Adventures in Istanbul

04.09.2011

With the 7 hour time difference we thought we would start with a nice quiet dinner and a few drinks and explore town. We took a recommendation of a hard to find local place called "Giritli" that took some luck to find, but looked like just what the doctor ordered. It did take some work to find the place so when the waiter described the set menu they offered we weren't going looking elsewhere. He asked if we had a reservation, which always makes me smile in an empty 120 seat restaurant....they managed to squeeze us in. Dinner turned into a lesson in everything Turkish; first the cold starter, then 17 "mezes" or small plates. This is when Natalie started to fade and I was left to push on with my waiter coaching, cheering and bringing me cold towels and wine, whatever he thought would keep me going. Next was a hot appetizer which arrived on a much larger plate than the previous course and then it was time for the main entree to arrive. A huge platter of local fish, big ones, small ones, I was losing track at this point. Then dessert and coffee and liqueur and more wine and more raki...so much for a light meal, but it was amazing both in flavour and experience.
Time for a walk...

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