istanbul Dictionary & Guidebook
Istanbullu, Dictionary of Istanbul, is a downloadable and printable Istanbul guidebook, a comprehensive dictionary of the city for visitors to Istanbul and expats living and working in Istanbul. No need to search the Internet for hours to find Istanbul travel & expat information! Unlike other Istanbul guidebooks, İstanbullu provides detailed useful information and tips for traveles during their visit & expats during their 13,5 x 21 cm, pdf, 250 pages, 5 USD www.istanbulcentric.com life in Istanbul… Istanbullu is a comprehensive dictionary. Once • Book Information • How to buy the book in the city, a non-native visitor will be confronted with words like vapur, ezan, Adalar, • Reader Reviews Kuru Kahveci Mehmet Efendi, simit, dolmuş, • Sample Entries tavukgöğsü, akbil, kahvaltı, abi, balık ekmek, • About the Author aşure, 50’lik and more. The reader of this book • Interview with the Author will learn what those words mean as well as take away more stories from the book than Turkish vocabulary and that he or she will want to read it while drinking tea or coffee by the Bosphorus during their visit in Istanbul. How To Buy The Book Istanbullu is an ebook. You can buy it from our web site on www.istanbulcentric.com as well as www.lulu.com, www.payloadz.com and other online ebook markets.
www.istanbulcentric.com
istanbul Dictionary & Guidebook
Reviews … When you intend to go to a city that has a population almost as large as your country might be a bit scary. So when I planned my trip to Istanbul I have read the travel books my friends gave me but I must confess that all looked like some big ad flyers. Then I had the chance to read Istanbullu and all of a sudden everything was clear. Those little details I needed were there in alphabetical order. Words that you might see on signs, bus stops, restaurants and hotels, name of foods or common expressions are all there, well structured and easy to use. Moreover, most of the entries have Internet links for further info. Using the book this way I planned my whole trip. Guess what, thanks to Istanbullu the big scary city felt like home! – Daniela, Romania
13,5 x 21 cm, pdf, 250 pages, 5 USD www.istanbulcentric.com • Book Information • How to buy the book • Reader Reviews • Sample Entries • About the Author • Interview with the Author
From the Book AKİDE CANDY Akide Șekeri A kind of candy, one of the oldest products of the Ottoman cuisine. In the dictionary "akide" means faith, devotion and rule. In the Ottoman period Akide şekeri was used at the Sultan's salary ceremony for the Janissaries. On the salary day, three-month wages were given to the Janissaries and in the palace yard, they were served rice and a kind of sweet made of gelatin. After the Grand Vizier and other statesmen also ate the meal, the sugar candies were presented to the Janissaries on plates. If they accepted the offered sweets, it was a sign that they were pleased. Later İstanbul confectioners began preparing sugar candy with spices like cloves and cinnamon, and thanks to famous confectioners like Hacı Bekir, sugar candy became quite popular. Even in our days, especially at bayram, it is a taste that little İstanbullu cannot forget. However, chocolate and other kinds of sweet have become more popular and they are taking the place of the sugar candy. See Hacı Bekir Efendi, Turkish Desserts
www.istanbulcentric.com
istanbul Dictionary & Guidebook
ARA GÜLER Photographer A world-wide famous photographer of İstanbul. Ara Güler, known as one of the masters of photography in Turkey and the world, was born on August 16, 1928 in İstanbul. When he was at high school he started off taking drama lessons because he wanted to be a playwriter. He started his photography career at the Yeni Istanbul newspaper. He also worked for Time-Life, Paris-Match and Der Stern as Middle East correspondant. In the course of his career he won many national and international prizes, wrote books, published photo albums and held exhibitions. Most importantly, he did photo interviews with many famous people: Ismet Inonu, Winston Churchill, Indira Ghandi, John Berger, Bertrand Russell, Bill Brandt, Alfred Hitchcock, Ansel Adams, Imogen Cunningham, Salvador Dali, Maria Callas, Fikret Mualla and even Picasso, who always refused to be photographed. Because