Istanbul's Rich History and Culture Discussed over Drinks

We will start our tour from Taksim Square. While we follow famous Istklal Street we will be taking about the history of this districts as well. Our first drink will be tea at a special tea house which was the meeting point of extras for cinema. We will talk about the history of tea in Turkey and of course history of Turkish Cinema as well.

Then we will continue following Istaklal Street by doing some Detours and have beer in one of the alleyways of Istanbul. This place won’t be an ordinary pub

Then we will head to Golden Horn and catch a ferry to Asian side of Istanbul. Our first stop will be an old dessert shop serving sharbat from Ottoman era as well. Sharbat is prepared from fruits or flower petals and since it is nonalcoholic it was very popular during Ottoman era. Here we will talk about this drink and Ottoman habits and drink few different versions of sharbat.

Then we will continue to a tavern to drink Raki of course. Raki is like national drink of Turkey and it has a special ritual to drink which is not spoken or written. We will talk about the history of this drink and maybe save the world couple of times after few glasses.

And we will finish the day with Turkish coffee. Did you know the first coffee house was opened around 1530s in Istanbul? We will also talk about the history of coffee, its importance for the locals and more. Maybe we can find someone to read our fortune through the coffee grounds

Then by another ferry we will head back to European side where we will finish the tour.