istanbul living

Beach Review : Tirmata Beach Club -Kilyos

As many families in Istanbul, we have been on the prowl looking for “safe” family fun day options to enjoy the summer amidst the risk of Coronavirus.

We came across Tirmata beach club in Kilyos as a good option for a beach day as was shared on my local Mom’s group.

We had fantastic day there yesterday and here is my review and info.




Covid measures:
Standard- temperature check at the entrance, masks worn by staff, masks mandated for guests in certain places (but not enforced). Chairs placed apart with some distance. Markings in the restaurant about where to stand in queues.

Price: 75 TL (weekend) with children under a certain age free (mine were under 4). This is in the upper range of beach club prices in the area – but we selected it specifically with the hopes of superior safety and upkeep- which is largely delivered.
Taxi from Istanbul (Etiler) cost us 100TL one way, via taxi. When we were ready to leave, they called us a taxi and we waited just 15 minutes.

Facilities : Deck chairs and umbrellas on the sand as well as a large grassy patch where it was less windy. There is a nice kids playground which was useful when the kids wanted to do something different especially as it was cool in the wind. The showers, change rooms and toilets were decent and cleaned.

Food : There is a self service restaurant selling standard casual food like sandwiches, kofte, chicken, few fish dishes and more. They also sold drinks, milk and ayran. Everything was more pricey than usual (as expected but still!) plus portions were small. You aren’t allowed outside food (though I just took in necessary snacks for the kids and their water bottles)
Theres also a kiosk for ice cream and chai and snacks for quick access which is convenient.
There are two other more formal sit down restaurants in a beautiful setting – with what looked like amazing views. They sold dishes like grills,  pasta, and the other restaurant was Tirmata Beach Balik Restaurant (seafood and mezes)

Feel: Family friendly. There wasn’t any loud disturbing music or rowdy crowds. We went on Saturday and it was busy, but certainly not overcrowded. There were enough chairs available and enough place to play in the sand without being near to many people. In the water itself, its a bit harder to keep distance of course though we tried!
There were also real waves in the water and a strong backwash. Life guards were visible and active throughout.
Note it seems to be a windy beach as there was also windsurfing nearby. We arrived early around 10:30am and whilst it was nice and quiet, we  found it too cold to swim at that time! By the afternoon it warmed up more so we could swim and hang around on the sand more comfortably.

Overall : Recommend for families.
However, there are other beach clubs nearby that we also spotted (such as Bamboo Beach Club) which I might try another time too as they were less expensive and looked great too.

Exploring Istanbul, one fun beach at a time!
Taskeen

PS Follow me on Instagram @Productive_Muslim_Mom where I share snippets of my life in Istanbul with two toddlers.

Spice up your Istanbul life: Takeaway Asian food is here!

Great news for spice lovers- after many years of having really few authentic options for Indo-Pakistani (Asian/Desi) food (especially the takeaway kind) in Istanbul, I just came across a few new places offering amazing food, delivering to most areas across Istanbul. Some are homemade family run businesses and others are restaurants. They are all halal (as claimed by Muslim owners).

Here is a handy list I compiled with feedback from what I have tasted myself as well as what my friends shared with me. You can contact each place directly to get their menu details and latest offers. Heres an end to our spice-deprived days, yay!

Takeaways

Chicken biryani

1. Pakıstani Turkish food point
Owner:  Parivish
Essenyurt. Delivery  20TL.
Starters, biryanis, curries, drinks.
WhatsApp : 0552 532 20 91

Review:
Chicken Biryani- delicious
Mutton Karahi- pricey at 70TL but absolutely delicious.
Samoosas (frozen) – ok, not the same pastry (purr) we use back home, but did the job
Spring Rolls- tasty

Overall: good portion size, very spicy.






2. Indo -Pak Spice
Owner: Komal Shahid
Facebook
Instagram
WhatsApp: 05366193540
Avcilar. Delivery to Etiler 10TL
Starters, biryanis, curries. Spice level to order
Review:
Chicken biryani- tasty
lamb biryani – delicious
spring rolls – ok
aloo samoosas- good
aloo paratha – tasty- big portion. ideal for kids snack
Dal mix  – ok
Mix veg curry – tasty, small
butter chicken – great

Overall:
They tailor spice level according to your request.
Good portion size. We were very impressed by the hands on service and care taken to prepare and deliver the food.
Spices are authentic not boxed!
**Highly recommend

3. Al Hafiz Pakistani Restaurant 

FooD Delivery Services- to Ortokoy only.

