Carstvo djevreka u crvenim kolicima/ Turkey-the kingdom of simit

Ono što će vam verovatno prvo privući pažnju na ulicama Istanbula su crvena kolica na kojima se prodaje djevrek. Iako ga ima u gotovo svim srpskim pekarama, djevrek jednostavno nigde nije toliko popularan kao u Turskoj. Uvek sam se pitala kako prodavci uspevaju da zarade od prodaje ovog peciva, jer košta samo 1TL, a crvena kolica se nalaze na svakih 20-ak metara. 

 

Prodavci su uglavnom ljubazne deke, koji verno sede iza svojih crvenih pokretnih kućica, piju čaj I čitaju novine. Ja sam djevrek probala na nekoliko mesta, ali uvek se vraćam samo jednom dekici. Djevrek se pije uz uglavnom uz tradicionalni turski crveni čaj poslužen u čašicama u obliku lala. 

 

Ukoliko ste pomislili da prodavce djevreka nećete videti dok padaju kiša I sneg, grdno ste se prevarili. Oni su uvek tu, od ranih jutarnjih časova, pa sve dok ne prodaju djevreke. Na Taksimu I po Istiklaalu ćete ih videti I u večernjim terminima. Uvek ljubazni I nasmejani, verni svojim djevrecima, predstavljaju zaštitni znak ovog grada. 

 

Koliko je ovo pecivo popularno, svedoči I lanac pekara po Turskoj pod nazivom Simit Sarayı, što u prevodu znači Palata djevreka. Na ove pekare ćete naići na svakom koraku, uvek su pune I često imaju predivan pogled jer se nalaze na najprometnijim mestima i u blizini turističkih znamenitosti. Ukoliko vidite mladiće koji na plehu na glavi nose po stotinak djevreka, naročito u jutarnjim satima, nemojte se začuditi. To je pravi način da vam Istanbul poželi Günaydın (dobro jutro) :-)

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First thing you are gonna see on the streets of Istanbul is small red carts where simit is sold. Even though this kind of bagel with sesame is well known all around the world, it's beyond popular in Turkey. I always wondered how people earn by selling simit, because it costs just 1TL, and red carts are literally everywhere. 

 

Traders are mostly old grandpas, very loyal to their bagels, friendly and always smiling, and they  sit every day behind their simit carts, drink tea and read newspapers. I tasted simit on many places, but I always go back to the grandpa where I first tried this bagel. In Turkey, you take bagel mostly with traditional Turkish red tea, served in a glasses that have tulip shape. 

 

If you thought that you were not gonna see simit sellers during rainy days or snow, you have to know that they are always there. From the early morning till they sell all the bagels they have. On Taksim and in the main street Istiklal you are gonna see them even late in the evening. And their simit is so yummy. 

 

There is also well known chain of bakeries called Simit Sarayı, meaning Palace of Simit, and you can find them in the most touristic spots and near the main square. These bakeries are very famous, very crowded and mostly have amazing view if you are sitting on the balcony. 

 

If you see guys carrying hundreds of simit on their heads, especially early in the morning- be sure that it’s just the way of Istanbul telling you Günaydın (Good morning) :-)

 Enjoy your journey lifelovers and world travellers,

Ana <3

Nişantaşı- Pariz u Istanbulu/ Nişantaşı- Paris in Istanbul

U ovaj deo grada vas turističke agencije neće odvesti. Zato sam ja uvek bila protiv uplaćivanja aranžmana, jer samo vi znate šta želite da vidite, a agencije vas mnogo sputavaju. 

 

Nişantaşı je, po meni, najlepši deo Istanbula, boemski i kosmopolitski, evropski, a opet ima snažan pečat Turske. Većina stanovnika su stranci i proevropski orijentisani Turci. Nekretnine su ovde najskuplje, a propos šopinga predstavlja Meku svih luksuznih brendova, a recimo da pruža i veliki izbor što se tiče barova i restorana za večernje izlaske. 

 

Ono što je mene oduševilo je što je to grad u gradu, izuzetno čist i uredjen deo, oivičen predivnim parkom pod imenom Machka park. I da, ima puno mačaka i jeste, park je po njima dobio ime. Morate znati da su u Turskoj mačke malo naprednije i ne možete ne zapaziti da imaju nekih 5kg više od prosečnih.

 

Orhan Pamuk je baš na Nişantaşı-ju živeo i o njemu je često i sa puno epiteta pisao, jer samo tako i možete dočarati Nişantaşı. U prošlosti je Nişantaşı predstavljao mesto gde su se otomanski strelci i sultani okupljali da se takmiče u streljaštvu. Ukoliko malo bolje obratite pažnju zapazićete kamenje na kome su zabeleženi rekordi u dobacivanju strele. 

