Turkish cuisine is the similar version of Ottoman cuisine with some additionals from Central Asia, Middle East, Balkanian and mediterranian cuisines. When you take a look at the whole frame, Turkish cuisine is full of varieties. Aside from common Turkish specialties that can be found throughout the country, there are also many region-specific specialties.
The Black Sea region's cuisine (northern Turkey) is based on corn and anchovies. The southeast—Urfa, Gaziantep and Adana—is famous for its kebabs, mezes and dough-based desserts such as baklava, kadayif and künefe. Especially in the western parts of Turkey, where olive trees are grown abundantly, olive oil is the major type of oil used for cooking. The cuisines of the Aegean, Marmara and Mediterranean regions display basic characteristics of Mediterranean cuisine as they are rich in vegetables, herbs and fish. Central Anatolia is famous for its pastry specialties such as manti and gozleme.
We have a Professional and Home Kitchen located in Sultanahmet area for the travellers who are wants to learn about the Real Turkish Cuisine in a friendly, relaxed and not rushed atmosphere. We have different menu choices available and teach all different types of Turkish and Ottoman foods. When finished cooking; we start to prepare a nice table with the foods that we cooked & see how delicious they are. Turkish coffee or tea is a traditional and will be offered before / after and during the Lunch.
We will show you the traditional style Turkish and Ottoman cuisine with eggplants - vegetables - rice - turkish mezes - boreks and a wide variety of Turkish Sweets.
Istanbul is an enchanting city of ancient beauty and modern charm. Let the experts and artists of our team take you on a tour of this diverse city, specially tailored for the photographer or videographer. We can show you the photogenic side of Istanbul - the mesmerizing blur of dervishes in their whirling dance, the dazzle of the wares of the bazaar, the delicate beauty of long-forgotten gems of classical architecture hidden in the maze of city streets, the serene faces of old men relaxing in the smoke-filled haze of a teahouse, birds-eye views of Istanbul’s scenic panoramas.
With your own private guide, you will know where to go, when to go, how to get there and exactly how to get the most out of your visit – from behind the lens. Professional photographer or photo enthusiast, we will work with you to create an itinerary that will take you quickly and easily to the heart of what you seek, and save you valuable time and effort which would be better spent framing the perfect subject, lining up the exact angle, and discovering that special quality of light that will make your Istanbul photos more than just snapshots in a soon-forgotten album.
With our intimate knowledge of Istanbul, its places and people, sights and highlights, we can help you capture on film the mysterious and elusive qualities of this timeless city.
This tour is for professional, semiprofessional photographers or the people who is interested in taking pictures. Our trained staff will take you to the interesting places, great visuals, and interesting people. It is going to be a unique experience walking in the streets of Istanbul with your camera.
Turkish Miniatures are the oldest surviving illustrations belong to the Uighur Turks. The eight and ninth century paintings found at Chotcho, there capital in Turfan, are the earliest examples of Turkish book illustrations known. Although numerous wall paintings can still be seen, very few book illustrations still exist. The people in these miniatures, especially male figures, have portrait quality, with their names inscribed below. After these earliest examples, there was almost four centuries of time gap, which no book illustrations survived, until the period of the Suljuks in Anatolia. However the figures seen in Seljuk art still show the tradition of Uighur paintings. The miniatures illustrate a fantasy world of demons, evil spirits and scenes from nomadic life. There are also other Seljuk works in different styles showing evidence of Byzantines influence.
Due to its rich subject matter, longevity, and freshness, Turkish miniature painting of the Ottoman period occupies a special place in the history of Islamic painting. This form of art continued without interruption for nearly four centuries. There are examples of miniature painting which date from the middle of the fifteenth to the beginning of the nineteenth centuries. Artistic trends and tastes are also evident throughout this period.
Our Miniature and Watercolor Painting Workshops: we have an Art Studio in Sultanahmet area and our teachers are professional in Traditional Turkish Miniature and Watercolor Paintings. In our studio, we give beginner, intermediate and advanced level of traditional Turkish Miniature and Watercolor painting lessons. Usually lessons are 2 hours based and can finish one project.
