… one more memorable Turkish treat I tried at a place called Galata Simitçisi on my first visit to Istanbul — tahinli çörek (their menu gives the translation ‘tahini donut’, while Google suggests ‘tahini bun’). Just like some varieties of halva, tahini is made from sesame seeds and is a typical element of Middle Eastern cuisine… I came across this tiny pastry shop on one of my walks around the European side of the city, in a street called Mumhane. The area around is full of characterful bars and restaurants. My friend and I went to one of them the following day, and she performed some of her signature coffee cup reading. As for Galata Simitçisi, they sell irresistible-looking pastry (including various kinds of simit featured in the name, of course) and Turkish tea, which they serve in traditional glasses with red and white saucers.
I remember sitting at one of their little tables outside enjoying my pastry and tea, and then walking down Mumhane street to the beautiful Kiliç Ali Paşa Mosque (someone told me it has a very nice hammam too), and then up Yeni Çarşi street, all the way to Istiklal street. You can see lots of iconic red carts selling simit all along it, by the way. Now, if you turn right there and walk along Istiklal, you’ll get to Taksim square. And then if you go down again… Orhan Pamuk put it very beautifully in his book Memories and the City: ‘Life can’t be all that bad,’ I’d think from time to time. ‘Whatever happens, I can always take a walk along the Bosphorus.’
