Oaze mira, parkovi Istanbula/ Parks in Istanbul, oasis of peace

Zelenilo, tišina, staze za trčanje, ogradjena igrališta za pse sa jedne i za decu, sa druge strane, fontane i raznobojno cveće je sve ono što čini Maçka park jednom od najlepših mirnih luka u Istanbulu. Nalazi se na 15 minuta hoda od Taksima i 5 minuta od Dolmabahçe palate. 
 

Ovaj park predstavlja pravu malu šumu nasred centra i moje je omiljeno mesto za trčanje. Unutar parka postoji i teretana na otvorenom, kao i par restorana u kojima je ulazak ljubimcima, naravno, dozvoljen. Neizbežno je da ćete se sresti sa šetačima pasa i brojnim mačkama koje slobodno šetaju. U jednom delu je napravljeno igralište za pse sa penjalicama, ljuljaškama i igračkama namenjenim samo najvernijim čovekovim prijateljima.

 

Za vreme vikenda, ljudi iz svih delova grada dolaze ovde na piknik. Park ima idealan pogled jer se nalazi na brdu i jedan je od najlepše sredjenih parkova koje sam videla. Na ulazu se nalaze kućice za pse čuvare tih uz obezbedjenje. Zaista, prava mala oaza mira usred ove metropole.

 

Ukoliko krenete od Dolmabahçe palate prema Ortaköy-u, naići ćete na Yıldız park  koji je veoma popularan medju mladima i idealno mesto za venčanja. Vikendom se iza svakog drugog drveta kriju mlada i mladoženja koji su došli da se fotografišu. Blicevi sevaju na sve strane. 

 

Ono što je mene najviše fasciniralo je veštačko jezero sa kornjačama, patkama, mostićem i veoma ušuškanim i porodičnim ostrvcem za ručak. Pored potoka koji prolazi kroz park videla sam ljude koji igraju uz kubansku muziku, na drugom kraju parka svira se gitara, deca bacaju loptu i bumerang, psi trče, a na samom početku će vas dočekati statue kengura, slona,pregršt cveća i poneka klupa. Idealno mesto ukoliko tražite hlad po vrelom sunčanom danu u Istanbulu.

 

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Forest, peace, running path, playgrounds for dogs, on one side and swings for kids, on the other side, fountains and a lot of colorful flowers are stuff that make Maçka park one of the most popular places in nature in Istanbul where you can find your piece. It's located 15 min walk from Taksim Square and 5 min walk from Dolmabahçe Palace.

 

This park is actually a little forest in the centre and also my fav place for running. There is also a small open air gym inside the park and some pet friendly restaurants. You are definitely gonna notice many dog walkers there and also many cats tanning on bench. This place is heaven for pets because they made a playground with all the toys for them.  

 

During weekend, people from all parts of Istanbul go to Maçka park to make picnic. Park also has amazing view, because it's actually located on the hill and if you ask me i would say: It's one the best designed parks ever!! On the entrance, just near the security, they also built houses for dogs.

 

If you walk from Dolmabahçe Palace to Ortaköy, on the left side you're gonna see another park. Yıldız park  is very popular among youth and ideal place for weddings. I saw many photographers taking pictures of brides and grooms.Flash after flash!!

 

The most fascinating thing is small lake with turtles, ducks, small bridge and cozy family place for lunch. I saw people dancing, listening Cuban music, playing guitar, kids running everywhere and dogs catching the ball and on the beginning you can get warm welcome by statues of kangaroos, elephants and people sitting among flowers. It's truly outstanding place if you want to find some shade on a sunny day in Istanbul.

 

Enjoy your journey lifelovers and world travellers, 

Love, Ana <3

Šetnja kroz Ortaköy/ Walk through Ortaköy

Nedelja. 30C.  Iako je guzva u Istanbulu, oseća se da ljudi opušteno šetaju jer nije radni dan.

 

15 minuta od Dolmabahçe palate prema Bebeku nalazi se Ortaköy- isprepletane uličice načičkane prodavnicama nakita, kafićima i restoranima. Na trgu središnje mesto zauzima čovek koji prodaje hranu za golubove oko koga se okupljaju deca. Kafići i restorani su prepuni, naročito terase na krovu sa prelepim pogledom. Stranci kupuju šarene narukvice i ogrlice sa turskom zastavom, urokljivim okom i mnogim drugim detaljima. Turistički brodovi svraćaju svakih par minuta u luku pored čuvene džamije. 