 

Ako imate sreće da se nadjete tamo, preporučila bih vam da zavirite u butike i njihove živopisne izloge, da svratite u City’s, mali, ali ekskluzivan šoping mall, da protrčite Machka parkom i da usput pojedete dževrek koji se prodaje u crvenim kolicima i koji košta 1TL. Fun fact: Po meni je najbolji onaj  ispred City's-a, ali taj košta 1,5TL i dekica koji ga prodaje je mi je stavio mašnu na kesu sa djevrekom :-)

 

Primetićete da u uličicama koje su paralelne i vode prema Şişliju nalaze se uglavnom butici koji prodaju iste stvari. Tako su butici sa ekskluzivnim ženskim haljinama načičkani jedan do drugog, onda u sledećoj ulici ide red butika sa muškim odelima itd. Turci se ne plaše konkurencije, očigledno i prodavnice su tako rasporedjenje manje-više svuda po Istanbulu. Izuzetno neobično, ali olakšava kupovinu jer imate raznovrsnu ponudu onoga što tražite na jednom mestu. 

 

S obzirom da je ovde sve žipopisno i šareno, ne zabooravite da povremeno trepćete :-)

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Touristic agencies  are not gonna show you this part of the city. That’s one of the reasons why i was always against group tours, because you are supposed to see parts of the city that you are interested in, not just the most touristic parts.

 

Nişantaşı is, according to me, the most beautiful part of Istanbul, bohemic and European, and again still Turkish. Most of the inhabitants are foreigners and proeuropean Turkish people. Properties are very expensive, but it’s literally the center of shopping and all the exclusive brands, but you can also find nice restaurants and bars for night life. 

 

I was amazed by the fact that it is the city in the city, clean and tidy and when you go down the hill you can find Machka park (meaning cat park) but its perfect for running actually. You are gonna realize that cats there are quite big, and they weight approximately 5 kg more that normal ones.

Orhan Pamuk lived in the neighbourhood and he often described Nişantaşı in his books.  Nişantaşı means marking stone for Otoman archers and sultans, and they were all competing here.

 

I would highly recommend you to check all the shops there, colorful windows, to go to City's shopping mall, view from the last floor is amazing, to run through Machka park and eat simit, that costs only 1TL, but the one in front of City's is the best one and cost 1,5TL. If you are lucky as me, you can get bow on your simit :-)

 

You cannot ignore the fact that most of the shops are located by the products they are selling. So, in one street you can find  exclusive dresses for women, in other street just shops with elegant suits and it's pretty obvious that Turkish people are not afraid of keen competition. I've never seen that anywhere else, except in Istanbul. But it actually makes your shopping easier, because when you want to buy sth, you know which street you should visit.

 

Reminder: You are prob gonna stare at everything in Nişantaşı, so don’t forget to blink from time to time.

 Enjoy your journey lifelovers and world travellers, 

 Ana <3.

Kako se cenjkati na Kapali čaršiji/ Grand Bazar bargaining

Osim u slučaju da kupujete u šoping molovima ili u centru grada, u Turskoj se UVEK cenjkajte. To naročito važi ukoliko pazarite na Kapali čaršiji, odnosno Grand bazaru. Ukoliko niste imali priliku ranije da se oprobate u tome, u narednih nekoliko redova možete da pronadjete korisne savete kako uspešno da savladate ovu veštinu: 

Prvo i osnovno je da NIKADA ne izgledate prezainteresovano za kupovinu. Nemojte da pokažete da vam se nešto svidja. Ponašajte se kao da ste se slučajno zadesili u prodavnici i da se raspitujete o cenama.Ukoliko shvate da vam se nešto veoma dopada, nećete moći da spustite cenu. 

Uvek se cenjkajte sa osmehom. Nemojte govoriti da je roba nekvalitetna, da je boja ružna, nemojte se ljutiti na prodavca I govoriti kako drugi prodaju po nižim cenama. Često će vam ponuditi čaj ili kafu ukoliko kupujete neke vrednije stvari, na primer zlato ili bunde.

Pustite prodavca na napravi prvi ponudu. Oni će vas, naravno, sa vrata zamoliti da vi kažete koliko biste dali za odredjeni proizvod, medjutim, ukoliko to uradite, više nećete moći da spustite cenu.

Glumite da ste nezainteresovani, da samo razgledate, okrećite se po radnji, gledajte I druge proizvode, krenite prema izlazu. To će sve uticati na spuštanje cene.

 

Na Kapali čaršiji morate da znate da prodavci ujutru rade po principu da je najbitnije da prodaju kvotu, tako da je u jutarnjim časovima najlakše spustiti cenu. Kasnije rade na procenat, tako da, po što većoj ceni prodaju, više zarade. Ujutru je, zato, cenjkanje uglavnom uspešnije.

