Istanbul Guide

36

Drinking & Nightlife

At the end of the working day, İstanbullus love nothing more than heading to a fashionable bar, convivial cafe or atmospheric çay bahçesi (tea garden) to catch up with friends and agree on which of the city’s many clubs or live music venues they will kick on to later in the evening.

Bira (beer) is also popular. The most com mon local drop, Efes, is a perky pilsner that comes in bottles, cans and on tap. Turkey grows and bottles its own şarap (wine), which has greatly improved over the past decade but is quite expensive due to high government taxes. If you want red wine, ask for kırmızı şarap ; for white ask for beyaz şarap . There are four main grape-growing regions: Thrace, the Aegean, eastern Turkey and central Anatolia. As a general guide, you should consider whites from Thrace and the Aegean, and reds from the Aegean, eastern Turkey and central Ana tolia. The best vintages of recent times are 2008, 2010 and 2015. Labels to look out for include Sarafin (chardonnay, Fumé Blanc, sauvignon blanc, cabernet sauvignon, shiraz and merlot); Karma (cabernet sauvignon, shiraz and mer lot); Kav Tuğra ( narince , kalecik karası and öküzgözü ); and DLC (most grape varieties). All are produced by Doluca (www.doluca.com) . Its major competitor, Kavaklidere (www. kavaklidere.com) , is known for the wines it puts out under the Pendore, Ancyra and Prestige labels (the Pendore boğazkere is particularly good), as well as its eminently quaffable Çankaya white blend. Together, Doluca and Kavaklidere dominate the market, but producers such as Vinkara (www.vinkara.com) and Kayra (www. kayrasaraplari.com) are starting to build strong reputations. Seek out Vinkara’s Narince Reserve and also its Yaşasın sparkling wine. From Kayra, the Buzbağ Reserve öküzgözü boğazkere blend and the vintages it puts out

Nonalcoholic Drinks Drinking çay (tea) is the national pastime. Sugar cubes are the only accompaniment and they’re needed to counter the effects of long brewing. No self-respecting Turk would dream of drinking elma çay , the sweet ‘apple tea’ made from chemicals that is offered to many tourists. Surprisingly, Türk kahve (Turkish coffee) isn’t widely consumed. A thick and power ful brew, it’s drunk in a couple of short sips. If you order a cup, you will be asked how sweet you like it – çok şekerli means ‘very sweet’; orta şekerli , ‘middling’; az şekerli , ‘slightly sweet’ and şekersiz or sade, ‘not at all’. Freshly squeezed portakal suyu (orange juice) and nar suyu (pomegranate juice) are extremely popular drinks. In kebapçıs (kebap restaurants) patrons often drink ayran (a refreshing yogurt drink made by whipping yogurt with water and salt) or şalgam suyu (sour turnip juice). If you’re here during winter, you should try delicious and unusual sahlep, a hot drink made from crushed orchid-root extract. Alcoholic Drinks Turkey’s most beloved tipple is rakı, a grape spirit infused with aniseed. Similar to Greek ouzo, it’s served in long thin glasses and is drunk neat or with water, which turns the clear liquid chalky white. If you want to add ice (buz), do so after adding water, as drop ping ice straight into rakı kills its flavour.