 

Otkad sam došla u Istanbul ta džamija se renovira, medjutim izgleda da se obnova privodi kraju. Iako je mala, izgleda impresivno, oivičena plavetnilom neba, modrim morem i Bosforskim mostom u pozadini. Svi se utrkuju da se slikaju. 

 

Nekoliko uličica iza džamije nalaze se kiosci sa turskim kumpirom. To je ogroman krompir napunjen povrćem, sosevima, nekada mesom, uostalom možete da birate šta želite da stavite u njega. Ne zna se da li ljudi više uživaju u lepom vremenu, kumpiru ili pogledu na Bosfor.

 

 Ja, naravno, uživam u cenkanju oko narukvice i kapucinu na vrhu terase jednog restorana koji gleda na more . Odatle gledam decu koja skaču u vodu jer su odlučili da otvore sezonu kupanja. Poneki galeb doleti da ukrade pokoje zrno sa terase i onda nastavlja dalje.

 

Ortaköy je poseban jer je blizu centra, ali se osećate kao da ste u malom turističkom mestu. Miriše na so i na leto, a to je sve što mi danas treba.

 

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Sunday. 30C. Although it’s very crowded in Istanbul, you can feel that people are walking relaxed, because it’s weekend. 

 

15 minutes from Dolmabahçe Palace, on a way to Bebek, you can visit Ortaköy. I promise you wont regret it. That part of the city consists of small streets with jewelry shops, plenty of coffee shops and restaurants. And much more. On the main square you can see older guy selling grain for pigeons, with kinds all around him. Cafes and restaurants are packed, especially balconies on the rooftop with amazing view. Foreigners buy colorful bracelets and necklaces with Turkish flag, Turkish eye and other stuff. Touristic boats are coming to the harbor near mosque every sec.

 

That famous mosque is getting renovated since i came here, so I didn't have opportunity to enter there, but it's looks quite impressive. It is actually very small mosque, but the view is just amazing because on one side you can see Bosphorus bridge, on the other boats and sea. Visitors are waiting to take pictures there. 

 

Behind the mosque you can find some kiosks with traditional Turkish kumpir (potato). It's a big potato filled with veggies, soss, sometimes meat, but you can also choose what to put inside. So, you can enjoy Bosforus view, nice sunny weather, smell of see and salt while eating your kumpir. 

 

I enjoyed bargaining about bracelet and  had cappuccino on the terrace of a restaurant that has the best sea view. The main attraction were the kids jumping in the sea, because according to them, the summer has just come. A few sea birds came to say hi and steal some bread from the terrace. I don't think the life can get any better.

Ortaköy is quite special for me, because you are actually close to the center, but still you have a feeling that you went to a touristic place on a seaside. Smelt like salt and summer and that's pretty much all I need.

Enjoy your journey lifelovers and world travellers, 
 Love, Ana <3

Vreme je za nargilu!! / It’s waterpipe time!!

Ukoliko poželite da se opustite u nekom tradicionalnom turskom baru, toplo bih vam preporučila da probate nargilu, pa čak iako niste ljubitelj duvanskog dima. Iako se nargila puši uglavnom neprekidno oko sat vremena I ima jačinu 4 jače cigarete, zbog raznovrsnih aroma koje su u ponudi, nećete ni osetiti snažan miris duvanskog dima. Uz nargilu se obično pije tradicionalni turski čaj. Ukoliko ostanete malo duže u baru, shvatićete da su mušterije uglavnom Turci, većinom muškarci i da često dolaze u većim grupama. 

 

Nargila, koju još nazivaju i šiša je orijentalna lula, sa savitljivim crevom koje je povezano sa visokim postoljem u kome se hladi dim prolaskom kroz vodu. Na Bliskom istoku, u Tunisu i u Turskoj nargila se uglavnom koristi posle jela, kao dezert i za opuštanje. Aroma ima previše, sve su poprilično voćne i slatkaste i zato je moj omiljeni ukus/miris kapućino. Stranci najčešće kupuju što veće i šarenije nargile da bi ih poneli kući kao ukras. Turiste ćete u baru lako prepoznati zato što naruče pivo ili vino uz nargilu, što naravno nikako ne ide. 