Oni znaju da ste stranci, jer na Kapali čaršiji rade samo iskusni prodavci, a takodje znaju da ste tu došli nešto da pazarite. Ono što vam toplo preporučujem jeste da se prethodno raspitate o cenama, a naročito o kvalitetu robe, jer će vas lako ubediti da je skaj koža, da je krzno pravo, itd. 

Prodavci su uglavnom ljubazni I veoma prijatni, čak I ako ništa ne kupite, lepo će proćaskati sa vama, ili vas uputiti gde da idete. Ono što nikako ne smete da uradite jeste da kažete mnogo nižu cenu od one koja zapravo jeste, jer ih to vredja I shvataju veoma lično.To će glasno prokometarisati I zamoliti vas da izadjete iz prodavnice.

 

Uostalom, Kapali čaršija (Zatvorena čaršija) I jeste osnovana da bi se omogućio nesmetan rad zanatlijama I trgovcima I poboljšao njihov položaj. Grand bazar je otvoren za vreme Mehmeda II Fatiha 1461. godine, a za vreme Sulejmana I veličanstvenog je proširen. Trenutno ima 18 ulaza I prostire se na preko 30 000m2, a magacine I prodavnice čuva preko 50 radnika obezbedjenja. Tu možete naći zlato, nakit, garderobu, kožu I krzno, začine, bademe, turske kolače, maske za mobilne telefone,cipele i  tašne, tačnije sve od igle do locomotive. Pored tolike ponude, nemoguće je da vas ova čaršija razočara jer ima nešto I za one najprobirljivije.

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In case you do shopping on the streets and not in shopping malls or city center, you should always do bargaining. Especially if you shop at Grand Bazar. If you never tried to negotiate about prices with the trader, you can find some useful advices here how to do it:

The main thing is that you should never look too interested for one product. Don’t show them that you really like it. Pretend that you are in a shop without any attention to buy sth and that you just wanna know a bit more about the prices. If they realize that you adore sth, you couldn’t be able to lower the price.

When you decide to negotiate about prices- always smile. Don’t be too serious, don’t say that their products are not high quality, that it looks awful, that you don’t like the color, don’t get mad at the trader and don't tell him in any case that other sellers have better prices.

 

Let them give the offer first. When you enter the shop they are gonna ask you how much you would give for product you want, if you do that, you’re not gonna be able to lower the price any more.

You should act that you are not interested, that you are just looking around, turn around in the shop, look and ask for other products or move toward exit. That would also affect the negotiation.

When it comes to Grand Bazar its important to know that the sellers have aim in the morning to sell as much as they can, to reach the exact number that they have to sell and later on, they just work on commission. So, in the late afternoon it’s harder to lower the price, because the more expensive products they sell, the more they earn.

And they always know that you are tourist and foreigners, so they also know that you are potential buyers. Locals don’t buy at Grand Bazar. Its highly recommended that you first ask about the prices before you go to Grand Bazar, so that you know approximately how much you wanna spend and what quality you are looking for. Otherwise, they can easily trick you and convince you to buy sth that you don’t want to.

 

Traders are mostly very generous and friendly, even if you don’t buy anything, you can always have a nice chat with them. The thing you should never do: don’t ask for the price so low that you actually insult them. They can be very rude then and ask you to leave the shop.

Grand Bazar is built by Mehmed II Fatih in 1461, but during Sultan The Magnificent it was rebuilt and now has more than 30 000 m2. There are 18 entrances and 50 policemen are in charge of security in that area. You can find jewelry shops there, gold, clothes, lather and fur, spices, badem and nuts, Turkish delights, shoes and bags, in one word- everything. It’s impossible that after visiting Grand Bazar you feel disappointed because even the pickiest travellers can find sth there.
 

Enjoy your journey lifelovers and world travellers,

Ana <3

Mapa za izgubljene/ Lost in translation

Za one koji su prvi put u ovom gradu mogu samo jedno da kažem: Normalno je da se povremeno izgubite. Sasvim je izvesno da ćete zalutati u neku ulicu koja nije na karti. Ako vam je za utehu- ni taksisti ne znaju gde voze (osim glavnih znamenitosti), ne znaju engleski I ne koriste navigaciju. Dakle, kada udjete u taksi savetujem vam da prethodno izguglujete gde idete. Ako znate gde idete ne treba vam taksi, ali ako ne znate, tad nemojte ni slucajno da ulazite u taksi, jer oni jedva cekaju izgubljene turiste. 