In our studio, we provide all the materials for our students including old miniature papers.
Sedef Art; the shining, playful, and reflected light of mother of pearl has attracted the attention of human beings since the beginning of the world. Societies, tribes, and nations have all added the technology of their day to their experience, knowledge, and understanding, and they have turned mother of pearl from one form into another. Though mother of pearl is quite wide spread around the world, its assumption of the aspect of a magnificent branch of the arts after a past of many centuries began when it came into the hands of the Ottoman Turks.
Mother of pearl is the shell of mollusks such as mussels and oysters as well as of pseudopods (such as snails), though if we were to refer to it only as "shell" we would be slighting this extraordinary creation of God. When the young of these creatures come into the world they start their struggle to live. Up to a point, they need shelter, a house, in order to preserve their tiny existence, the reason being that they have many enemies. They undertake this business with a secret God-given force, and create the walls of their housing by means of layer upon layer of inexhaustible secretions, ensuring the harmonious continued growth of its house together with itself.
The art of Turkish tiles and ceramics have a very important in the history of Islamic art. Its roots can be traced at least as far back as the Uighurs of the 8th and 9th centuries. Its subsequent development was influenced by Karakhanid, Ghaznavid, and (especially) Iranian Seljuk art. With the Seljuks' victory over the Byzantines at Malazgirt in 1071, the art followed them into Anatolia and embarked upon a new period of strong development fostered by the Anatolian Seljuk sultanate.
There is a widely held but quite erroneous belief that figurative painting, is not found in Islamic art due to prohibition by the Koran. Religious rulings issued only in the ninth century discouraged the representation of any living beings capable of movement but they were not rigidly enforced until the fifteenth century. Figural art is especially rich in tiles as well as stone and stucco reliefs of the Seljuk period, adorning both secular and religious relief’s monuments. The subjects included nobility as well as servants, hunters and hunting animals, trees, birds, sphinxes, lions, sirens, dragons and double-headed eagles.
We have an Art Studio in Sultanahmet area and we have 2 teachers that are professional in Traditional Turkish Tile & Ceramics workshop. In our place, we give beginner, intermediate and advanced level of traditional Turkish Tile & Ceramic painting lessons. Usually lessons are 2 hours based and by the end of 2 hours, you will be able to finish one item like a tile, plate or a figure. (Depending on the design, lessons can be longer as well). In our studio, we provide all the materials for our students. We send the art works that our students made to the tile owen to finish the process.
Woodblock printing on textiles is the process of printing patterns on textiles, usually of linen, cotton or silk, by means of incised wooden blocks. It is the earliest, simplest and slowest of all methods of textile printing. Block printing by hand is a slow process. It is, however, capable of yielding highly artistic results, some of which are unobtainable by any other method.
Printing patterns on textiles is so closely related in its ornamental effects to other different methods of similar intention, such as by painting and by processes of dyeing and weaving, that it is almost impossible to determine from the picturesque indications afforded by ancient records and writings of pre-Christian, classical or even medieval times, how far, if at all, allusion is being made in them to this particular process. Hence its original invention must probably remain a matter of inference only. This was invented by the great Alexandra of Egypt. As a process, the employment of which has been immensely developed and modified in Europe in the nineteenth century by machinery anti the adoption of stereotypes and engraved metal plates, it is doubtless traceable to a primeval use of blocks of stone, wood, etc., so cut or carved as to make impressions on surfaces of any material; and where the existence of these can be traced in ancient civilizations, e.g. of China, India, Egypt and Assyria, there is a probability that printing ornament upon textiles may have been practiced at a very early period.
Nevertheless, highly skilled as the Chinese are, and for ages have been, in ornamental weaving and other branches of textile art, there seem to be no direct evidences of their having resorted so extensively to printing for the decoration of textiles as peoples in the East Indies, those, for instance, of the Punjab and Bombay, from whose posterity 16th century European and especially Dutch merchants bought goods for Occidental trade in India or printed and painted calicoes.
