Balat is one of the oldest habitations in Istanbul. The neighbourhood tells you all about the story of the city without a word. Yet, it’s not as touristy as Sultanahmet or Taksim. No matter what, it preserves its neighbourhood culture and diverse inhabitants. Neighbours have chit chats in doorways, children play ball and people get married on the streets. There are no hotels or residencies designed for wealthy tourists. Well, Balat has buildings that had bad restorations and kitsch cafés created for the tourists. But who doesn't?&nbsp;Balat is still a gem. It has its own characteristics, words, and way of living. It’s a mixture of the new and the old. So here we are. We’ll start the day at Coffee Department, the third wave coffee shop of the neighbourhood, then we’ll end the day at Agora Meyhanesi, which has been in service since 1890. Later on maybe we'll have a glass of kombucha at Smelt&amp;Co. Come and join us.<a fr-original-style="" href="https://link.aposto.com/click?uri=aHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLmFwb3N0by5jb20vY2xpY2s/aXNzdWU9NjMzZWE2YzY0ZTAyMzEwMDA2MDAzZDFkJnN1YnNjcmliZXI9NWVjM2FlZWVhN2RkOWMyZTk5NDFkYzEwJm5ld3NsZXR0ZXI9NjJhY2FiNjM2MDYyOTIwMDA2ZTYyZDBkJnB1Ymxpc2hlcj02MGEyOWQ1ODQ2ODFlMTAwMDY2YTVlMWMmc291cmNlPWVtYWlsJnVybD1odHRwcyUyNTNBJTI1MkYlMjUyRnd3dy5pbnN0YWdyYW0uY29tJTI1MkZzbWVsdGFuZGNvJTI1MkYmdXJsPWh0dHBzJTI1M0ElMjUyRiUyNTJGd3d3Lmluc3RhZ3JhbS5jb20lMjUyRnNtZWx0YW5kY28lMjUyRg==" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: rgb(9, 9, 9); text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent; outline: none; cursor: pointer; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; touch-action: manipulation; user-select: auto; box-sizing: border-box;" target="_blank">Smelt&amp;Co.</a>: We are not here to select the best of Istanbul but Smelt &amp; Co. is one of the bests of Istanbul in both food and experience. Reservations are a must to taste the recipes that Sinan and Samet Chefs created by blending their culinary experiences abroad with the food culture of Istanbul. And to watch the sunset from the terrace.<a fr-original-style="" href="https://link.aposto.com/click?uri=aHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLmFwb3N0by5jb20vY2xpY2s/aXNzdWU9NjMzZWE2YzY0ZTAyMzEwMDA2MDAzZDFkJnN1YnNjcmliZXI9NWVjM2FlZWVhN2RkOWMyZTk5NDFkYzEwJm5ld3NsZXR0ZXI9NjJhY2FiNjM2MDYyOTIwMDA2ZTYyZDBkJnB1Ymxpc2hlcj02MGEyOWQ1ODQ2ODFlMTAwMDY2YTVlMWMmc291cmNlPWVtYWlsJnVybD1odHRwJTI1M0ElMjUyRiUyNTJGYWdvcmExODkwLmNvbSUyNTJGJnVybD1odHRwJTI1M0ElMjUyRiUyNTJGYWdvcmExODkwLmNvbSUyNTJG" style="color: rgb(9, 9, 9); text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent; outline: none; cursor: pointer; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; touch-action: manipulation; user-select: auto; box-sizing: border-box;" target="_blank">Agora Meyhanesi 1890</a>: Rakı, fish, mezze, melon. You can enjoy your drink by gazing at the neighbourhood from inside a historic building where everything inside is made of wood. Attention though, these don’t belong on a TV set, these are real memories unique to a real neighbourhood culture.<a fr-original-style="" href="https://link.aposto.com/click?uri=aHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLmFwb3N0by5jb20vY2xpY2s/aXNzdWU9NjMzZWE2YzY0ZTAyMzEwMDA2MDAzZDFkJnN1YnNjcmliZXI9NWVjM2FlZWVhN2RkOWMyZTk5NDFkYzEwJm5ld3NsZXR0ZXI9NjJhY2FiNjM2MDYyOTIwMDA2ZTYyZDBkJnB1Ymxpc2hlcj02MGEyOWQ1ODQ2ODFlMTAwMDY2YTVlMWMmc291cmNlPWVtYWlsJnVybD1odHRwcyUyNTNBJTI1MkYlMjUyRnd3dy5pbnN0YWdyYW0uY29tJTI1MkZmb3Jub2JhbGF0JTI1MkYmdXJsPWh0dHBzJTI1M0ElMjUyRiUyNTJGd3d3Lmluc3RhZ3JhbS5jb20lMjUyRmZvcm5vYmFsYXQlMjUyRg==" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: rgb(9, 9, 9); text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent; outline: none; cursor: pointer; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; touch-action: manipulation; user-select: auto; box-sizing: border-box;" target="_blank">Forno</a>: Trabzon cheese pita or lahmacun. Whichever you prefer, it's hot from the oven and the dough is crispy. It's as simple as a small diner, and a must for lunch.<a fr-original-style="" href="https://link.aposto.com/click?uri=aHR0cHM6Ly9saW5rLmFwb3N0by5jb20vY2xpY2s/aXNzdWU9NjMzZWE2YzY0ZTAyMzEwMDA2MDAzZDFkJnN1YnNjcmliZXI9NWVjM2FlZWVhN2RkOWMyZTk5NDFkYzEwJm5ld3NsZXR0ZXI9NjJhY2FiNjM2MDYyOTIwMDA2ZTYyZDBkJnB1Ymxpc2hlcj02MGEyOWQ1ODQ2ODFlMTAwMDY2YTVlMWMmc291cmNlPWVtYWlsJnVybD1odHRwcyUyNTNBJTI1MkYlMjUyRmNvZmZlZWRlcGFydG1lbnQuY28lMjUyRiZ1cmw9aHR0cHMlMjUzQSUyNTJGJTI1MkZjb2ZmZWVkZXBhcnRtZW50LmNvJTI1MkY=" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: rgb(9, 9, 9); text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent; outline: none; cursor: pointer; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; touch-action: manipulation; user-select: auto; box-sizing: border-box;" target="_blank">Coffee Department</a>: Coffee Department, which we are familiar with from Nişantaşı, is a coffee shop designed in the spirit of the neighbourhood, which from the outside looks more like a neighbourhood coffee house than a third wave coffee shop - and that's a compliment. Stop by for good coffee and fresh, sweet snacks. Our favourite is the coffee from Peru El Remanzo.Check this out! Weekly travel and culture journal Soli (aka another sis) prepared special neighbourhood guides including essentials of the hood for the 17th of Istanbul Biennial visitors. Last weeks, Soli saluted you from Balat. <a fr-original-style="" href="https://aposto.com/i/soli-is-at-17th-istanbul-biennial-balat" style="color: rgb(9, 9, 9); text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent; outline: none; cursor: pointer; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; touch-action: manipulation; user-select: auto; box-sizing: border-box;" target="_blank">Read the full guide here</a>.

Aposto Istanbul

An alternative food guide for those who are seeking adventures in Balat. 

Balat presents: Rakı, mezze, pide, and kombucha

It's late afternoon, we are on the winding roads of Morocco that are long enough for us to lose track of time. The North African sun is nearing the end of its shift. We are entering a town of two-story buildings with brown and yellow tones. It is as if suddenly the hustle and bustle that dominates Morocco disappear as calmness descends upon us.The city of Merzouga has a gate that looks like a filter. We have nothing to do in the city - we are heading to the Sahara, the largest desert in the world. We continue on from the city center and after a short journey, we reach the area in the desert where we will camp. We leave our stuff in the tents and head out. We are late for the most important appointment of the day, we realize that we have overstayed our last break. With quick steps that become 2-3 times more tiring than usual, we climb a sand dune and watch an exquisite sunset. We are surrounded by the perfection of nothingness.The weather suddenly turns cold and we retreat to the tents, tired. After a mediocre dinner of touristy tricks, the team of desert explorers is ready for duty with only one missing member - Sinan asks to be excused from duty due to fatigue. With&nbsp;Cihan and Burak, we walk to a sand dune near our camp. Darkness over us is gigantesque and that darkness reveals an uncountable number of stars. We sit somewhere between the stars and the sand, mesmerized.<img src="https://images.aposto.com/2022/6/3/1658933879709.jpeg" style="display: block; float: none; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto; text-align: center; width: 100%; max-width: 550px; border-style: none; position: relative; cursor: pointer; padding: 0px 1px; box-sizing: border-box;" ratio="0.80" width="550" fr-original-style="display: block; float: none; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto; text-align: center; width: 100%; max-width: 550px;" fr-original-class="fr-draggable">The perfection of nothingness<hr fr-original-style="" style="height: 0px; overflow: visible; border-bottom: none; clear: both; user-select: none; break-after: page; box-sizing: border-box;"><h2 fr-original-style="" style="margin: 0px; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.85); font-weight: 500; padding: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;">Desert chatter</h2>We are deeply moved when we look at the stars today, even with the advanced power of observation and space science, what must have the ancient peoples felt? Did they realize that our existence is as significant as a grain of sand from the desert they were standing on? We talk about the strong relationship that ancient societies formed with the desert. At some point, we realize that we are entering a bottomless subject like infinite space.Limitless spaces lead to endless topics. "Is finding the meaning of life as difficult as searching for one grain of sand in the desert? Or is life about enjoying all the grains of sand?" We leave philosophical questions behind, we are too old to spend the night in the desert with questions we can't answer. The subject turns to a middle-aged woman we met at dinner who told us that she had been staying alone for weeks in this makeshift camp in the desert. We have fun fabricating stories about how she might be a secret service agent. We take photographs of the stars. We walk up to the sand dunes that are surrounding us and watch desert laborers nibbling on grass, the camels. At some point, one gets used to seeing in the dark - just as one gets used to the desert cold at night.<img src="https://images.aposto.com/2022/6/3/1658933897927.jpeg" style="display: block; float: none; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto; text-align: center; width: 100%; max-width: 550px; border-style: none; position: relative; cursor: pointer; padding: 0px 1px; box-sizing: border-box;" ratio="0.80" width="550" fr-original-style="display: block; float: none; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto; text-align: center; width: 100%; max-width: 550px;" fr-original-class="fr-draggable">After dark<hr fr-original-style="" style="height: 0px; overflow: visible; border-bottom: none; clear: both; user-select: none; break-after: page; box-sizing: border-box;">I am reminded of Saint Exupéry's Little Prince:<blockquote fr-original-style="color: rgb(9, 9, 9); border-color: rgb(255, 206, 20); border-width: 4px; font-style: italic; padding-left: 10px;" style="color: rgb(9, 9, 9); border-color: rgb(255, 206, 20); border-width: 4px; font-style: italic; padding-left: 10px; margin: 0px 0px 1em; border-left-style: solid; box-sizing: border-box;">&nbsp;"I wonder,” he said, “whether the stars are set alight in heaven so that one day each one of us may find his own again..."</blockquote>I look at the stars but they seem so far away. Therefore, I contemplate, "We can all take a dune each and squat here." Plus, the view changes every day.The endless dilemma of travel appears once more.&nbsp;The clash between the need for sleep that comes with the tiredness of the whole day, and the feeling that I can't miss anything in my limited time here. After enjoying the night in the desert a little more, we return to our tents.A few hours later, I wake up to the bitter sound of the alarm. The ice-cold doesn't seem appealing from under the blanket. But I use my same old mantra to get myself up: "When else are you going to watch the sunrise in the desert?"I wear the warmest clothes I have. I climb a dune that's close to the camp. The team quietly gathers. An employee of the camp that's walking a camel comes up to us. We are waiting for the coquettish sun to finally come up from behind the hill. The people who froze all night to snap photos of the stars and chit-chat are desperately waiting for the sun and its heat. The morning frost is so chilling that I consider hugging the ruminating camel sitting next to us to warm up. While I am waiting, I ask the young Berber questions to pass the time:<blockquote fr-original-style="color: rgb(9, 9, 9); border-color: rgb(255, 206, 20); border-width: 4px; font-style: italic; padding-left: 10px;" style="color: rgb(9, 9, 9); border-color: rgb(255, 206, 20); border-width: 4px; font-style: italic; padding-left: 10px; margin: 0px 0px 1em; border-left-style: solid; box-sizing: border-box;">- What is the name of the camel?- Camel</blockquote><img src="https://images.aposto.com/2022/6/3/1658933927354.jpeg" style="display: block; float: none; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto; text-align: center; width: 100%; max-width: 550px; border-style: none; position: relative; cursor: pointer; padding: 0px 1px; box-sizing: border-box;" ratio="0.80" width="550" fr-original-style="display: block; float: none; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto; text-align: center; width: 100%; max-width: 550px;" fr-original-class="fr-draggable">A journey in the desert<hr fr-original-style="" style="height: 0px; overflow: visible; border-bottom: none; clear: both; user-select: none; break-after: page; box-sizing: border-box;">The conversation doesn't hold in the face of such certainty. The sun finally rises. Our bones warm up.&nbsp;I understand the relationship that people who live in the desert have with the sun. Bedouin employee takes the camel to graze on grass. We go for breakfast. In a little while, the weather is hot enough to walk around in shorts.As we leave Merzouga behind, I jot down in my notebook:<blockquote fr-original-style="color: rgb(9, 9, 9); border-color: rgb(255, 206, 20); border-width: 4px; font-style: italic; padding-left: 10px;" style="color: rgb(9, 9, 9); border-color: rgb(255, 206, 20); border-width: 4px; font-style: italic; padding-left: 10px; margin: 0px 0px 1em; border-left-style: solid; box-sizing: border-box;">The desert leaves behind an unerasable feeling. You remember your nothingness. The peace of non-humanity, together with the broad horizon of the desert makes you realize you are no different than the sand you step on.</blockquote>