 

Na jeftinijim mestima ćete naći nargilu za 15TL, što je oko 5 evra, medjutim u Istanbulu oko Taksima i na Sultanahmetu cene su preko 20TL za oko 100-200 udisaja dima, dakle oko sat vremena. Ovaj egzotični užitak vam preporučujem samo ukoliko želite da se osetite kao pravi starosedelac Istanbula.

 

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If you want to take a break in a traditional Turkish bar, I would highly recommend waterpipe, though you may not be the biggest fan of smoking. You can smoke waterpipe approximately one hour and the strength is equal to 4 cigarettes. But if you choose very strong aroma, you wouldn't be able to feel the smell of the smoke. Turkish people always order traditional Turkish tea that goes very well with the pipe. If you stay a bit longer in a bar, you are gonna realize that most of the customers are Turkish men coming in groups in the evening. 

 

Waterpipe is also called narghila and shisha, and in Middle East, Tunisia and Turkey they use it mostly after the meal as dessert and for relaxation. There are too many aromas, they are all mostly sugary or fruity and that's why my fav flavor is cappuccino. Foreigners mostly buy bigger and more colorful waterpipes so that they take them home as a souvenir . You can easily recognize tourists in a narghila bar because they order beer or wine together with waterpipe which is not a good match according to Turkish people.

 

If you find some cheaper places, pipe costs approximately 5 euros, but in Istanbul in Taksim area or Sultanahmet it's more expensive, so at least 20TL and more. If you want to feel like a real Istanbul citizen, it's highly recommended to smoke some shisha. There's nothing more Turkish than that!!

 

Enjoy your journey life lovers and world travellers, 

Love, Ana.

Turski pedikir Garra Rufa ribama/ Turkish pedicure by Garra Rufa Fish

Akvarijume sa pedikir ribama sam vidjala često, medjutim tek sam skoro probala pedikir tretman i bila sam oduševljena. Sednete, stavite stopala u vodu i u tom trenutnu ribe kreću da jedu mrtve ćelije kože. Sve vreme osećate golicanje po stopalima, tako da sam se ja neprekidno smejala 20 minuta, koliko traje jedan termin. Cena je 5 evra. Stopala su vam posle ovog pilinga veoma meka, jer ribe, skidajući mrtve ćelije sa vaše kože, takodje proizvode enzim koji revitalizuje i pomaže novoj koži da raste. 

Garra Rufa ribe, inače potiču iz Turske iz toplih voda Kangala. Oko 1960. godine turisti su počeli da posećuju ove vode da bi probali masažu i pedikir ribama. Nekoliko godina kasnije Garra Rufa ribe počeli su da koriste svi bolji kozmetički saloni u Turskoj. Nova koža će vam posle ovog tretmana biti mekša i zdravija nego pre, ali i ako ne budite zadovoljni učinkom, svakako ćete se sve vreme smejati :-)

 

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 I've seen aquariums with pedicure fish almost everywhere, but I've tried that treatment just recently and I was glad I did it. You sit, put your feet in an aquarium and then the fish start to eat dead skin from your feet. Every sec you feel tickling on your legs, so I was actually laughing  all 20min, which is actually a duration of one fish spa treatment. The price is 5 euros. After this piling, your feet are gonna be unbelievably soft, but those fish also produce enzyme that has a vitalizing effect on the new skin growth.

 

Garra Rufa fish originally come from Turkey, from warm waters of Kangal. Around 1960. tourists made tours to Kangal, so that they could be able to do fish spa pedicure and massage. Few years later, all the better beauty salons in Turkey started with these fish treatment. After that piling and massage, skin on your feet is gonna be softer and healthier than before, but even in the case that you are not satisfied, you're gonna be laughing all the time :-)

Enjoy your journey lifelovers and world travellers,

Love, Ana…

Turski slatkiši/Turkish delights

Turske poslastice se uglavnom značajno razlikuju od ostalih evropskih slatkiša. Glavni dezert je, naravno, čuveni lokum, tačnije rahat lokum što u prevodu zlači ,,komfor za grlo“. U Turskoj je to u prošlosti bila poslastica namenjena višoj klasi. Ratluk se uvijao u svilu i tako donosio na dvor, medjutim danas se služi u gotovo svakom kafiću uz tursku kafu. Nekad je i prekriven crnom čokoladom, mada, turski slatkiši retko sadrže čokoladu. Glavni sastojci su orasi, šećer, brašno, badem, pistaći, puter i šećer u prahu koji se uglavnom stavlja preko. Za lokum se takodje smatra da je donosi mir u Sultanov Harem i zato je bio omiljen medju džarijama. 

