When you join one of our trips, we want you to have peace of mind. In response to COVID-19, we’ve:
For millennia, Istanbul has been at the junction of a vast web of geographies with distinct cultural identities, landscapes, and, of course, cuisines. These disparate influences form the great gastronomic mosaic that is modern-day Istanbul cuisine—which is so much more than“Turkish food.” Question the origin of any dish in a typical neighborhood restaurant and you’ll find yourself falling down a rabbit hole that may lead to Albania, or maybe over the peaks of the Caucasus to Chechnya. On this week-long journey in collaboration with Culinary Backstreets, we’ll study the city of Istanbul through its kitchens, using the simple ritual of a tea break to access ancient crafts still alive today. We’ll cross the Bosphorus, visiting food bazaars on both continents, eating in private homes along the way. We’ll also witness cooking demonstrations in working restaurants and have a hands-on lesson in a private home. It will be a week of constant collision and confluence between the many cultural currents that make Istanbul so unique.
Our partner, Culinary Backstreets: In order to create and curate this unique experience, we’ve partnered closely with Culinary Backstreets, a global guide to local eats that publishes restaurant reviews and features on local culinary culture. They bring these stories to life on culinary tours and special events, offered in 12 cities around the world, and have extensive international experience with all things gastronomical.
Arrive in Istanbul and settle into our hotel. This evening, we’ll kick things off with a brief introduction to the city by boat, cruising the Golden Horn to our welcome dinner, where we’ll get to know each other in classic Istanbul style, around a table filled with mezze and rakı. Here we’ll get an overview of the week ahead, and introduce the subjects and foods we’ll be exploring.
Boutique Hotel, Istanbul
Welcome Dinner
Today we’ll weave through the narrow alleys, bustling markets, and hidden living monuments of the Old City. We’ll visit food shops, restaurants, bakeries, and grill joints throughout the day, so bring your appetite and skip breakfast at the hotel. Once we’ve thoroughly munched our way through the city, we’ll return to the hotel to rest up and digest before our next gastronomic adventure. Tonight, we’ll meet with an international journalist who, over mezze and drinks, will lead a discussion on the history of Turkey and present-day affairs.
Boutique Hotel, Istanbul
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Istanbul is lined with magnificent, Byzantine-era fortifications—massive stone walls and towering fortresses that once served as imposing barriers. We’ll enjoy breakfast al fresco, picnicking between the walls where a moat once ran alongside a local farmer whose centuries-old gardens now fill the space. We’ll follow the walls to the Edirne Gate and point of entry during the Ottoman conquest of the city in 1453, then visit a stunning mosque. Later, we’ll head to the iconic Kariye Museum, second only to Aya Sofia for late Byzantine art. We’ll have a late lunch at Asitane, where, over years, the chef has researched and recreated the official menu of the Ottoman Palace. From there, we’ll stroll down Fener, home to the Orthodox Patriarch of Constantinople, and exit the city walls on the Golden Horn. You’ll have this evening to explore at your own pace.
Boutique Hotel, Istanbul
Breakfast, Lunch
The first capital of the Ottoman Empire, Bursa is now globally renowned for its historic monuments and iconic cuisine. We’ll begin the day touring the ancient city’s most notable sites—glimpsing the distinct early Ottoman architecture—and weaving through its markets, sampling pieces of Bursa’s delicious gastronomic history. In the afternoon, we’ll visit the kebab shop where Iskender kebab was born over 100 years ago. Far from a fast-food doner, this is a sacred space for lovers of slow-cooked lamb shaved over fried pita and doused with browned butter—a feast fit for the Sultan! Once satiated, we’ll head to the village of Cumali Kizik, an epicurean pilgrimage destination of sorts for its traditional Turkish breakfast. Wander its narrow cobblestone streets, glimpsing early Ottoman architecture and ancient sycamore trees. Be sure to get some sleep; tomorrow morning, we’ll tuck into a big breakfast.
