Istanbul day 4 - Dolmabahce, Kadikoy, rain and fresh turbot

(Yesterday for got to say that I'm not really spell checking anymore. Sorry if that drives you nuts but I realized a while back that editing was a major obstacle to regular blogging for me. Trying to be less perfect so i might do it more often.) 

So I had this long blog about what we did all day yesterday (got up early, Topkapi, lunch at Istanbul Univ, Ayasofya, nap on the lawn, then dinner inTaksim at Hunkar), but i accidentally did not  save the draft. So that's the recap for day 3 - :) 

Today we slept in again and made our way to the Dolmabahce Palace. Before getting in the metro, we ate a simit (pretzel meets bagel) from the guy at the top of the steps by our apt and then we stopped for a doner sandwich. It started to rain so we ate it under a tree with other huddlers. It cooled things off and took down the humidity a little. 

We took the metro to Dolmabahce and I concluded that everyone there hates their jobs. Everyone was cranky, even with other Turkish people. We passed the ferry boats that we would later take to Kadikoy. We saw these three old dudes whose Job it appeared to be letting this one tiny slip next to the ferry docks. They fed feral cats, had a lot of gulls and ducks for company, and sort of just hung out in this dingy kind of shed. 

At Dolmabahce (meaning filled-in garden) we toured the administrative building (the bomb palace but not as cool as Topkapi) and the harem ("ha-reem"). In the admin building (haha, the skilled architects that spent 14 years building it probably would hate that I'm calling it the "admin" bldg). everything was way more European than the 15th century architecture we saw yesterday. A lot less marble and granite, less gold, no mosaic. Can't believe it cost the equivalent of $1.5bn! It bankrupted the empire with its 265 rooms, 63 bathrooms, and dozens of opulent halls, including one audience hall that had Europe's LARGEST CRYSTAL CHANDELIER.  (Do the caps do it justice? Photos were forbidden.)  10,000 crystals, 600 lamps, and 5 months to clean. You can keep it! "This is the reason we do not clean it," said our tour guide. It was not operational but the dozens of crystal chandeliers in the other halls definitely were. Gorgeous! I'd like to die and come back as a sultan's queen mother. Maybe I wouldn't live that long but the interior design is totally worth it. The large panels between the intricate ceiling molding were painted by a French painter - about 20 panels reflecting the four seasons - all using a revolutionary painting style known as... 3-D painting! It was really impressive. 

Also, way after it was built in 1854(?), Ataturk gave his first presidential address in that grand ballroom in 1927 and stayed there until his death from cirrhosis in 1937. He came to Dolmbache for the medical treatment. We saw the room where he died and his bathroom with an entire room full of meds. There is a Turkish flag as a bedspread on the bed. I thought that was really patriotic and moving. 

We then got off our feet for awhile, as we cruised across the Bosphorus to go to Kadikoy. This is my fave place so far. Hard to describe the difference - less hectic, fewer people, not touristy at all. 

We sat in a park to orient ourselves and make a plan. There were a few

Homeless people sleeping in the grass, a man selling tea/"cay" (pronounced like chay), and a huge black off leash dog that was fetching things. I can't believe people actually buy tea from these guys. It is like buying a soft pretzel from a shopping cart in Rittenhouse. Ick. 

The market streets reminded me of the Italian market. We got caught in another rainstorm and went to get coffee at a very American place called Montag. I got a cold brew Sumatran coffee (shoutout to Pauline) and we watched the rain from the balcony. When we first sat down, Turkish musicians were performing on the square. Although they lasted a few minutes after the first drops, the audience and crowd scattered just in time for the downpour. 

We had a beer at an Italian joint (heehee) called Casa Rossa that was actually really cool. Loved the vibe there. We might stay in Kadikoy on the second Istanbul leg because we both loved the neighborhood so much! 

Many parts reminded me of the Italian Market like this Di Bruno Bros.-esque place above.  Alex bought a mysterious fried bread thing from a man for 1tl. It turned out to be meat with grain and grape leaves fried into a little hash brown. A treat!! The man was so excited that we liked it that he ran over to a bucket on the ground under his produce stand, got out 1 gherkin, broke it in half and fed each of us a half of it with his bare hands. LOL!! 

For dinner, we found a local joint called Kadi Nimet Balikcilik that we were really proud of. The food was plentiful, we got a spectular seat on the terrace (after being turned away at 8 and coming back at 9). I was so excited to find this gem... Then I just googled the name of the place and it has 94 reviews already on TripAdvisor so we're not so original! 

There were these two old dudes in the corner who were already into at least one course (honeydew, oddly), and had a full bottle of raki (like ouzo) ahead of them. We saw them order five more small plates and, 1.5 hours later, they were still there as we left. 

Honeydew (in so glad I tried that with our dinner!), sea bass stuffed with grain and grape leaves (right), eggplant salad (top). Then, a whole fried turbot with the most outstanding arugula I've ever had - terrific - like eating horseradish! I loved it! Huge green leaves with a little lemon, and tiny piece of onion with each piece of fish. Yum!!

We didn't even come close to finishing our fried turbot. We probably ate a quarter of the darned thing. Even the two girls next to us were beating us - mussels, salad, smelts, tomatoes and fish stew, bread and still there when we left. Hilariously, the server came over and cleared our plates and flatware. I felt relieved to have the meal officially end. Alex pointed out, "He'd getting us new plates and silverware because he doesn't think we started eating yet!" When he came back with the new settings, he laughed a little when I explained we were tapping out. Americans....

I have noticed that it seems to be a thing to order one item, then keep ordering as you eat. We like this idea and think people (like us) wouldn't over-order if we did this more often.  We left our gourmet leftovers to the homeless people by the ferry on the way back. 

Getting ready for Cappadoccia tomorrow. I've been waiting to go here since I met that Turkish girl in the Netherlands who told me about it back in 2009. I never thought I'd go.... Whoa. Super corny but I guess that's called a dream come true!! Wahoo! 

Also, got a new battery for the fit bit. We only walked 5.3 miles today. The battery was dead yesterday but our phones say we walked over 10 miles yesterday. Wowzers.