Kapalıçarşı - Where Trade Routes Converged...

Kapalıçarşı, or the famed Grand Bazaar was our next pit stop on our journey through the wonder that is Istanbul.

We took a tram from the Sultan Ahmet station, which is a short distance away from the Hippodrome. And then a funny thing happened. In the confusion to figure out which tram to take to get to the Grand Bazaar, while Neeti was inquiring, I got on to the first tram which came in. Once the tram started, I realised Neeti was left behind. My fellow passengers told me the tram was indeed headed to the Grand Bazaar.

I immediately called Neeti and she boarded the next tram, while I waited for her at the Beyazıt-Kapalıçarşı station.

Constantinople has had an interesting history with intrigues of history, intermingling civilizations and  the East West trade all coming together here...

As one of the significant nodes of the legendary Silk Route, Istanbul for long had been a trading centre, with traders from the West and the East meeting here and exchanging their wares. That spurred the development of markets here.
In fact there is an interesting account of how this city had been linked to the trade on the Silk Route. The Byzantine Greek historian, Procopius, spoke of two Nestorian Christian monks who were sent as spies into China through the Silk Route by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian, who ruled Constantinople in the 6th century AD.
The monks eventually uncovered how silk was made. They managed to steal silkworm eggs and this resulted in silk production in the Mediterranean,  giving the Byzantine Empire a monopoly on silk production in medieval Europe.

The construction of the Grand Bazaar started in 1455, shortly after the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople. Sultan Mehmet II had constructed a stone building (bedesten) for trading of textiles. This was more like a wholesale market or an exchange replacing the unorganised fashion in which trade was conducted under the Byzantines. This was called Cevâhir Bedesten (Bedesten of Gems). Another bedesten, Sandal Bedesten, also came up and these two exchanges became the hub of Istanbul's commerce. They housed stalls and shops were built around them. The lanes between the shops were covered for the convenience of shoppers. These bedestens suffered damage from earthquakes and fires over the three centuries until they were redeveloped around 1700, in the form that we see today. And it got its name - Kapalıçarşı or the Covered Bazaar.

The importance of the market grew with the growing influence of the Ottoman Empire over three continents - Asia, Europe and Africa. The Ottomans virtually got a stranglehold over the Silk Route controlling the flow of goods into Europe.

The market has over 3500 shops and employs over 25,000 people. The traders here have for long coalesced into a close-knit community and theft here was rare despite the volume of trade in luxury goods. An English traveler mentioned in 1870 that the riches here could "easily ruin a few Rothschild families", despite this the bazaar was regarded as very secure.

A baklava shop in the Kapalıçarşı...

The Kapalıçarşı is home to shops selling souvenirs, curios, rugs, gems and jewellery...

A shop selling souvenirs - Turkish pottery and evil eyes besides goods of Islamic significance.

It was at one such shop, we we decided to buy gifts for friends and family - Turkish pottery. And the shopkeeper was unwilling to negotiate initially. When he figured we were from India the tone of the conversation changed. He started talking of Bollywood, Indian music and food. And yes, he was willing to negotiate now. It was the first time we, personally, benefited from India's soft-power!

As we were checking out other stuff in the same shop, we came across an interesting shawl. Hoping we would buy that too, he exclaimed - "Ahhh, pashmina from Kashmir, Pakistan!"

The patriotic Indian within us woke up with a big jolt. Kashmir in Pakistan is almost like blasphemy for any self-respecting Indian. And we pointed out to the shopkeeper how his world-view was a bit off-track. Kashmir is very much Indian, given the long history behind it. He did look a quite bewildered - probably this was the first time he had heard this view as opposed to the views he would have heard from the hordes of Pakistanis visiting Istanbul.

Happy with our bargain hunting, we headed to our next destination - Sirkeci!

Wah Wazwan!

Mondays are best when you are out of town, off-work and with family and friends. Today was one such Monday!

After an early breakfast with my parents and running a few errands, it was time to head for lunch. I was biased towards something exotic. I had heard about a new Ethiopian restaurant which had opened at Chanakyapuri, however "democracy" prevailed(!), and bowing to wishes of the majority, we headed to Dilli Haat, the food and craft bazaar in South Delhi!

At Dilli Haat, without wasting any time, we headed for the regional food stalls, showcasing the diverse and varied cuisines of India. With such a wide range of exotica at a mere arms's length, we were literally spoilt for choice....

And that's when I saw Wazwan, the food stall from the state of Jammu & Kashmir!

The area was basking in the soothing warmth of the afternoon winter Sun. We seated ourselves on a table that was in the sun and scanned the menu with a hawk's eye.

The mighty task of ordering was "outsourced" to me (probably as a consolation for junking the plan to head to Chanakyapuri for an Ethiopian lunch!).

Not to be out-done, I had a field day ordering stuff that I thought I would enjoy!

This was the second time I was going to have Kashmiri cuisine. The first time was memorable - it was October 2004, in the lawns of The Lalit in Srinagar, where a Wazwan buffet was laid out for us... It was a classy affair. I ate and ate, till I couldn't anymore, as they say in Hindi, पेट भर गया पर आँखें नहीं भरी!!!!

Now Wazwan is a multi-course Kashmiri meal, a communal dining tradition, typically for weddings and festivals. Guests are seated in groups and they share the meal out of a large metal plate, while being served by attendants. The delicacies served are mainly meat dishes, simmered and smoked on outdoor wood fire.

The Wazwan preparation and serving is considered to be an art in Kashmiri culture and identity.

Usually, Pandits do not eat meat, however Kashmiri Pandits are an exception, though they avoid beef. Even the Kashmiri Muslim cuisine, in deference of Hindu customs, traditionally avoided the consumption of beef! However, they voraciously consume lamb and mutton, even chicken and fish are rare.

I was dying to eat succulent tabakh maaz - fried ribs of lamb, unfortunately the menu here was limited. No tabakh maaz was on offer....

So I took the liberty ordering a melange of mutton dishes. This first was Yakhni -  lamb shanks cooked in curd based gravy with fennel (saunf) and cardamom!

The lamb was succulent and the gravy was subtlety flavoured....

For Neelima, the only vegetarian in our group, I suggested rajma (red kidney beans), but she opted for dum-aloo and haak saag!

We also ordered rista - meatballs in red curry, goshtaba - meatballs in yogurt curry alongwith chicken curry.

I quite enjoyed the haak saag or Kashmiri spinach - it had a unique flavour probably rendered to it by the mustard oil in which it was cooked!

The meatballs were tender and springy - the mince used to make the meatballs is handground and that gives them the unique texture!

We ended the meal with some phirni which was rather nice, and not too sweet!

We ended our meal with zaffran kahwah - Kashmiri green tea with saffron, almond and walnut slivers and cardamom! The kahwah was refreshing!

Though, I wouldn't rate Wazwan at Dilli Haat very highly, simply because there were no tabakh maaz and the portions were meagre, I did enjoy the meal. I resolved that there will be more evenings dining out at Goregaon's Kong Poush, when I return to Mumbai!

I ended the meal with a salute to the centuries-old Kahmiri culinary traditions! Wah Wazwan!