Kadiköy was once known as Chalcedon, and it was here that Megara Greeks first set up home in the 7th century BCE.
The settlement was known as the “City of the Blind’ since a prophecy had foretold that a grand metropolis would be built opposite it. In time Byzantium was established across from Chalcedon on the European shores, its protective harbours ensuring trade and rapid growth.
Chalcedon was eventually integrated into Byzantium a century before the Conquest of Constantinople in 1453 and today under the name of Kadiköy it's a vibrant district of bars and restaurants that makes a pleasant evening out for the visitor to Istanbul.
Soup and Starters at Çiya Sofrasi
Çiya Sofrasi is one of three restaurants bearing the Çiya name in the same street. Çiya Sofrasi is not necessarily the most frequented, however, it’s the one with the mouth-watering display of bubbling stews and colourful meze dishes lined up either side at the entrance that is the most enticing.
Çiya Sofrasi opened in 1998 after a decade trading successfully under the Çiya name. The owner decided to expand the menu by seeking out and reinterpreting long-forgotten cuisine from Ottoman lands. Today it’s possible to sample foods with origins from the oases of Mesopotamia to the mountainous Balkans all at the same table.
After gaining the waiter’s attention, the next step is to head inside and select from the range of food on show. The menu is seasonal and constantly changing so it pays to be adventurous and simply point at what looks appealing.
A great way to start is to pile a plate with meze or order soup. The starters arranged in a buffet bar and the selection once made is weighed and returned to the table. Stuffed vine leaves, hummus, tiny meatballs, eggplant dips, peppered bulgur salad will undoubtedly be on offer along with a curious and delicious selection of greens. Bread will be brought to the table.
A choice of two or three soups is generally available. Almond soup of rice, milk, almonds, cinnamon and black pepper is a certainly worth a try, as are the zucchini, asparagus and mushroom soups.
Main Meals and Desserts at Çiya
After the meze plate, it’s a quick trip back to the entrance to salivate over the stews. No one working in the restaurant ever speaks enough English to translate the ingredients, and when they do, it’s often the name of something that sounds equally strange.
Meals are presented on stunning metal serving dishes. Sour lamb chops with quince and pomegranate juice, stuffed artichokes, or bulgur with zucchini will all satisfy, as will the subtle flavours of perde pilav, a delicate serving of rice, chicken, raisins, pine nuts and almonds encased in a light pastry. Or maybe a portion of delicious falafel or bulgur with peppered zucchini and onions?
Along with baklava and the fabulously crunchy stuffed kadayif, caramelised pumpkin is an interesting flavour for those uninitiated to Middle Eastern desserts. If asure in on the menu, it must be sampled. This dish is a favourite of Turks, provided their mothers make. For the visitor to Istanbul, Çiya is the best location to sample the sugary mixture of rice, apricot, fig, orange, chick peas, rose water, walnuts and pomegranate. Sensational.
Taking the Ferry to Kadiköy and Back
Istanbul Ferries operate a regular service from Monday to Saturday from Eminönü, Karaköy and Besiktas piers. On Sunday ferries run less frequently so it pays to note the last ferry returning to the European side to avoid a very long taxi ride back to the hotel.
- For Eminönü, in front of the Spice Bazaar and the stop for those in Sultanahmet, the last ferry leaves from Kadiköy at 20h40 each day except Sunday, when it departs ten minutes earlier, at 20h30.
- For Karaköy, there’s no need to leave until 23h00, when the ferry will drop passengers just in time for a late night indulgence of baklava at Güllüoglu’s famous patisserie. From here it’s a twenty-minute walk across Galata Bridge back to Sultanahmet.
- Ferries also run to Kabatas from Kadiköy until 20h00, which might be handy for those staying in hotels in Taksim. Kabatas is at the foot of Cihangir, a neighbourhood that stretches up the hill and where the best after-dinner drinks are to be had.
How to Get to Çiya Restaurant from Kadiköy Pier
The restaurant is at 43 Güneslibahçe Sokak, about 300m from the Kadiköy pier. Upon disembarking and exiting the pier, a large pink theatre runs to the right.
At the end of this building, across the park and over more lanes of traffic is a narrow cobbled street. On the right is the Kadiköy Post Office and twenty metres further on the left, Starbucks.
The second street on the right after Starbucks and approximately 100m into the market district is Güneslibahçe Sokak, and to the right, Çiya Sofrasi.
James Heywood - James Heywood has worked in education, banking and finance, hospitality and publishing. He completed his tertiary education in ...
