After our return from Sabachı, we had to come up with a dinner plan. We decided (aided by our Knopf mapguide for Istanbul) to walk on İstiklâl Caddesi.

We walked a short distance east along the Bosporus and caught the metro at Fındıklı (the M2 line) and headed east 1 stop to Kabataş where we bought a separate token for a ride up the funicular (F1) up to Taksim Square. We had been up here once before, looking for a particular restaurant but got hopeless lost and settled for the first place we came to. This time, we had our bearings, checked out the monument to Attaturk, and headed down İstiklâl Avenue.

İstiklâl Avenue is a very busy pedestrian avenue with lots of street vendors, shops and restaurants. We stopped in a narrow courtyard with a glass roof for something cold and foamy. We bought some cashews and pistachios and shared them around. The two old codgers at the next table thought it was very funny when I distracted Kathy and switched her ½ full glass for my now empty one. We headed out again, looking for a restaurant recommended in our Knopf guide. We found the place and it was OK. We tried the Istanbul pise (Pizza) and a local lamb dish.

The Knopf Istanbul guide is turning out to be less helpful/reliable than the other editions. One restaurant we went to was listed in the book as being painted bright yellow. Maybe 20 years ago! We were the only ones there (the guide had said we would need reservations). We decided to move along. You don’t want to eat at a fish restaurant with no other customers…

We figured we had to hang a left at some point to go south toward the Bosporus and our ship. We found a likely street and it worked out just fine.