Kadıköy

Since BH and I will be in Istanbul for around twenty days, we have decided that everyday we are going to try to explore a different neighborhood in this huge city. While a lot of tourists only see Sultanahmet, and maybe Taksim, we have so much time and a nice list of places we want to see. Kadikoy was a very easy destination. From Katy's house, it is only a ten-minute dolmus, shared taxi, but most people would be getting to Kadikoy from the European port of Eminonu. 
The must-eat at Kadikoy is balik ekmek. These fish sandwiches are amazing, and you can buy one for three or four Turkish lira. Simple to make, they are extra tasty with the added spice of the pickled peppers. As Rachel Ray would say, 'yummo!' Not far from the port is a semi-pedestrian zone with fish and vegetable markets, clothes shopping, coffee shops with nargile and backgammon, and an entire street devoted to wedding dresses. While it lacks the beauty and architectural grandness of some of the other areas we have visited in Istanbul, it feels more real. Sultanahmet is teeming with tourists, but most of the people in Kadikoy were Turks enjoying their Sundays. The waterfront is also a great place to just sit, relax, and watch the sunset over the European side of Istanbul. In one of the Kadikoy grocery stores, they had Ramadan packets. Starting today, some Istanbullers will be fasting while the sun is up for the next 29 days. For the busy ones, though, they can buy these packets to save some time in the evening. Pretty cool.

Our last stop in Kadikoy was the fish market. We wanted some mackerel to make our own balik ekmek, and we were able to get two fish for five lira. After the man behind the counter cleaned the fish, he threw it to the salesman.

Don't worry, he caught the fish

When we got back to Katy's apartment, this time on foot, we were ravenous. BH cooked up the mackerel, we placed it on a french loaf, and then added lettuce, tomato, raw onion, pickled hot peppers, and lemon juice. So good.