Henna is an old tradition in Turkish Culture. It is an important part of the weddings & special ceremonies. In former times, wedding festivities were drawn-out affairs lasting several days. They began on a Monday with the dispatch of the bridal trousseau to the bridegroom's house. The procession carrying the trousseau was preceded by large wooden or iron "trees" decorated with cloths, fruits, and flowers. The bridal bath was held the following day (Tuesday) while Wednesday evening was when a henna party was held in the harem section of the house in which the bride-to-be lived. At the same time, the menfolk would be enjoying themselves in the men's quarters (selamlik) of same house or in that of the groom's.
A henna party was an occasion on which the bride, young girls, and the womenfolk of her future husband dressed up in the sumptuous, heavily embroidered dresses called bindalli. The bride's face would be concealed by a sequined red veil. The henna for the party would be brought to the bride's house on a silver tray with two burning candles by a few of the groom's relatives. After all the guests were assembled, the bride's future mother-in-law would roll out like a carpet before her a bolt of silk cloth that she had brought with her as a gift. The bride and her friends, carrying lit candles, would approach the guests while coins would be scattered over the bride's head as symbols of fertility.
The bride would walk along the unrolled bolt of silk cloth towards her future mother-in-law (this often was the first occasion on which they met), take the woman's hand, and kiss it respectfully. Trays of fruits and nuts, pastries, and marzipan would now appear. Songs and ditties reserved only for henna-parties would now be sung in an attempt to make the prospective bride cry. (Her crying was believed to bring good luck.) Next the bride would be made to sit on a cushion and her mother-in-law would place a gold coin in the palm of her hand. This gold coin was believed to be a symbol of good luck and abundance. Now a woman who was known to have a happy marriage had the job of tinging the palms, fingertips, and big toes of the bride with henna. The bride's unmarried friends would also tinge their hands with henna in the belief that this would enable them to get married soon.
Ottoman - Turkish Calligraphy, also known as Arabic calligraphy, is the art of writing, and by extension, of bookmaking. This art has most often employed the Arabic script, throughout many languages. Calligraphy is especially revered among Islamic arts since it was the primary means for the preservation of the Qur'an.
Ottoman Turkish calligraphy is associated with geometric Islamic art on the walls and ceilings of mosques as well as on the page. Contemporary artists in the Islamic world draw on the heritage of calligraphy to use calligraphic inscriptions or abstractions in their work. The first of those to gain popularity was known as the Kufic script, which was angular, made of square and short horizontal strokes, long verticals, and bold, compact circles.
The Diwani script is a cursive style of Arabic calligraphy developed during the reign of the early Ottomans (16th and early 17th centuries). It was invented by Housam Roumi and reached its height of popularity under Süleyman I the Magnificent. As decorative as it was communicative, Diwani was distinguished by the complexity of the line within the letter and the close juxtaposition of the letters within the word.
In the teachings of calligraphy figurative imagery is used to help visualize the shape of letters to trace. The traditional instrument of the Turkish - Ottoman calligrapher is the kalem, a pen made of dried reed or bamboo; the ink is often in color and chosen such that its intensity can vary greatly, so that the greater strokes of the compositions can be very dynamic in their effect. In our lessons; we can teach beginner and advanced level .
Turkish Paper marbling is a method of aqueous surface design, which can produce patterns similar to marble or other stone, hence the name. The patterns are the result of color floated on either plain water or a viscous solution known as size, and then carefully transferred to a sheet of paper (or other surfaces such as fabric). In Ebru art, you can draw flower figures that are traditional from the Ottoman period BUT the things that you can capable of by using Ebru art is unlimited. All you need is your imagination.
This decorative material has been used to cover a variety of surfaces for several centuries. It is often employed as a writing surface for calligraphy, and especially book covers and endpapers in bookbinding and stationery. Part of its appeal is that each print is a unique monoprint.
LEARN the secrets of creating the rich patterns of handmade marble paper .
EXPERIENCE the sensuous flow of Ottoman Marble ( Ebru ).
CONTEMPORARY create design fabric marbling paper technique designs on paper, glass or on silk fabrics .