of his distinctive documentary style, Ara Güler holds a distinguished place in the history of photography. Despite his age, he continues his adventures in photography by continuing to show life through his pictures. Marc Ribound says Ara Güler is a photographer. Moreover, he is a God damn good photographer. He tells the story of his town and country better with his photos than he could tell in words… Ara Café Ara Café named after Ara Güler, world wide famous Istanbullu photographer is located next to Yapı Kredi bookstore near Galatasaray High School in Beyoglu. You can enjoy the delicious meals and the great photos on the walls taken by Ara Güler. Islak kek (wet cake) is recommended by Ara Cafe regulars. Tomtom Mahallesi Tosbag Sok. No: 8/A Tel: 0212 245 41 05 www.araguler.com.tr
ARASTA BAZAAR Sultanahmet Arasta (shops of the same trade built in a row) Bazaar, also known as Sipahiler Çarşısı, is a small market located next to the Mosaics Museum behind the Blue Mosque in Sultanahmet, the old city center. Built in 17th century and used as the stables during hte Ottoman period, the Bazaar today is a small and simple traditional market with 40 shops selling traditional items such as jewelry, pottery, spice, textile, and carpet shops. The Bazaar has a cafe, Mesale Café, a tea-garden (which also serves as a restaurant) where you can have a tea, coffee, smoke nargile and watch the free show of Whirling Dervishes Show (8-10 pm). The Bazaar also contains the Great Palace Mosaics Museum displaying a collection of mosaics, dating back to 5th century A.D. excavated from the site of the Byzantine Great Palace. Arasta Bazaar is a nice spot in the Old City to go for shopping, visiting the museum and enjoy the tea garden after a long day around the Sultanahmet Avenue. AȘURE Noah’s Pudding A kind of pudding that is both associated with a religious holiday and eaten as an everday dessert. It is made with water, sugar, grains such as wheat, chickpeas, beans and rice, and also contains various fresh and dried fruits. Aşure was first made by the prophet Noah during the Deluge. He had to mix all the food left in the Ark and made a final meal for everybody. So Aşure is a mixture of different types of food, both sweet and salty, herbs and fruits, which represents the unity of differences. Every year on the www.istanbulcentric.com
istanbul Dictionary & Guidebook
10th of Muharrem (the first month of Muslim calender) this ancient tradition is celebrated as Aşure Günü (day) in Turkey and people offer Aşure to neighbours. Ingredients Wheat flour, chickpea, granulated sugar, dried beans, rice, raisins (sultana), apricots, dried figs, orange. For dressing; currant, walnut kernel, Antep pistachio, cinnamon, pieces of pomegranate If you wish to try aşure, you can go to Saray Muhallebicisi or Sütiş. See also Turkish Desserts BREAKFAST Kahvaltı It is called kahve altı (kahvaltı) meaning the food before drinking coffee. Traditional Turkish breakfast is a full meal and some people may find it a bit too heavy to eat in the morning. İstanbullu usually eat feta cheese, green or black olives, jam, butter, eggs or menemen, pastry like börek or poğaça, types of meat like salami, pastrami, sucuk (Turkish sausage) with eggs, vegetables like tomato, cucumber, pepper, fruit like water melon. Soup is another common food for breakfast, especially mercimek çorbası. And the breakfast drink is, of course, traditional Turkish tea. In addition to all these foods, people in rush usually have poğaçaçay, börek-çay, simit-karper-çay, tost-çay on the way to work or school. Beyaz Peynir Although Turkish cheese isn’t worldwide famous, it is possible to claim that Turkey is a cheese country with hundreds of different types of cheese in each region. However, these cheeses are not long matured because of the low fat content. The most popular kinds of cheese in Turkey are beyaz peynir feta cheese, kaşar peyniri a mild, pale yellow cheese made of sheep’s milk, kosher and lor peyniri ricotta cheese, is a soft, uncured cheese. Beyaz peynir is usually consumed for breakfast, kaşar peyniri in toast and meals and lor peyniri in pastry like börek. Kașar Peyniri is a mild, pale yellow cheese made of sheep’s milk produced and consumed in Turkey and Greece. It has two types: eski (old) kaşar and taze (fresh) kaşar. Eski kaşar is usually consumed for breakfast, taze kaşar for toast, fastfood or meals like pasta or roasted food. Taze kaşar isusually used to make toast, sandwich, macaroni, stew etc. Zeytin is olive and it is a must for traditional Turkish breakfast. People consume both green olives yeşil zeytin and black olives siyah zeytin. Balkaymak Another delicious breakfast food is balkaymak, honey and clotted cream. There is nothing like having a lovely breakfast at one of the Çınaraltı cafes by the Bosphorus on a weekend. Yumurta Eggs are usually consumed as rafadan soft-boiled, lop hard-boiled, sahanda yumurta fried eggs with butter in a frying pan, kıymalı yumurta fried eggs with fried minced meat, pepper and onions, menemen (see below), peynirli yumurta fried eggs with cheese, sucuklu yumurta eggs with sucuk, Turkish spicy sausage. Menemen Menemen is a simple egg dish made with tomatoes, peppers, optionally onions, cheese and spices. Here is how it is cooked: Heat the olive oil in a frying pan. Add the chopped
www.istanbulcentric.com
istanbul Dictionary & Guidebook
tomatoes and cook until most of the moisture has evaporated and rich sauce is formed. Add the pepper and cook a few minutes. Finally pour the beaten eggs over and server ed pepper. Börek is a kind of baked or fried pastry made of a thin flaky dough, yufka, filled with cheese, minced meat or vegetables. Börek is usually prepared in a large pan, baked and cut into portions or fried as individual pastries. Çorba Soup is another common food for breakfast, especially mercimek çorbası, lentile soup. Simit & Poğaça & Tost Beside all these foods, people in rush usually have poğaça-çay, börek-çay, simit-karper-çay, tost-çay on the way to work or school. Simit Turkish bagel with sesame or poğaça a flaky, savory pastry with cheese peynirli, minced meat kıymalı, potato patatesli or olives zeytinli with tea is also a good way of having breakfast if you are in a rush in the morning. It is usually consumed for breakfast and sold by the street vendors or at the bakeries or büfe. You can have breakfast at Saray Muhallebicisi, Sütiş, Çınaraltı cafes, Rumelihisarı cafes with other İstanbullu on a weekend morning. The other popular breakfast places are as follows: Gezi İstanbul İnönü Cad. No: 5 Taksim geziistanbul.com Sade Kahve Yahya Kemal Cad. No:20/A Rumelihisarı sadekahve.com.tr Maria’nın Bahçesi Akatlar Mah. Zeytinoğlu Cad. Yeşim Sok. No:7 Etiler marianinbahcesi.com Doğatepe Café & Restaurant Nispetiye Cad. Duatepe Parkı No:4-6 Rumeli Hisarüstü dogatepe.com.tr Malta Köşkü Yıldız Park, Beşiktaş beltur.com.tr/malta-kosku.asp Çadır Köşk Yıldız Park, Beşiktaş beltur.com.tr/cadir-kosk.asp Kır Kahvesi Yıldız Park, Beşiktaş Limonlu Bahçe Yeniçarşı Cad. No: 98 Beyoğlu Sarıköşk Emirgan beltur.com.tr/sari-kosk.asp Hidiv Kasrı Çubuklu Korusu No:32 Çubuklu hidivkasri.com Ltera Restaurant Yeni Çarşı Cad. No: 32 Beyoğlu literarestaurant.com Van Kahvaltı Evi Cihangir İstanbul Modern Cafe Meclisi Mebusan Cad. Antrepo No:4 Salıpazarı Namlı Gurme Kadıköy, Karaköy namligida.com.tr Kutu Cafe Moda, Kadıköy kutukafe.com
FORTUNE TELLING Fal Fortune telling by looking at the shapes formed by the grounds remaining in a coffee cup. Also falcı is a fortune teller. Fal is mainly based on his / her intuitions as well as his style and skill of using the language. It is crucial to choose the right words and gestures to take the listeners’ attention. In addition to kahve falı (reading Turkish coffee) there are also other ways of fortunetelling such as papatya falı (daisy) el falı (palm) fasulye falı (beans) bakla falı (horsebean) çay falı (tea) kum falı (sand) etc. There is a saying in Turkish Fala inanma, falsız kalma meaning Don’t be left without fal even if you don’t believe it. Fal is usually a nice way of chatting and having a nice time, however, some people may be obsessed and deeply affected by what is told. Recently some cafes offer a fal service to İstanbullu, paid service or free of charge. How to tell a fortune After having coffee, the person makes a wish and the coffee cup is turned upside down on the coffee plate. When the cup is cold enough, it is opened and fal begins: First thing is the colour of the grounds in the cup. If it is dark, it means your wish won’t come true, but it mostly depends on the shapes. After the ground is read, the remainings on the coffee plate is poured into the cup and the telve, grounds on the plate is read this time. This is done to give www.istanbulcentric.com
