Sunday Adventure

I need accessories for my new toaster oven-- an oven safe pan, a cookie tray, a springform pan, pot holders, etc. And I want to get them as cheaply as possible because this month I'm moving, so I'm pinching pennies (or kurus) at the moment. Today I amassed a small entourage (Jordan, Rachel, and Cem) and we wandered to the Tarlabasi Bazaar. I had been told to keep my bag close and to watch my back, but Tarlabasi Blvd. itself was closed to cars today because of the annual Istanbul road race so the bazaar was less crowded than maybe it usually is.

No one in my circle of friends had been before but we managed to find it with little difficulty. It's a different world there even though it's maybe only a fifteen minute walk from where I live-- we saw some sheep being herded around, laundry hung between high up windows across streets reminiscent of the ghettos here... the market sold some hard to find produce (broccoli, avacados, fresh basil, and much more), kitchenware, clothes, sheets and towels, and everything was SO cheap. I bought a lot of stuff-- hazelnuts, peanuts, cinnamon sticks, whole nutmeg, corn kernels to pop the old fashioned way, turkish delight, baking powder, cocoa, and more for 11ytl. I bought a Pasabahce (Turkish Crate and Barrel) glass brownie pan for 6ytl. A bag of freshly cut up pumpkin was 2ytl. Even avacados, which are usually between 4-6ytl for one, were 1.50! So it was a good discovery.

There's a very worthwhile article called Istanbul's Tarlabasi Under Constant Transformation if you have a minute, on NPR.org. After reading the article, check out the audio slideshow which really gives a good impression of what the neighborhood looks like.

I'm off to make some brownies and then I may try something else!