During this Monastery visit & Dervish Ceremony; you will find out the story of Sufism, Sufis and their communities in Istanbul, Turkey, today. You will meet the Sufi community and their monastery, listen to their music, eye-witness the Whirling Dervishes Ceremony. The ceremonies are presented every mondays and thursdays.
Known to the west as Whirling Dervishes, the Mevlevi Order was founded by Mevlana Rumi in the 13th century. The Order wrote of tolerance, forgiveness, and enlightenment. They survive today as a cultural brotherhood. They are not theatrical spectacles but sacred rituals. The ritual of the Mevlevi sect, known as the sema, is a serious religious ritual performed by Muslim priests in a prayer trance to Allah. Mevlevi believed that during the sema the soul was released from earthly ties, and able to freely and jubilantly commune with the divine. Dervish literally means "doorway" and is thought to be an entrance from this material world to the spiritual, heavenly world. The Whirling Dervishes played an important part in the evolution of Ottoman high culture.
From the fourteenth to the twentieth century, their impact on classical poetry, calligraphy and visual arts was profound. Rumi and his followers integrated music into their rituals as an article of faith. Rumi emphasized that music uplifts our spirit to realms above, and we hear the tunes of the Gates of Paradise.
Istanbul is the center of religion for centuries. After the ottoman period Islamic Religion spreaded througout the city. The first mosque in Istanbul was built in Kadikoy on the Asian side of the city, which was conquered by the Ottoman Turks in 1353.
The first mosque on the European side of Istanbul was built inside the Rumeli Castle in 1452. The first grand mosque which was built in the city proper is the EyUp Sultan Mosque (1458), while the first imperial mosque inside the city walls was the Fatih Mosque (1470) which was built on the site of the Church of the Holy Apostles, an important Byzantine church which was originally edificed in the time of Constantine the Great.
Many other imperial mosques were built in the following centuries, such as the famous SUleymaniye Mosque (1557) which was ordered by Suleiman the Magnificent and designed by the great Ottoman architect Sinan, and the famous Sultan Ahmet Mosque (1616) which is also known as the Blue Mosque for the blue tiles which adorn its interior.
Istanbul was the final seat of the Islamic Caliphate, between 1517 and 1924. The personal belongings of Mohammed and the earliest Caliphs who followed him are today preserved in the Topkapi Palace, the EyUp Sultan Mosque and in several other prominent mosques of Istanbul.
Istanbul is the center of religion for centuries. After the Ottoman period, the Islamic religion spreaded throughout the city. The first mosque in Istanbul was built in Kadikoy on the Asian side of the city, which was conquered by the Ottoman Turks in 1353. The first mosque on the European side of Istanbul was built inside the Rumeli Castle in 1452. The first grand mosque which was built in the city proper is the EyUp Sultan Mosque (1458), while the first imperial mosque inside the city walls was the Fatih Mosque (1470) which was built on the site of the Church of the Holy Apostles, an important Byzantine church which was originally edified in the time of Constantine the Great.
Many other imperial mosques were built in the following centuries, such as the famous Suleymaniye Mosque (1557) which was ordered by Suleiman the Magnificent and designed by the great Ottoman architect Sinan, and the famous Sultan Ahmet Mosque (1616) which is also known as the Blue Mosque for the blue tiles which adorn its interior.
Istanbul was the final seat of the Islamic Caliphate, between 1517 and 1924. The personal belongings of Mohammed and the earliest Caliphs who followed him are today preserved in the Topkapi Palace, the EyUp Sultan Mosque and in several other prominent mosques of Istanbul.
Kidzmondo is an indoor theme park, designed for children between the ages of 4 to 14 years. KidzMondo features a self-contained city built for and run by children. It has its own economy (includes its currency it’s the “Kidlar”), public services and over 40 different professionals in the park. KidzMondo is a safe, interactive and educational environment where kids wear the uniform and perform the role they are playing.
