An exciting spring in Istanbul
Lots to look forward to in our special city, plus six recipes from Istanbul and beyond to try out.
It’s March, and in Turkey, that means one thing: It’s time to ditch the winter clothes. The calendar reads spring.
In fact, we’ve had an unusually warm winter that’s felt more like spring for weeks already, but there seems to be something about the turn to March in the Turkish mind. It’s like everyone needs the approval of the calendar to ditch the dark clothes and big jackets and dress for spring. And in exactly six months, on 1 September, we’ll no doubt go through the same in reverse, even though the weather will still very much the hot summer of the day before.
(Another) anticipated election
The arrival of spring is always a reason to celebrate, but this March is shaping up to be an eventful month in its own right. Local elections are coming up and, unlike most local elections elsewhere, they’re highly anticipated. Last time around, the opposition won the mayoralty of most of the big cities, including – unexpectedly – Istanbul.
A big reason for the opposition’s advances five years ago was their unifying behind single candidates in the major cities. After disastrous national elections last year, however, the opposition alliance has crumbled and its major parties thrown into turmoil. With alliances gone, they’re fielding separate candidates this time around, something thought to favour the candidates of President Erdoğan’s AK Party (mayoral contests are decided by plurality in a single round). Regardless, Mr. İmamoğlu remains the favourite to take Istanbul, though his re-election is by no means certain.
But why do Turks care so much about a local election, and the mayorship of Istanbul in particular? The answer is 2028, when Turkey is scheduled to hold its next general and presidential elections.
Mayor İmamoğlu is widely seen as the only candidate that can beat President Erdoğan at the next crossroads. He’s already done the impossible twice – first by winning Istanbul seemingly from nowhere, then by ousting his party leader (a feat almost unheard of in Turkish political history). If Mr. İmamoğlu loses Istanbul, those prospects will take a major blow, and probably deflate the opposition further.
A new spring for Istanbul
Elections aside, this spring and summer is promising to be one of the most exciting for Istanbul as a city for a while.
This is certainly true for those interested in arts and culture (who isn’t?). Istanbul Modern finally re-opened last year, and the recently opened Artistanbul Feshane, a huge modern art exhibition space in an old textiles factory, has become a runaway success with a current exhibition by Tate.
The restaurant scene also keeps improving, with many new entrants in the “modern Turkish food” segment over the past few years, and still more upping their game. Some have been rewarded with recommendations by the Michelin guide, who added Istanbul to their list in 2022. Some of the guide’s choices are excellent, but others, in my humble view, need reconsideration. I’ll be returning with a few personal recommendations in a later newsletter (or two) to help you navigate this ever more exciting part of contemporary Turkish food culture, should you come to visit our city in the future.
Istanbul is certainly an exciting place to live in these days! And to visit, for those living elsewhere.
With that, I’ll leave you with a few recommendations from the archives on things to eat this month.
In the next free newsletter, I’ll take you with me to a village feast I stumbled across when travelling in Turkey a few years ago. It’ll hit your inbox next week. Before that, paying subscribers will receive their fours of four new recipes this month tomorrow.
Until then,
Vidar ⭐️
This week’s newsletter doubles as this month’s “What I’m Eating”. Here are a few recipes that are a great option to try out this month:
Turkish meatball tray bake with potatoes & carrots (Izmir köfte) (pictured above)
🔜 Coming Sunday for paying subscribers:
Sweet potato soup with za’atar
I’ve taken a liking to sweet potatoes in the last couple of years, as they’ve also become more easily available in Turkey. Here, feta and za’atar provide a salty and herby balance to a wonderfully rich soup. One of my favourites!
This recipe will be for paying subscribers.