Its old name Hrisokeramos (dating 6th Century BC), meaning the golden brick, Kuzguncuk is a special little spot on the Asian side of İstanbul, Turkey. According to Seymen Bozaslan, Kuzguncuk was known as the Jewish Vilage in 17th Century, it is the first Jewish neighborhood in İstanbul. In the 18th Century, Kuzguncuk hosts a big Armenian Population. Kuzguncuk still stands as one of the representers of İstanbul’s all religions and folks, where church, mosque and synagogue co-exist together on the same street next to each other…
It is only 25 minutes away via car from where I live, so my mom and I went to Kuzguncuk last month for our afternoon tea, before İstanbul shut down due to Coronavirus. I was pleasantly surprised to see, this small town now getting more attention than the last years. There were so many new stores, cafes and shops. I want to share with you a few of my recommendations to visit.
- Homemade Aromaterapi: htt target=_blank target=_blankps://goo.gl/maps/sr2sDZUEXhF4Z9Lj7
If you have any interest in Aromatherapy, natural cosmetics, DIY home and skin care products, this is your kind of store. I didn’t take any photos inside the store (I was too busy smelling everything), but it is in a renovated old building’s small entrance. The products offer a big diversity, from candles to lotions. The prices are little high for average Turkish cosmetics store but comparing with outside of Turkey I would say it is very reasonable! Do check out their products before you go: htt target=_blank target=_blankps://www.homemadearomaterapi.com/urunler/
- Refika’s Kitchen: htt target=_blank target=_blankps://goo.gl/maps/uxY5bXxve8FGzfq6A
Refika is a Turkish chef/Youtuber that I have been a fan of for a while now. She recently opened her first store to sell the kitchen products she uses in her show. She sells a good variety of special made pots, pans, glasses, cups, knives, spices and pastes. Here is her English youtube channel: htt target=_blank target=_blankps://www.youtube.com/user/refikaskitchen
And the store’s website for products: htt target=_blank target=_blankps://www.refikadan.com/
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Now, finally for food! We had poğaça (Turkish scones) and tea at the Historical Kuzguncuk Bakery: htt target=_blank target=_blankps://goo.gl/maps/3WLeZZoDvajBqLBp7 The workers were super nice and they offered me free biscuits when I asked them what flavor they were.
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Nail Kitabevi / Cafe: htt target=_blank target=_blankps://goo.gl/maps/qmqP9WScoySZB1yq7
This is a three floor bookstore with coffee tables and places to sit and read on every floor! I love the entrance of the building (a very old European style building), how crowded it was with everyone from all ages either studying or individually reading. A very İstanbul kind of cafe/bookstore, in a very İstanbul kind of place. My cousin also told me they frequently host readings, Q&A’s, book signing and other events with authors.
Below is a selection of tasty, beautiful or quirky little things that caught my eye while I was in Kuzguncuk for a couple of hours.
Old cobblestone and very steep roads, (‘Arnavut Kaldırımı’, Albanian Stone Road, in Turkish)
Walnuts, locustbeans, quinces, and local apples
A local pharmacy that has a special made quilt of all the 'medicine jars’
İstanbul’s European side’s view by the sea near the ferry station:
Our scone, cheesecake and Turkish teas:
My mom and I walking in front of the historical Church:
If you have ever been to Kuzguncuk and wanna add more to this short list or share your memories, please do!
Looking forward to hearing from all of you,
Çağıl