Led by highly qualified team of educators, they learn the complexities of the adult world including its infrastructure, professions and the value of Money by simulating real life conditions. If you prefer you may do your shopping at Trump Shopping Mall or have a coffee break at Trump Shopping Mall’s roof terrace “Trump Cadde” while your children are having fun at KidzMondo Trump Istanbul or you may accompany your children. In any way, it will be one of a great experience in Istanbul you may never forget.
Your tour starts at the Grand Bazaar where you’ll meet your guide - an expert fluent, English speaker, hand chosen for their interpersonal skills and local knowledge. Here you’ll join up with the rest of your small group (max 15 people) and start exploring.
With about 5,000 stores spread across 60 streets, this is one of the world’s largest covered markets. It’s unsurprising then that there’s a lot to take in, but your guide knows all the best spots. Learn about local traditions and crafts; discover the secret to bartering like a Turk; and enjoy the perks of traveling with a local who can deflect unwanted attention from sellers.
Next up is a very special stop. Wandering the streets beyond the Grand Bazaar, you’ll duck into a secret staircase that leads to one of our favourite low-key views of the Bosphorus and all of Istanbul. Take some snaps as your guide points out the sites at your feet before heading back to ground level and on to the Spice Bazaar. Here you’ll learn about local cuisine and the towering piles of spices, herbs, teas and sweet treats before you. The history of Istanbul is best told through its food, so your guide will take you on a special visit to a store where you’ll have a (hassle-free!) chance to touch, smell and taste the incredible flavours of the bazaar.
The highlight of your tour comes next with a one-hour tour of the Bosphorus by private boat. Known as the “gateway city”, Istanbul has been defined by its position straddling two continents. As you navigate the water between Europe and Asia your guide will tell you about the effect this has had on the culture of the city, pointing out palaces, towers and landmarks as you pass them. Back on dry land you’ll wander through the fish market and side streets of the city before passing one of its most famous landmarks - the Galata Tower. Lines here are crazy and with no way to skip (and not much to see inside, to be honest) it’s probably not worth the wait. Instead, you’ll visit a nearby cafe where you’ll enjoy the same views with no wait and no additional cost.
Ask your guide all the questions you can think of before they leave you; from where to eat, to which sites you should visit during your tour and how to navigate public transport; one of the greatest perks of a guided tour is the local knowledge of your guide - so use it!
Your tour starts at the Blue Mosque where we meet early to avoid the rush of the day. As you wait for the doors to open your guide will teach you about the history and architecture of this incredible temple, and about the nuances and cultural effects of Islam in Istanbul. Once the doors open, slip off your shoes and (ladies) don your headscarf to explore the beautiful tiled and carpeted interior of Istanbul’s foremost religious building.
Across the ancient Hippodrome next to Hagia Sophia. Once a church, then a mosque and now a museum, Hagia Sophia (also known as Aya Sofya) has many tales to tell. As one of the most-visited sites in Istanbul it also usually has a queue stretching up to several hours in the heat of high season. Never mind; traveling with our fully-licensed local tour guides you’ll skip those long lines to gain express entrance. Once inside you’ll receive a guided tour of the incredible mosaics, learning how easily Christian icons became Islamic. At this site in particular you’ll gain a deeper understanding of not just Turkish history and culture, but of the startling similarities between all major world religions. Few monuments protest this so loudly as the beautiful Hagia Sophia.
The last stop of the morning is pretty cool (in more ways than one). Once again availing of your guide’s skip the line access, you’ll descend a level beneath the streets of Istanbul to the Basilica Cistern. Once a cistern which provided water to the city, it’s now a beautifully preserved space full of medusa-head columns and eerie lighting.
Traveling in small groups of 15 people or fewer with headsets for every guest, your tour will be more friendly and comfortable. A good thing too since these guides are some of the best in Istanbul, hand-chosen by the Walks of Turkey team for their excellent English language skills, passion and fantastic inter-personal skills. With all-inclusive pricing and a No Surprise Guarantee you can leave your wallet at home too. Guides have no external affiliations, guaranteeing that you’ll never have to visit a carpet shop or feel pressure at any point in your tour: So you can relax and enjoy the very best of Istanbul without waiting in line!