Ruta

What the desert brings up as the galaxies hover above us.

A desert night in Morocco

Kırmızı ve Siyah'ı tam metin olarak ilk kez okuyabildim. Stendhal, Napolyon sonrası özgürlüklerin tekrar kısıtlandığı ve onun deyimiyle gericilerin ve ikiyüzlülerin başa geçtiği bir dönemde çok karamsar bir hayat yaşamış. Julien Sorel bu karamsarlığın; dile, kemiğe, ete, bedene büründüğü biri. Taşrada yaşayan, yükselme heveslisi, Paris'i gözünde büyüten ve taşra ikiyüzlülüğünden usanmış biri.İstanbul'a taşradan gitmenin de insana böyle hissettiren bazı yanları olabiliyor. Aslında ben yaşadığım şehri "taşra" olarak görmüyorum ama meslekte aktifken İstanbul'da mesleğini yapanlar geri kalan tüm şehirlere taşra derlerdi. Şimdi komik geldi bunu hatırlamak.&nbsp;Sonra sonra o büyük İstanbul'a gidince bazen insan Paris'te salon davetlerine katılmış Julien Sorel gibi olabiliyor. Julien bir din adamı olmasına rağmen giyim kuşamını değiştirmişti. Bu yaşam biçiminin ihtişamından gözleri kamaşmıştı.&nbsp;<img src="https://images.aposto.com/2022/0/2/1642494705389.jpeg" style="display: block; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto; text-align: center; width: 100%; max-width: 550px; border-style: none; position: relative; cursor: pointer; padding: 0px 1px; box-sizing: border-box;" ratio="1.63" width="550" fr-original-style="display: block; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto; text-align: center; width: 100%; max-width: 550px;" fr-original-class="fr-draggable">kaynak : pinterestBunları anlatmamın sebebi İstanbul'daki giyim kuşam değil elbette. Evet farklı bir yaşam kültürünün olduğu bir çevre var. Ahlat Ağacı'nın kamera arkasına denk geldiğimde düşündüklerim bunların bir karmaşası oldu.&nbsp;Julien'in taşrada konuşabildikleri kısıtlıydı ama orada da onun gibi kimsenin olmayışından doğan bir avantajı vardı. Taşrada tekti, her şeydi. Paris'te ise onun gibi bir çok kişi, hatta çok daha iyileri var ve Julien bazen bir kimse bile değil.&nbsp;Kırmızı ve Siyah'tan yani Napolyon sonrası Fransız gericiliğinden bu yana Julien Sorel'in taşrasında bir şey değişmiş midir? Sadece Fransa için söylemiyorum, zaten nasıl bilebilirim, ama kendi yaşadığımız taşra çevrelerde bir değişiklik olmuş mudur? Nuri Bilge Ceylan'ın Sinan'ı gibi sıkışmış boğulmuş ve bizi de aynı derecede boğan arkadaşlarımız yok mu? &nbsp;Onlara hiç yardımımız dokunuyor mu? Sanmam. &nbsp;Kendimiz de hep aynı çevrelerde bazen hiç yenilenmeyerek bir hayat sürmüyor muyuz? Julien Sorel, romandaki gibi bir son yaşamayıp taşrasına geri dönseydi acaba hayatı nasıl devam ederdi. O büyük hayatları, ülkeleri ve görevleri gördükten sonra yine de küçük bir hayatı kabul edebilir miydi, merak ediyorum.Sinan'ın bu soru karşısında yaptığı belli. Yıllardır küçümsediği, beğenmediği, eleştirdiği babasının hayatının bir kopyasına taşrada devam etmek. "Her erkeğin ölümü babasının ölümüyle başlar." Orhan Pamuk'un söylediği bu söz hakkında erkekler ne düşünür bilmem.Sevgilerimle, görüşmek üzere. Azize...

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