Enjoying Olga's #Istanbulbreakfastclub

Watching the passing ships

in the magical morning light

I knew it was going to be a magical day just from the weather. The morning light was sublime. I missed the ferry just as it pulled away from the dock and didn't mind a bit. To sit down in this beautiful little ferry terminal, and watch the passing ships, was a moment of Zen stillness.

Passing by Maiden's Tower

and the Üsküdar Mosque

The half hour of still calm was broken only by my own laughter at myself when I looked down and realized my own silliness. I was carrying dress shoes across continents to wear to breakfast, forgetting that no one wears shoes in Turkish homes.

Enjoying the passing parade

of ferries on the Bosphorus

I was on my way to Olga Tikhanova Irez's home in Moda, a fashionable neighborhood on the Asian side of the straight. Olga is originally from Russia and is married to a Turk. She used to be a strategic management consultant and gave it all up when she realized what really made her happy was exquisite food: sourcing it, buying it, cooking it, and sharing it. She blogs at Delicious Istanbul and tweets at @Delish_Istanbul. 

Olga slicing the first of four

 fresh-from-the-oven

homemade loaves of bread

served that morning.

This was the third time I had been to Olga's breakfast. Once a month, she hosts a breakfast cafe in her home and 14 very lucky people get to come to breakfast. It always sells out. It is always hard to get a reservation and be one of the 14 (you have to fill out the form on her blog, and do so immediately when she posts her monthly invitation).

The first time I went I met all kinds of interesting locals, both Turks and expats, from all over the city. It's such a small intimate gathering that everyone had a chance to learn about everyone else there.

The second time I went she was just back from Morocco where she had gone to learn Moroccan cooking and she prepared a Moroccan breakfast for us. I pinched myself for being there!

One of the things that distinguishes Olga is her standards. I tease her that she could be the princess and the pea, so sensitive is she to any product that in less than top notch, and therefore unworthy of her table. If you sense a certain snobbiness...well, you are right.

Olga began to assemble her buffet.

Turkish breakfast is famous

for consisting

of real actual food.

Look at those fresh-baked savory pastries!

And that homemade hummus

made with lentils.

Oooh, and three different kinds of jams.

And not just any cheese,

but cheese sourced direct

from the farmers themselves.

The final magnificent spread.

Afiyet olsun!

Marc Gulliet, of @TurkeyReport

and enjoy-istanbul.com,

deserved a great breakfast.

 He and his wife had been reporting

from Soma, Turkey

all week

on the mining disaster.

Orhan Bozkurt,

owner of Ligos Guest House

near the Küçük Hagia Sophia

in the Sultanahmet area,

gave Olga's cooking the 'thumbs up.'

This month I co-hosted Olga's breakfast with her. She cooked breakfast and I shared with our guests how to use Twitter to update and globalize your personal learning network (PLN). It was great fun to compare experiences with people. Their energy completely uplifted me for the rest of the day - actually even now, as I write this.

At the end of the meal,

Olga hand-roasted and crushed

cumin, cardamon,

and other spices to make her

final batch of tea.

"It's a wonderful detox," she said.

I floated out of Olga's home, well fed, completely and spiritually uplifted; it just seemed to me that all of Istanbul was gloriously, gratefully 'alive.' 

After a week of horrible news from Soma, I felt a sense of gratitude for the sheer gift of life. It gave me a new energy to live to the fullest and take pleasure in small things.

I stopped on the way home to

'take tea' at the Moda Tea Garden

along the Bosphorus.

It's an Istanbul tradition to while

away hours here over a glass of Turkish tea.

I was too well-fed to join the long line

at Famous Ali's Ice Cream Shop,

another Moda neighborhood

beloved, weekend

tradition in Istanbul.

The trip home across the Bosphorus

was quiet, contemplative & joyful

thinking about the

amazing friends

and food

I had experienced that day.

I was and am grateful.

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