|Places| Olafur Eliasson’s Your unexpected journey installation at the Istanbul Modern; left: “octopus in ash” with Aegean salad, sumak and isot pepper at Mürver restaurant palace with the simple cuisine of Sephardic Jews and the old flavours of Armenian yiayias (grannies). Adding to the richness of the gastronomic experience is the mastery of open-fire cooking. A traditional ocakbaşı with perfectly grilled meats and kebabs has always been a must-visit. Now, venues such as Mürver and the newly launched Okra are building on this mastery and offering an elevated dining experience. “Regional, home-style dishes reinterpreted in chef-driven restaurants is what I find exciting about Istanbul’s current culinary experience,” says food editor and cookbook author Cemre Torun. “The growing number of small-scale producers focusing on high-quality regional products and wines made with little-known indigenous Anatolian grapes are other developments that I am happy to witness.” Besides the vibrant food scene, Turkey’s traditional spirits are also taking a new contemporary turn. Together with Turkey’s famous chef and food entrepreneur Mehmet Gürs, Torun takes the country’s much-loved rakı to another level. “With Prototip: Rakı, our first and foremost priority is to make a flavourful, aromatic and super-smooth spirit. With each passing year and harvest, we push the boundaries. The region is blessed with an abundance of indigenous grape varieties. Some have never been explored in making rakı before,” says Gürs of the pair’s new brand. The bustling nightlife, despite the current government’s attempts at curtailing it, comes out as another reason to travel to this city of contrasts. “The industry has encountered significant challenges in recent years, but these trials have honed our skills. It compelled us to master the art of ‘pulling a rabbit out of a hat’ to bring creative ideas to life,” says Emre Garan, the music director of the multipurpose liveperformance venue Frankhan, launched in 2023 in one of the rising areas of Istanbul, Karaköy. “Turkish music is now gaining increasing recognition on the global stage. Turkish psychedelic music, in particular, is finding its way into the works of renowned artists, spanning from DJs to pop sensations like The Weeknd.” Istanbul’s lively social scene welcomed its new “hot” members-only club this autumn, after Soho House, which opened in the striking Palazzo Corpi back in 2015. Set on top of a scenic hill overlooking the beautiful bay of Bebek, the new initiative, Clubhouse, stems from the desire to bring back the spirit of fellowship that once thrived among the people of PHOTOS FROM LEFT: CAN METE, COURTESY ISTANBUL MUSEUM OF MODERN ART 26 CENTURION-MAGAZINE.COM
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