Hafiz Atif : 0534 822 8488

Facebook
Review:
Chicken curry – good.

Karista Biryani

4. Karista Foods
Facebook
whatsapp: 05357602884
Frozen and homemade food.

Review:
Pakora- good
Biryani – ok. First time there was very little chicken, which they corrected the next time.
Chowmein- ok. not the indo-chinese taste I was after though.
Butter chicken – good

They do nice deals like for Iftaar in Ramadan.

Karista- Chicken Biryani
Karista Butter Chicken

5. Online Pakistani Grocery and Food Istanbul
Seed Shah: +90 552 512 24 88
Facebook
Delivery to Etiler.
(Closed currently)

Tips: Confirm delivery times for the establishment you order from, as some are self run home businesses and delivering themselves. In addition, traffic can be challenging.

Groceries
a) Pakistani Grocery Istanbul
Facebook
05347882069 /05377991237 whatsapp
Fatih. delivery?

b)Pakistani grocery shop in Istanbul (Punjab teknik servis)
0539 737 86 26 Gulam Mustafa Imran
Facebook
Sultangazi. Delivery- charge 50 TL to Etiler

c) Dukkanci
 Review: Mohamed ordered spices from them. Saffron, cumin seeds and a few others. Ok  quality.

d)  n11.com – spices 
Have not tried yet

Afiyet Olsun. Bismillah. Bon Appetit.

Got any more to share? Please share your feedback or reviews so we can keep this list updated. Leave comments below or Email me (see profile).

Devouring Istanbul, one yummy meal at a time,
Taskeen
MbyDesign

Turkish life: Lessons from our first Roadtrip: Istanbul is not Turkey

Salaams

Last month I was really fortunate to go on (our first) roadtrip in Turkey!

I was amazed by the landscape- mountains in the distance, green fields and farms, and the wide open space to breathe! It looks like this:

Turkish countryside

Beautiful right?

I don’t know what I was expecting but  what I saw reminded me how different Istanbul is to the “rest-of-Turkey.” Whilst Istanbul is beautiful, and there are beautiful places to walk around and chill especially on the mighty Bosphorus, it just has a more “closed -up” feel to it. Like take Bebek for instance, you can sit near the water edge – but just in a small space and then there’s buildings in and around you.

In Istanbul, at least on the modern European side which is what I’m more familiar with, sure there are parks, but it’s surrounded by loads of flats and tall buildings. So when driving around your view usually includes  sprawling flats on hills. It’s different out in the countryside and even in Izmir, another big city in Turkey. Things just feel more open, and because it’s more flat I guess that also contributes to the sense of openness, which is just wonderful.

Turunç, Turkey

Driving through some mountains as we neared Turunç, our destination for the trip-the views hit you like waves – one picturesque scene after the next. We made one mandatory photo opp stop to take some pictures of a scene in a valley below us which was simply spectacular – it was the city of Turunç from above – a lovely village near the Aegean Sea, blue waters, a little town and all against a brilliantly blue sky. Subhanallah

Ilica Plaji (Beach)

We also visited Çeşme on this road trip where we were treated to a gorgeous beach called Ilica Plaji. Here we enjoyed soft white sand, turquoise water and gentle yet effective waves! This made an awesome swim and great way to spend the afternoon while enjoying a beautiful sunset. I am truly amazed by the spectacular beaches in Turkey, a few hours drive ( ok, a good few hours!) from Istanbul.

Just like London is not England, I see now that Istanbul is not Turkey! This means you have to explore outside the busy city to truly appreciate the whole country and it’s amazing landscape and feel.

I look forward to discovering more towns and regions beyond Istanbul, Insha Allah.( But we will investigate an easier route, perhaps half flying/half driving rather, as the ten hours drive we took on the way back from Turunc with a tired baby wasn’t the greatest fun!!)

