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Istanbul’s Landscapes of Food
An 8-day exploration of Turkish culture and cuisine
25 May – 2 June 2007
If traveling is about discovering, learning and stimulating the senses, then food is the perfect entree into new places and cultures. And what more exciting place to eat than Istanbul, where multiple layers of cultures have created a menu so rich and varied that you will wonder why we are MacDonaldizing the world with hamburgers when Anatolia could be Bingöling the world with börek*!?
Now is your chance to visit and learn about Istanbul – its cultures and its people – through its food. This educational tour is an exceptional opportunity that will bring you into the exciting spaces of a city that is far more complex – and flavorsome – than a handful of tour bus stops at Byzantine antiquities and pre-packaged encounters would suggest. We will walk, we will mingle, we will taste as we deviate from the paths of standard itineraries and cruise-line perspectives to experience the rhythms of daily life Istanbul.
Drawing from his research and interest in food systems in Istanbul, Paul Kaldjian will lead this eight day tour through the city’s food landscapes. This is your chance to experience Istanbul much more deeply (and tastefully!) than is usually possible in such a short time. You will return from this adventure with much more than the requisite souvenirs as your host draws upon and shares from his personal relationships with the city and its people.
Because of the nature of this tour, it is requested you be fit enough to take long walks, adventurous enough to taste new foods, and curious enough to ask great questions. From street food to sweet food, we will experience all manner of local flavors. And, of course, will also visit those remarkable Byzantine and Ottoman antiquities.
*Bingöl is a largely Kurdish province, from where some of Istanbul’s finest börek makers come. Börek is a generic term for a wide variety of savory pastries.
Date/Time/Location
TRIP PREPARATION & ORIENTATION
(for paid, registered participants)
| SUBJECT |
DATE/TIME |
|---|---|
INTRODUCTION TO ISTANBUL |
Thursday,15 February 2007 6:30 - 8:30 |
LANGUAGE & CULTURE |
Thursday, 15 March 2007 6:30 - 8:30 |
LANGUAGE & CULTURE |
Thursday, 12 April 2007 6:30 - 8:30 |
FINAL PREPARATIONS |
Thursday, 10 May 2007 6:30 - 8:30 |
All sessions will be held at UW-Eau Claire Continuing Education, 210 Water Street, Eau Claire.
Agenda
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TENTATIVE TOUR ITINERARY
Thursday (24 May):
Depart Minneapolis/ North America in the afternoon. You are responsible for making travel arrangements.
Friday (25 May):
Arrive Istanbul in the afternoon; group will be met at the airport and brought to the hotel; orientation to Kadikoy; light meal of lahmacun (Anatolian pizza), Turkish sweets and tea
Saturday (26 May):Breakfast at hotel
DAY: Intro to Istanbul’s street foods – walk through Eminonu & spice bazaar; walk to Kadin Pazar (meat, cheese, honey market); lunch at Darülziyafe; visit Suleimaniye mosque
Sunday (27 May): Breakfast at hotel
MORNING: Armenian Orthodox Church service
DAY: Byzantine sights (Aya Sofia, Underground cistern, other?)
EVENING: Home cooking lesson and meal – Turkish (Manti)
Monday (28 May): Breakfast at hotel
DAY: Foods of the covered bazaar – Trabzon pide, Kokorec, donner, durum – this is a great opportunity to see behind the touristic veneer of the covered bazaar, and to shop with confidence for jewelry, carpets, Turkish towels, trinkets and other fascinating things
EVENING: Home cooking lesson and meal – Kurdish
Tuesday (29 May): Breakfast at hotel
DAY: Food systems – shopping from the traditional to the contemporary; Kadikoy’s Tuesday Bazaar; Carrefours in Kadikoy;
EVENING: Dinner at Çiya
Wednesday (30 May): Breakfast at hotel
MORNING: Simit bakery in morning
DAY: Free for your own adventure – optional Işkembe Çorbasi (Tripe soup) at Apik
EVENING: Meza meal in Taksim at night
Thursday (31 May): Breakfast at hotel
MORNING: Borek & poğaça bakery
DAY: Istanbul’s bostan market gardens – meal in garden in afternoon
Friday (1 June): Breakfast at hotel
DAY: Fish lunch at the Tarihi Karaköy Balıkçısı (Fishmonger of Historical Karaköy)
EVENING: Home cooking lesson and meal – Laz
Saturday (2 June): Breakfast at hotel
DAY: for your own adventure, to revisit something of interest and to fly back to the US.
Presenter
YOUR HOST
Dr. Paul Kaldjian is associate professor of geography at the University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire. Since spending a year in 1997-1998 doing fieldwork for his dissertation
(Urban Food Security and Contemporary Istanbul: Gardens, Bazaars and the Countryside, University of Arizona, 2000), he returns regularly to Istanbul to conduct research on urban food security and systems.
He gets excited about food, culture, traditions, and learning from locals.
To The Top
Fee
The cost of the Istanbul’s Landscapes of Food academic tour will be $1600 based on a double occupancy. Single occupancy rooms are available for an additional fee of $300. The fee does not include airfare to Istanbul, estimated at $1200-$1500 roundtrip from Minn-St. Paul (based on Oct 2006 rates). A $500 deposit is due by
1 February 2007; the final $1100 is due by 1 March 2007.
Fee includes:
- Four orientation sessions prior to the departure
- Background materials on Turkish language and food
- Hotel accommodations in Kadıkoy (Asian side)
- Transportation between hotel and airport
- All breakfasts, dinners and tea in Istanbul
- Ground travel in Istanbul (public and private)
- Entrance fees to Hağia Sofia, the Yerebatan Saray (underground cistern)
You will be responsible for:
- Transportation to and from Istanbul – details to help you with this portion of the trip will be discussed further at the Q&A session
- Passport
- Personal side trips
- Good walking shoes
- Curious spirit
Refund/Cancellation Policy:
The $500 registration deposit is non-refundable; $750 can be refunded for cancellations between 1 April and before 10 May. After 10 May, refunds are only possible (for a fee) if an alternative for your place on the tour is found.
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