 

Od ostalih slatkiša tu su: halva i djezerje, baklave i kadaifi, a od slatkih pića moj omiljeni salep i razne vrste zašećerenih voda koje oni nazivaju meyve su.Glavni sastojci halve su brašno, puter i šećer i smatra se jednim od najstarijih dezerta. Halve obiluju bojama, često su jako lepo išarane i upakovane, pa su popularne kao suvernir medju strancima. Dok su džezerje karamelizovane šargarepe sa pistaćima posute kokosom i smatraju se najboljim afrodizijakom. 

 

Ukusi voćnih voda mi se nikako ne svidjaju, naravno slično je soku samo razblaženo i u Turskoj kada naručite vodu, često morate da naglasite da ne želite zasladjenu. Salep je izuzetno sladak, gotovo poput torte, iako se pije. Glavni sastojak je mleko, a na vrh se stavlja cimet, uvek se pije topao. Naravno, to turiste u Turskoj ne sprečava da ga piju i leti. 

Ono što je veoma zanimljivo su ljudi koji prodaju sladolede na ulici. Oni su više cirkusanti nego sladoledžije,a ukoliko naručite jednu porciju dondurme (turskog sladoleda) prvo ćete imati čast da uživate u performansu točenja sladoleda. Oni podsećaju na iskusne barmene koji prave koktele i veoma ćete ih lako prepoznati jer su veoma glasni, ali i obučeni u turska odela crvene boje. Naravno, ovde su veoma popularni sladoledi sa bademima i pistaćima, koji su glavni sastojci i ostalih slatkiša.  

 

Uglavnom, šta god da izaberete od slatkiša, nećete pogrešiti jer je većina pravljena ručno, po receptima poslastičara sa dvora. Moja glavna zamerka je u početku bila nedostatak čokolade u slatkišima, medjutim ispostavilo se da su bademi, pistaći i orasi i više nego adekvatna zamena.

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Turkish delights are quite different than other European sweets and cakes. The most popular dessert is lokum which means ,,comfort for throat“. In Ottoman Empire it was dessert for high society and was also very expensive. Lokum was packed in finest silk and brought to Ottoman Palaces, but today they serve it in almost every coffee shop when you order Turkish coffee. Sometimes it is covered in dark chocolate, but most of Turkish desserts are made without chocolate. Main ingredients are nuts, sugar, almonds, pistachios and sugar powder. Legend says that lokum brings peace to Sultan's Harrem and that's the reason why it was favourite concubine’s delight.

 

Other popular desserts are: halva, cezerye, baklave and kanafeh and the most popular sweet drinks are salep and fruit water. Main ingredients are flour, butter, sugar and is considered to be the oldest dessert. Halva is rich in colors and when they put it in nice boxes it is very popular as a souvenir among tourists.

I really don't like the taste of fruit water, it's the same as juices just with more water, it's too sweet and sometimes you have to emphasize that you dont want sweet water with fruit tastes, just normal one. Salep is very sweet, milky, warm and with a lot of cinnamon on the top. It's Turkish version of hot chocolate, but they also drink that during summer time.

Street ice-cream sellers are very interesting, because they are more performers than traders. If you order one portion of Turkish dondurma you are gonna be able to see quite of a show in front of you. And they are very loud, wearing Turkish traditional clothes. The most popular ice-creams here are those with almonds and pistachios and other nuts.

 

Whatever you choose to taste, it's gonna be right decision, because Turkish delights are mostly hand made, following receipts of Sultan's cooks. In the beginning I hated the fact that you can't find any chocolate in sweets, but it turned out that nuts are the best choice and healthier ofc.