 

Start naplaćuju 3TL i ako naglasite da uključe taksimetar vožnja vas neće skupo koštati osim ukoliko ne putujete od jednog aerodroma na drugi. Cene su možda za nijansu niže nego u Beogradu, ali imajte u vidu da su ovde gužve neverovatne. Ako ste vozač, to vam uopšte ne umanjuje problem, jer se svakako u vreme špica ništa ne pomera. A špic je od 0-24h. Rano ujutru i kasno uveče je najbolje putovati ako u ta gluva doba uopšte imate gde da idete. 

 

Metro je najbrži vid transporta. Ukoliko imate Istanbul kartu cena vožnje 1,95TL bilo za jednu ili za sto stanica. Ukoliko prelazite sa Azijske na Evropsku stranu ili obrnuto, cena transporta je ista: 2TL sa karticom, 3TL ukoliko plačate token na automatu i stiže se za 20-ak minuta. Vožnja  brodom je izuzetno prijatna, a na brodu možete da naručite tradicionalni turski čaj, tursku kafu, semenke, djevrek, takozvani simit i još mnogo što šta. Uvek se nadje neki simpatični čikica koji vas uporno nutka.

 

Moj omiljeni vid transporta je Funikuler. To je kao kratka žičara pod zemljom i postoji na samo par mesta u gradu, a jedno od njih je relacija Taksim-Kabatas (gde se hvata brod). Za minut, dva bićete na odredištu.

I naravno tu je i tramvaj, izuzetno modernizovan i brz, na svakoj stanici vam govori gde možete da uhvatite metro ili drugo prevozno sredstvo. Moja omiljena linija je ona koja ide preko Galata mosta sa Kabatasa na Sultanahmet, većinu znamenitosti u starom delu grada možete tako da vidite. Prvo što zapazite su džamije u starom delu grada, onda ribare na Galati, brodove u luci, a zatim i Egipatsku pijacu začina. Onda više ništa ne vidite jer tramvaj zapada u ogromnu gužvu sve dok ne dodje do Aksaraja.  

 

U glavnoj ulici Istiklaalu i u Bagdat Caddesi na Azijskoj strani možete da se provozate starim tramvajem. On je crvene boje, ima samo jedan vagon, zaštitni je znak Istanbula i većinom ga koriste turisti. Medjutim, s obzirom na dužinu ulica kojima saobraća, može da posluži ako ste u gužvi. Na njega se često kače deca. Mene je oduvek fascinirala činjenica da ide sredinom pešačke zone i nesmetano prolazi, iako nekad ne mogu ni ljudi da se mimoidju. Jednostavno se izborio za svoje mesto u ovom mravinjaku.

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For those who are first time in Istanbul, the only thing I can say is: It’s quite normal to get lost from time to time. You’re probably gonna be in situation that your street is not on the map. Even the taxi drivers don’t know where they should go (except main attractions ofc), they don’t speak a word of English and they don’t use navigation. So, before you enter the taxi, make sure you know where you’re going. Google it. If you know where you are going you don’t need a taxi, if you don’t know, then don’t take the taxi, because they are actually waiting for tourists who are lost.

Start is 3TL and just make sure they turned on taximeter, otherwise it can be really expensive. Prices are a bit lower than in Belgrade, just the traffic jam is unbearable.If you are a driver, insane traffic affects you even more. Unfortunatelly traffic jam lasts 24 hours a day. It’s the best to travel in the early morning, or late at night if you actually have where to go that early/late.

Metro is the fastest way of transportation. If you have Istanbul cart, it’s gonna cost you 1,95TL for one ride. If you are travelling from one continent to another, the price is 2TL for a boat wirh Istanbul card. Or you can pay on ATM 3TL to get one token. Boat ride is really great, comfy, cosy and you can order Turkish tea, Turk kahve, nuts, simit etc. There’s always some cute friendly older guy to ofer you sth to eat or drink every 5sec.

My fav thing here is Funikuler. It looks like metro but is shorter, has just one stop, and it’s more like a cable lift and you can go from Taksim to Kabatas in just 2 min.

And ofc, they have tram, very modern and fast, and it’s constantly reminding you where to catch metro or Marmaray or bus. My fav line is the one that goes across Galata bridge to Sultanahmet part, and most of the city sights you can see by taking the tram from Kabatas.First thing you are gonna see is mosque, actually many of them, fishermen on Galata bridge, touristic boats, Egiptian spice market... After that you’re not gonna be able to see anything else because of hectic traffic. 

In main street in the centre of European side and in Bagdat Caddesi on Asian side you can take an old red tram that has just one wagon. It’s one of the the most important sights of Istanbul and is also very popular with tourists. You can often see Gypsy kids holding on the back side of wagon. It is quite fascinating that tram goes in the middle of the main street that is insanely crowded day and night, and it still moves pretty fast. It obviously just belongs there. 

Enjoy your journey lifelovers and world travellers,

Ana <3