Stay tuned for more adventures from “The Organised Traveler”, my other writing name 🙂

#organisedtraveler #otttraveler

Traipsing through Turkey,
M4Life

Turkish Tales: Our First Meals

Food plays an incredible role in any special event in our lives. So no wonder, our first meal in our new home is significant to us,  and kind of represents a big step in settling in.

Whats on the menu you ask? Something exotic like local specialties of kofte or borek? Perhaps a home classic like chicken? Well bearing in mind I’m still stocking up my kitchen and groceries are not as straightforward as back home (not everything in the supermarket is translated for starters) and I was exhausted from the trip over, the menu was simple but just right to hit the right notes Alhamdulillah!

Mum’s Grub Rules

For our very first dinner that we ate at home, we were lucky to have some homemade mum’s grub from South Africa.

Nothing like urad dhall, mealie meal rotis and spicy carrot pickle to comfort and pick you up!
I also fried some okra (“bhinda”) as its available in abundance here- the only real ‘indian’ vegetable really.

And we had extra food leftover for hubby to take to work for lunch – he was quite the envy of the office, and didn’t mind a bit sitting in the canteen with his roti and dhall! We ended up packing some carrot pickle for his friends who missed home food too so it was great to share the love.

End result

For the first dinner that I cooked, I braved it with a new kind of fish called “plaithe” which turned out to be tasty and not too “fishy”. I served it with spinach and onion (seasoned with “pulbiber”- a Turkish favourite which is red pepper flakes) and fresh potato salad.

When cooking for the first time in a new kitchen, and country really you have to be careful before you commit to preparing any dish – as you cannot take for granted that you have everything you need- even seemingly simple things like garlic, or chillies may not be as readily available. So I made good use of my personal favourite “Amina’s wonder spice peri-peri marinade” from South Africa for the fish, as I know it wouldn’t need anything further to flavour the fish – just pour over and you are ready to fry!

Get your first meals in your new country right, and you are on to the right track I say. May Allah grant us more barakah, Aameen
Next stop : cooking some chicken – but first I need to figure out how to make my own ginger/garlic paste (not found here!!)

Finding our way Insha Allah,
M4Life

Turkish Tales : The Move

Seven years ago I found myself blogging about my experience moving abroad to the UK from South Africa. I shared some of the challenges with our new place, work and the weather. This month I moved to Istanbul, Turkey, just on the other end of Europe!

When my hubby and I emigrated to England, UK, we did so after never visiting the place. We just went with our entire flat of belongings, some saved cash , new jobs and a firm determination that this was what we wanted for our future. We did have many chats with family and friends before that of course, weighing pros and cons of other countries, and for us UK came out tops.

I laugh when I look back at that move, because it the naiviety we had was totally overshadowed
by all the enthusiasm and excitement of new prospects. We did find the move challenging at first and now I realise it was because we were not totally prepared to face the new lifestyle, setup and culture of the new country. It wasnt because we didn’t try to prepare…nor that people living there didn’t help us with tips and pointers – but it was because we really didn’t know what were the best questions to ask that would equip us best to settle in our new abode!

Some of the drastic new lifestyle changes that took us time to adjust to in the UK (because we didnt know to ask about!) included:
– the small, compact size of houses, especially compared to our spacious living in South Africa
– the distance between places, how to best prepare for long commutes
– how best to tog up for bittery cold winters and the snow that comes with it

We moved to Istanbul after visiting it for one day and one night, en route to another destination but doubt that helped much! This time though we feel a little more wiser and more grown up Alhamdulillah, in that we knew to ask pertinent questions that would inform our choices about what to take and what to look out for to better manage our expectations.

We started our relocation project by taking my hubbys Turkish colleague out for lunch and a walk in Richmond park to quiz her on topics ranging from “What are the houses like in Istanbul?”, “What essential items should we remember to pack?” , “What do people do at the weekend?”. This enabled us to have a much more informed idea when preparing to move and researching accommodation options Alhamdulillah.

    Lunch in the beautiful Richmond Park, a Royal Park

Though even after all that preparation, you only really know a place till you live there! Everything else is theory and hearsay – useful to have in mind but just know that the reality only kicks in when you get there – so my lesson is not to expect to know much – anything really – till you take that one way flight over and start living!

Stay tuned for more on my tales from Turkey Insha Allah.