Hotel, Bursa
Breakfast, Lunch
Wake up to the sounds of birds and head to the garden for a traditional spread of local products, fresh bread, the famous fruit of Bursa, and more. After breakfast, we’ll return to Istanbul for some free time. Tonight we’ll head to the home of a local chef, where we’ll learn a few fundamentals of Turkish cooking. After feasting together and chatting late into the evening, we’ll return to our hotel for a good night’s sleep.
Boutique Hotel, Istanbul
Breakfast, Dinner
Enjoy breakfast down at the hardware market of Karakoy, where medieval caravansary are now filled with independent manufacturers of springs, drill bits, and other oddities. We’ll explore the market (and witness its lively fish auction) before crossing the Bosphorus by ferry to Kadikoy, on the Asian Side of the city. Here, we’ll make our way through one of the city’s best open-air food markets, where street after street is packed with specialty shops, artisanal bakeries, traditional restaurants, and regional snack shops. For dinner, we’ll head to Ciya, where the famed chef Musa Dağdeviren collects and preserves obscure Anatolian recipes, many nearly lost to migration from the countryside.
Boutique Hotel, Istanbul
Breakfast, Dinner
No trip to Istanbul is complete without a pleasure cruise on the Bosphorus, passing by the palaces and iconic wooden houses that line this historic waterway. We’ll get a dose of Ottoman history onboard as we cruise toward lunch at a no-frills waterfront fish restaurant, where we’ll enjoy the simple pleasures of life on the Bosphorus. For the daring, there’ll be a chance for a quick dip in the water separating the two continents, so bring your swimsuit if you’d like. We’ll have a few hours of free time in the afternoon before our farewell dinner at one of Istanbul’s most famous contemporary restaurants, where we’ll get a taste of where this city’s cuisine is headed.
Boutique Hotel, Istanbul
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
After a week of winding through bustling bazaars, sipping steaming cups of tea, and tucking into hearty stuffed flatbreads, it’s time to say goodbye to Istanbul and the friends we’ve made along the way. Depart for home or, if you'd like, spend a few more days exploring the city. Our guides would be more than happy to provide additional recommendations. Until the next adventure!
Breakfast
The cost of this trip is $3,280, based on double occupancy.
You’re in good company. Solo travelers typically make up about half of our small groups. With curiosity at the center of our experiences, there’s a natural camaraderie that develops over the course of a trip. We have two options for you:
Shared Room (subject to the latest Covid-19 guidelines): You'll be matched with another solo traveler of the same gender.
Private Room: Have your own room, subject to availability, for a supplemental cost of $520. After booking your trip, please request a private room when you fill out your traveler information form and we’ll send a separate invoice for the cost.
Travelers should feel comfortable walking three to five miles over the course of each day and remaining on their feet for long periods of time. Keep in mind that Istanbul is a bustling and crowded place.
You should plan to arrive anytime by 3 p.m. on Day 1 and depart anytime on the morning of Day 8. We’re happy to book extra nights for you at the group's hotel and provide suggestions for things to do and see in the city on your own.
Most dietary restrictions can be accommodated, though in most cases ingredients can’t be substituted or omitted from particular dishes. Vegan options are challenging to come by, but if you’re willing to be flexible and miss out on some of the tastings, then you’re more than welcome to join. If you have a particular food allergy or intolerance, please contact us to find out if this is the right trip for you.
Visa requirements for Turkey vary depending on traveler citizenship. Please check requirements for travel to Turkey and any countries passed through in transit. A passport is required for international travel. We recommend your passport expire at least six months after your return home.
Joining this trip directly supports the unsung heroes of the kitchen—hardworking, independent people running some of the most economically vulnerable businesses in the cityscape who, through their daily working life, preserve local traditions embedded in food. Aside from the financial support that comes from your trip fees, you can contribute to the preservation of community spirit and memory by sharing the stories of the places and people we visit, and honoring the traditions we encounter along the way.