istanbul Dictionary & Guidebook countenance to what is seen in the cup. Meaning of the Shapes in the Coffee Ground • Lines Short, horizontal lines mean that you will get goods. • Triangle means that you will get a present or money. • Circles show that your luck will turn. It also means that you will marry or your social status will get higher. • Two wavy lines show that you are going on a sea journey. • Dots mean money. You will receive money these days. • Square shows the beginning of a happy marriage or happiness in family. • Vertical short line means that you are going on a trip and you will return with luck. • Bow tie means that there is something happy soon. • Garland means success. You will work very hard and achieve success soon. • Star means that you are going on a journey. It also means investment. • Three dots mean that you will make new friends or start an adventure. If the dots are very close it means patience. • Rising sun shows that your great expectations will happen unexpectedly. • Capital Y shows that you will meet an old friend and he will do you a favour. • Shape of a key means you will move. Also it means you might win somebody’s heart. If there is a leaf beside it, it means you should keep quiet. • A leaf means that you will hear from an old friend or you will make a new friend. • An eye means that somebody is jealous of you. It also means someone is watching you with interest. • A butterfly means an indecisive friendship. It shows that you have to act determined. • A reverse triangle made from dots shows that a friend will ask help from you. You should take this into account and help him/her. • An ear means that you believe what you are told. • A pile of dot means that you will spend a lot of money. • A sheep refers to purity and cleanness. • A shark means that you will hear unnecessary news. • A lighter means that you must stay away danger. If it is not burning, it means something might happen any time. • A coffin may sound bad news, like death. However, it means that you will hear good news if there is someone in it. • The sun means brightness and very good news. And also relaxation both physically and mentally. • A chest means that you will receive money if it is seen in the house. If it is seen outside of the house, it means that you always except to receive money. • A cat means that you will meet a wise person. • A violin refers to dignity and seriousness and the comment depends on the person. • An umbrella means that you will be protected from the evil if it is an open umbrella. • A pack of cards means that you will be lucky with lottery, gamble etc. • An eagle means that you will hear very good news, both for you and friends and family. • A railway means that you will set out a long journey. • A tree means that you should take care of your outfit. • A gun means that you might have an argument or fight. • A bottle means that you don’t know what to do, if it is empty. If it is full, you will get rid of your problems. • A spider means that you will be trapped.
www.istanbulcentric.com
istanbul Dictionary & Guidebook
• A child means that you will hear good news in a short time, especially if the child is running. • Deer means you will have sad news. • Lion symbolizes power, generosity and hunting. It means nice things will happen. • Pidgeon means good news and people who are crossed with each other will kiss and make up. • Soldier means you will struggle. • Mouse means silence and peace. • Fruit means a healthy life from now on. • Window means health in home. • Eye means evil eye and the person might have trouble. • Rabbit means you will have very good news from a very close friend. • Tooth means pain and you will have physical pain. • Insect means problems. It could be a big or small problem depending on the size of the insect. • Bat means fear and panic. • Single sock means that you have problems approaching, therefore you feel stressed. • Ring symbolizes marriage. If the person is married then it means a new love. • Clock means that there is a little time left. Next image after clock is important because it could be negative or positive.
