Home » Market

Sunny Days Are Here Again

by Anonymous

When I decided to start Güzel Günlerimiz I swore to myself that I wouldn't dwindle for too long between posts and leave the masses un-entertained. The past ten days of inactivity, however, have flouted my own personal rule and left me frustrated with my lack of commitment. Why am I taking this so seriously? Because it's in my nature to start projects (be it a blog, a handmade hair accessories business, or self-teaching myself German) with a colossal amount of enthusiasm, only to abandon said project after a few weeks... Well, upon finding another quirky hobby that piques my curiosity, of course. I suppose I have a valid excuse this time though. I'm interning at Penn Schoen Berland for six weeks this summer and I'm having the time of my life. It's a great atmosphere to work in because the people are fun, cool, and good at what they do. Today, for example, in celebration of Eid, our boss ordered in biryani and mithai for the entire office. MMMMMMM. If you're interested in politics, media, and market research and communication, I strongly suggest you check out their website to see the kind of work they do. Some of their notable clients include Bill Clinton and Tony Blair, who they backed during the re-election campaigns! Cool stuff, I know. I work 9 - 6, five days a week, and though I'm not doing any physical work, sitting on my butt for nine hours makes me crave a couch, the tv remote, and a continuous supply of food to be placed in front of me the second I reach home.

While going through my archive, I decided it was relevant to post a couple of pictures from a beautifully sunny day in May when Anna Banana, Noury, and I decided to visit Portobello Road. Why relevant? Yesterday, after a ridiculously long period of time, Nour and I were able to battle the terrible time difference between New Delhi and New York City, and Skype for an hour-ish. Now that she's back in the US to finish her final year of university, I won't see her for a while - well, till she visits me in London teehee (~~Nour, I hope you're reading this~~). I love how going through our old pictures never fails to make me giggle and reminisce over our the great memories we built in such a short period of time. Good times, good times.

Me and my breakfast Börek, which kept me full all day! For some reason, the Turks serving me in cafe wouldn't reply to me in Turkish except for a Görüsürüz! in the end...it was odd and disconcerting and my flawless Turkish and I were offended. Geesh.

I swear to God, su böreği is one of my favourite foods on the planet and this one in particular was just...OOOMMMPPHHHH. +1 for tangy feta and creamy spinach compressed between layers of soft doughy pastry.

27 July 2012

Berlin Diary: Türkenmarkt

by Disha

2 Comments

Everyone knows that there are a lot of Turks in Germany, but did you know that Berlin has the third largest population of Turkish people of any city in the world? That being said, you can imagine the near hysterical nature of my inner Turkophilia prior to and during my time in the German capital.

One of the top priorities on my "Things to do while in Berlin" thesis was to visit the Turkish Market in Kreuzberg. I learnt that the neighbourhood of Kreuzberg is the centre of Turkish immigrant life in the city (and it's also the upcoming hipster hangout but this, my friends, is for another post) and the Türkenmarkt is the largest Turkish market in the city.

The first Friday I was there, which would be June 8, I U-Bahn'd myself over to Maybachufer to get an early start on the stalls. "If you can find it in Turkey, you can find it here" seemed to be the general essence that wafted through the market. From beautiful fruits and vegetables - both local and imported - to a range of cheeses, meats and fish, and fresh bread and simit, you could find it all! A foodie's delight, no doubt. There were tons of interesting stalls which sold fabric, embellishments, and even varieties of cezves (the pot used for making Turkish coffee). I was intrigued, and wanted them all.

The weather was cool and perfect and it was a lovely, sunny day. The Turkish Market is definitely a to-do while in Berlin. On that note, I must say that I was a little let down. Was it my astronomically high expectations? Was it the greasy, overly crispy, gözleme I ate that put me off? Was it the fact that the market was actually much smaller than I thought it'd be? I suppose it was a little of all the above coupled with the fact that there were only two or three hot food stalls (of which one had traditional Ghanaian fare laid out wat, and the other was the awful, fast-food quality gözleme place). I love me some Turkish food, so I was looking forward to more variety.

It is without a doubt that I'll revisit the Türkenmarkt when I return to Berlin.

But I do hope that next time I'm back I'll be greeted by more kebaps, börek, and non-greasy gözleme. ;)

The Türkenmarkt sets up shop parallel to this lovely canal. Boats full of people cruised by as people relaxed and munched on snacks bought from the market. While I was here, a girl with a SOAS bag came and sat next to me and after brief conversation I learnt she recently graduated. Us SOASians really are all over the world!

Note the painted computer monitors lodged between the branches.

These dolmas were fresh, perfectly seasoned and ooohh so pretty.

Washed down with ayran, I couldn't imagine a better lunch.

After I toured the market and found myself a seat for a bit of rest, I recognized someone walking towards me - it was Fiona, a sweet Scottish woman who was staying in the same hostel room as me (in the bunk below me, in fact!). These random bump-ins are such a nice change when you're travelling alone!

Several varieties of fresh Turkish loaves and simit (the sesame seed covered, doughnut shaped bread in the upper right corner) for sale.

There were quite a few of these counters stuffed with a range of marinated seafood and dips. These stores were perpetually packed with people buying grams and grams of the deliciousness pictured above to their heart's content.