30
September, Istanbul
Route 39
House 83TL
Getting lost in the narrow streets between
Taksim Square and our hostel proved a super way to find rare treasures ... tiny
coffee shops and eateries, upmarket art galleries on unexpected corners, the
cheese store, florist and fruit shop. We also stumbled across a road named
after Dr Mehmet Öz,
a household name since he first appeared on Oprah. We bought an Istanbulkart
which one can load with credits and use on all Istanbul’s public transport at a
reduced fee. With it we made our way by tram to Sultanahmet, Istanbul’s main
tourist area, where we picked up a city map at the tourist information kiosk. Opposite
the kiosk is the Pudding Shop. Opened in 1957, the Pudding Shop became particularly
popular in the 60s with those on the hippie trail between Europe and Asia. In
1978, it was featured in the movie Midnight
Express, which contributed to its growing reputation. In 1984, on my first
visit to Istanbul, I often breakfasted in the mornings or partied in the
evenings at this vibrant little place and over a beer reminisced with Charl
about my three weeks in the city that year. I had stayed in a six-bed dorm in a
nearby youth hostel. The occupants of the other five beds came and went and I
grew accustomed to their stories each evening of the drugs they had been
offered on the street. I was never once offered drugs in Istanbul, or perhaps
simply did not understand the terminology. I made Charl laugh when I complained
that all I was offered was sex. When I told the waiter who served us that I had
been there 30 years ago, he said he had been a Pudding Shop waiter for 35 years.
Running a hand over his clean-shaven face and balding head, he asked if I
recognised him, adding that he had dark hair and a moustache in 1984!
Istanbul - Taksim Square
Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul