. The red carrots are what gives the pickle juice its distinct color.

The pickled vegetables were really good! Each one had a very different flavor. I personally liked the pickled carrots the best. After eating the pickles with a fork, I drank the rest of the juice. It was really salty and strong but had a nice fresh flavor as well. I really enjoyed it, but I don't think I would need more than a small cup of it.

Second lunch was to be a very special treat.

Ciya Sofrası has been hailed as one of the very best restaurants in Istanbul, and it's a current Michelin candidate.

Owned by Chef Musa Dağdeviren, this restaurant does not have a menu. Instead, the chef serves up different dishes from various regions of Turkey each day depending on seasonal availability of ingredients as well as what he feels like making that day. It's not fancy restaurant food, but rather selections of the types of food that Turkish families across the country might eat at home served up in a comfortable and elegant setting.

We sat down to eat, and the staff began serving us our multi-course meal of dishes to share.

Sinan told us that this was sort of Turkish tavern food; food that you might share with your friends in the evening over a glass of wine.

I regret that I can't remember what everything on the plate was called, but clockwise from top left, the dishes were:

Boiled beets served with walnut, some sort of greens sauteed with olive oil and lemon juice, za'atar tabbouleh rice millet salad (finely chopped parsley, with tomatoes, mint, onion, bulgur, and seasoned with olive oil, lemon juice, salt and sweet pepper), a salad made from parsley, chives, and pomegranate seeds, and Turkish hummus made with tahini, olives, and garlic.

We had all of this served with bites of crispy Turkish bread which was almost like a giant cracker.

We also shared a bowl of dolma, which are eggplants stuffed with rice, tomato, and chili.

I've also forgotten what the next dish was called, but it was a rice pilaf dish cooked with raisins, chicken, almond, and cinnamon cloves baked inside a crispy bread.

The final dish was something extra special. This was a royal dish from the Ottoman era and was only served to the imperial court of the Sultan.

It was made from quince stewed with chestnuts, chickpeas, potato, turmeric, and braised lamb shank.

At the end of our meal, we were served a tiny glass of sweet and sour tamarind juice boiled with sugar.

Dessert was a slice of pumpkin desiccated with lime then soaked in sugary syrup so that all of its natural water was replaced with sugar. The pumpkin was topped with tahini sauce (made from sesame) and a sprinkle of crumbled walnuts.

Before leaving, we had a cup of the restaurant's signature thyme tea.

We continued our walk through the city.

At this point, it was already late afternoon, and we were all getting very full, but it was time for dessert (or desserts, rather).

First, we walked to İzmir İnci Boyoz, a bakery famous for their pasteries.

Their most famous pastry is boyoz, a pastry with a long and complicated history.

Although today found only in Turkey, boyoz actually has Judeo-Spanish roots. The dish came to the more open and accepting Ottoman Empire in 1492 after the expulsion of the Sephardic Jews from Spain. Now, it's considered to be a purely Turkish delicacy.

The actual process for making boyoz is a secret, passed down from generation to generation of baker. It's a super flaky layered pastry filled with tahini (sesame paste). It tastes a lot like a peanut butter bun, and was really good!

Now, we had a long walk, which was nice! We got to see more of the city, including the famous "Instagram street", where colorful umbrellas are suspended above the sidewalk.

The second dessert was lokma, or Turkish fritters, a popular street food snack.

The fritters are made from leavened and deep-fried dough balls soaked in syrup or honey.

In some parts of Turkey there is a tradition where forty days after someone passes away, the family and friends of the deceased will prepare large quantities of lokma. Neighbors, friends, and passersby will queue up to receive a serving of lokma from the family and will offer a prayer for the soul of the deceased in return.

Istanbul has a very expansive metro system, while much of it is underground, the most visible public transport in the city are the trams that drive up and down the old cobbled streets.

There are new trams, which have lots of cars and look super modern, but in some parts of the city, you can still find these very small, old tram lines.

These trams were a gift from Kaiser Wilhelm to the Ottoman Sultan around the time of the First World War (the German Empire and the Ottoman Empire were allied members of the Central Powers).

While the old tram is probably outdated nowadays, it's left us as a piece of history and a recognition of the friendship between Germany and Turkey.

As the sun began to set, we came to our final stop.

We climbed the stairs to the second floor of the cafe to take a seat near the windows and watch the sun set over the water. 

Probably the most famous Turkish dessert of all is baklava. Baklava is taken very seriously in Turkey! There is a legally prescribed way of making it, and bakers must have a baklava license in order to be allowed to sell it in their shops.

Baklava is a dessert made of layered filo pastry filled with chopped pistachios and soaked in sweet syrup or honey. It is typically served with slices of creamy sheep's milk ice cream.

Before leaving, our guide wanted us to try one final thing: tavukgöğsü, or "chicken breast milk pudding". Originally a royal cuisine served at Topkapı Palace, the dish is now well-known throughout Turkey.

The traditional version uses white chicken breast meat boiled and shredded into thin fibers. The chicken is mixed with milk, sugar, and cracked rice. The result is a block of dense, white pudding.

At the first bite, you really couldn't tell that it had any chicken in it. It just tasted like a chewy milk pudding with the consistency of a chewy, rubbery dough. However, as you ate it, you could begin to feel the texture of the shredded chicken, and it had a distinctly chickeny aftertaste.

It wasn't bad, but it was a bit strange to me. It's not probably something I'd order again for myself.

Our food tour was coming to an end. It had been an all-day adventure exploring both sides of Istanbul and the city's vibrant cuisine culture. I learned more about the city and the country than I ever could on my own in just one day. I'm really glad that I signed up for this tour. I met some really nice people and learned and ate so much. It was one of the best travel experiences I have ever had, and one of the best short stopovers I've ever taken.

I took the boat back to the European side of the city, trudged up the super steep cobbled hills to my hotel, and fell asleep quickly. I would be leaving Turkey the next afternoon, but I might have time for one more adventure before heading to the airport.