See Turkish Coffee RAKI Lion’s Milk Worldwide famous rakı (coming from the Arabic word arak, sweat) is an alcoholic drink produced by distilling fruits like grapes, fig, plum etc. with ethyl alcohol. It is also known as aslan sütü (lion’s milk) among public. Rakı is drunk in the evening with a few mezes. It is a popular belief that rakı is served with main course such as balık, kebab but actually it is a cocktail drink consumed with mezes and a nice chat. Most rakı experts say that rakı isn’t drunk with ice, but cold water if you prefer it cold. What experts say “All the meyhanes are the faculties of the Rakı University. Yakup, Refik, Sefa are good faculties.” Vefa Zat “Rakı isn’t ‘fondip’ (See fondip) and isn’t drunk with meat such as salami, sausage, ham etc.” Deniz Gürsoy “The best rakı mezes are (feta) cheese and melon.” Ömer Nida How not to drink rakı by Deniz Gürsoy, a raki expert • Don’t drink rakı during the day. • Don’t drink rakı alone. It is a social drink and drunk with meze and chatting. • Don’t talk business or anything serious at the rakı table. • Don’t drink rakı somewhere noisy. This may stop people chatting and enjoying rakı and the table. • Don’t ‘fondip’ (shot, bottoms up) rakı. It is drunk slowly like a cocktail drink. • Don’t eat foods like salami, sausage, sucuk or meals with rakı. • Don’t put a lot of ice in the rakı glass. • Don’t mix rakı with other drinks to make a cocktail drink.Don’t drink another drink before or after rakı. Maydanoz, Parsley Maydanoz, parsley is indispensable for İstanbullu. It is consumed in salads,
www.istanbulcentric.com
istanbul Dictionary & Guidebook
börek, as side dish with kebab, köfte, lahmacun and many other foods. It is also believed that maydanoz clean the rakı smell in mouth if you chew a piece of maydanoz after drinking rakı. Therefore, expert İstanbullu rakı drinkers order some maydanoz for their rakı table. Meze See Meze Rakı Bottles 20’lik (Yirmilik) 20 cl. Rakı bottle. 35’lik (Otuz beşlik) 35 cl. rakı bottle, küçük rakı (small bottle of rakı). 70’lik (Yetmişlik) 70 cl. rakı bottle, büyük rakı (big bottle of rakı). Also 70 cl. beer glass, büyük bira. 100’lük (Yüzlük) 100 cl. Big rakı bottle. Rakı Dictionary Aslan sütü lion’s milk, a name given to rakı in colloquial speech çakırkeyf tipsy duble double, a double ehlikeyf a pleasure-loving person; a copper container used to keep rakı glass cold rakı-balık going for rakı-balık meal Şerefe! Cheers! Literally to honour tek one, single, one and only; single shut (of rakı) Tekirdağ a city in the west of İstanbul; a very good quality rakı brand Yeni Rakı the most popular rakı brand preferred by İstanbullu
About The Author Ali Akpınar, an İstanbullu since he was born in 1972, graduated from English Teaching Department at the Marmara University, İstanbul. While his academic home discipline is English Studies, his Turkish teaching is characterised by a distinctly interdisciplinary orientation and he started teaching Turkish language and making Turkish language materials. He is currently working as a foreign language tutor and author of language materials. “As a Turkish language teacher, my students are always asking me about Turkish culture, lifestyle, how things work, Istanbul or Turkey in general and I like to give cultural information in my classes because I think language learning means learning the culture as well. So I thought, a few years ago, I should do something about it more than giving cultural, historical anecdotes in class and I made a text for my students, a small dictionary of Istanbul and life in Istanbul, which turned into a self-published book project in 2009. It was then that I first published IstanbulCentric.com as part of my book project, as an online dictionary of the city. Now IstanbulCentric.com is not only the part of my www.istanbulcentric.com
istanbul Dictionary & Guidebook
book project but also an online magazine where you can find information about traveling, living & working in Istanbul and Turkish language training‌� Interview with the Author Can you tell us a little about yourself? I am a language teacher, teaching Turkish language as a foreign language. What kind of book is Istanbullu and who is it written for? Istanbullu is a city dictionary for tourists traveling the Istanbul and the expats living and working in the city. What made you write such a book, an Istanbul dictionary? I am a Turkish teacher and I am always asked about Istanbul, life and culture in Istanbul in my classes beside Turkish language. Therefore, I decided to make a text about the city for these questions and this led me to make it a book for both tourists visiting Istanbul and the expats living and working in Istanbul as well as my students. Can you tell us more about the book? As its name implies, this is a dictionary, a city dictionary prepared just like a language dictionary in alphabetical order. The book covers a wide range of topics from places to see, food & drinks, people, history, language etc, maybe very unimportant details for a local but very useful for a traveler or expat. What makes it different than the other travel books about Istanbul? I checked the other similar books before making the book but I didn’t find any travel or expat books offered as a city dictionary. This also encoureged me to publish the text as a book. What formats do you offer the book? At first, I wanted to publish it as a book in print. However, I changed my mind later on and began to promote it as an ebook because of the issues like www.istanbulcentric.com
istanbul Dictionary & Guidebook
distributing, updating, shipping etc. Besides, I thought it is hard to put a city into one single book, especially Istanbul, a constantly developing city with a huge historical and cultural background. Another reason why I am now publishing it as an ebook is that most travelers use mobile devices during their visits and it is easier for them to buy and use publications fast and easily. Finally, how can we buy the book? You can buy and download the book instantly from this web site on Download Istanbullu, Dictionary of Istanbul Thank you very much for this useful book about Istanbul and joining our interview. My pleasure!
www.istanbulcentric.com