Postcard from Istanbul, April edition
An election surprise, a beautiful new Istanbul landmark & 6 recipes to herald the arrival of spring.
Hey there,
The sun’s out and there’s been a lot happening in Istanbul lately. A couple of memorable highlights follow, along with a few recipes I’m enjoying at the moment.
In this month’s edition:
An election surprise
The annual paper mill
A beautiful new Istanbul landmark
6 recipes to herald the arrival of spring
An election surprise
For a country whose democratic credentials are often questioned, Turks take elections very seriously. Last weekend’s local polls were no exception.
Before polling day, there were worries on both sides. The opposition, split and defeated since last year’s presidential election, would surely lose ground from their remarkable result in 2019, which saw them capture the mayorships of both Istanbul and Ankara for the first time in 25 years. Would voter apathy set in?
On the government side, new islamist and nationalist parties have slowly started chipping away at the ruling coalition’s voter base. Could that be enough to keep President Erdogan’s AK Party from retaking Istanbul, as he’d set out to do?
As ever, the pundits were wrong. It was a landslide win for CHP, the main opposition party, which captured all of the five biggest cities by large margins and became the largest party. Rather than split, the opposition votes appear to have coalesced around the CHP, breathing new life into deflated opposition voters and leaving Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoğlu as the clear frontrunner to take on President Erdoğan (or his successor) at the next crossroads, scheduled for 2028.
AKP, meanwhile, did bleed. To smaller parties like the islamist Yeniden Refah, which overtook AKP’s nationalist coalition partners to become the third largest party, but also to the sofa: Turnout dropped sharply this year. Whether this was a temporary message from voters or signifies a deeper shift remains to be seen.
The annual paper mill
Earlier in the month, I spent a couple of days navigating the Turkish bureaucracy. My residence permit was up for its annual renewal. Surely anyone who’s ever dealt with such – in any country – is shuddering at the mere thought of it already.
It wasn’t always this way. Just over a decade ago, the process was as simple as walking into your local police station, and you’d exit with a 3-year visa. The influx of refugees from Syria, Afghanistan and beyond forced the creation of a migration management unit, with an application system similar to that in Western states. It’s taken them a few years to optimise the workflows, but also in catching up with the more than questionable practices of many applicants. Fraud is apparently widespread. So every year brings new requirements in terms of the documentation required.
Fortunately, a lot of the documentation has now moved online, eliminating most of the running from office to office to collect documents and stamps that was necessary in earlier years. I’ve also found a guy who’s up to date on the latest requirements, and helps make sure I’ve got everything sorted in a nice folder in time for my appointment. This year was only the second(!) year I wasn’t ask to collect extra documents after handing in my application, and my new residence card is apparently already on the way. The smoothest year so far!
A beautiful new Istanbul landmark
Like Rome, Jerusalem and Athens, Istanbul is built on seven hills. Atop the seventh sits a beautiful old mansion that remained a mystery to most citizens and visitors of Istanbul for a full century.
Bulgur Palas was built by a man named Habip, a grain merchant (hence the building’s name) of the late 19th and early 20th century. He enlisted the help of Italian architect Giulio Mongeri, who built a beautiful mansion combining the prevailing trends at the time with Turkish Seljuk features.
Habip Bey couldn’t keep up with his debts, however, and the building fell into the ownership of the bank before anyone could move in. And so it was that this grand building spent its first century as bank archives, staff lodgings and – if rumours are to be believed – a breeding ground for canaries (the bank used to keep caged canaries in all of their branches).
The bank itself has been sold a couple of times, and a few years ago, its then Spanish owners BBVA finally sold the building to Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, who restored it and opened it to the public with a library, two cafes and art exhibition spaces.
The current and premiere exhibition is by none other than Magnum, perhaps the foremost photo cooperative globally. A wonderful way to spend an afternoon!
That was a long update from me, and I guess you’re hungry (I know I am). I’ve therefore attached a few recipes I enjoy making now that spring has firmly made its mark here in Istanbul.
With all best wishes,
Vidar
Did you see my revamped website yet? It’s now easier than ever to find something you like from the free archives. Use the filters to narrow down by cuisine, course or even ingredient! The paid subscriber recipes remain here.
Of course, I’ll continue sharing curated selections in this newsletter. Here are a few recipes to celebrate the arrival of spring – in Istanbul at least ☀️
Greek pea and potato stew (pictured)
Chickpea stew with roast peppers & sundried tomatoes (requires paid subscription)
🔜 Coming Friday for paying subscribers
Roast meatballs with yoghurt sauce
I’ve been planning a Turkish meatball mini “Masterclass” for this newsletter for some time, but it’ll have to wait a little longer. For now, please enjoy this perhaps non-traditional take on Turkish meatballs, roasted and served with a warm(ish) yoghurt sauce and chili butter.
This is a bonus recipe for paying subscribers only.
The next free newsletter will hit your inbox in a week’s time, and will be a traveller’s letter from a recent trip to Mardin and Midyat – perhaps better known as part of the ancient civilisation of Mesopotamia.