Category: Travel

Postcard from Istanbul, Turkey: Exploring traditional and imported flavors

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Above photo: The handsome copper-domed grill above is located in Zebeyir Ocakbasi in the Beyoglu neighborhood. Ocakbasis are meat-centric open-grill restaurants which, like meyhanes, offer meze and alcoholic beverages.

If you long to imbibe a bit of alcohol with your food in Istanbul, the safest bet is to look for an ocakbasi or a meyhane. Meyhane is derived from mey meaning wine and hane meaning house – a tavern. Meyhanes have existed for centuries around the port of Istanbul, but tolerance of them swings depending on who rules the country.

The 17th century was also marked by a vicious cycle of banning and then legalizing the meyhane. As Kocu (Resad Ekrem Kocu, 1905-1975) wrote: ‘Sultan Ahmet I (1590-1617) prohibited the use of alcohol in July 1613, and also closed all meyhane and their guild. But, as a contemporary historian later on wrote, “As human nature is inclined towards depravity and evil, soon people were back to their drinking habits.”‘”

“Joie de Vivre – A History of Istanbul Meyhanes,” Yavuz Sac and Tan Morgul,” Gastromondiale, March 3, 2024

I have no idea whether it is by law or not, but there are blocks lined with meyhanes one after another, and the same is true of ocakbasis. Meyhanes offer a selection of traditional meze dishes and seafood in a simple setting.

They attract an unlikely trio of customers: thirsty tourists like us, young people at night and tables of older males who gather to sip coffee or raki together. Raki is made from the dregs of grapes left in the winepress that are distilled twice and flavored with aniseed.

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Postcard from Catania, Sicily: Path to sainthood painful, but it’s Santuzza’s day

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Above: Statue of Saint Agatha, affectionately known as Santuzza, in front of the Basilica di Sant’Agata in Catania

I wanted to do a “birthday” post for Saint Agatha (231?-251?), but recent world news knocked the wind out of my sails to the point I felt unable to complete it last night. But that’s not fair to Santuzza on her feast day, February 5.

Saint Agatha can’t be expected to solve all the world’s problems. The faithful turn to her for intercession so often; she already has a lot on her hands. The Sicilian martyr serves as the patron saint of victims of breast cancer or rape, and of wet nurses, firefighters, workers in bell foundries and bakers. Plus, Sicilians offer prayers to the Catania native for safety from earthquakes and volcanic eruptions of Mount Etna. The virgin martyr also is the patron saint of both Palermo and Catania in Sicily.

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Postcard from Amsterdam, Netherlands: Bold art opens window to other cultures

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Above: “Revolution,” Otto Djaya (1916-2002), oil and ink on canvas, 1947

The fighters depicted in Otto Djaya’s painting ‘Revolution’ (1947) are all dressed and equipped for revolutionary action. The figures’ various styles of dress represent the great variety of local costumes worn in the different regions of the archipelago. Their makeshift equipment references the ragtag make-up of the Indonesian revolutionary army, which Otto depicted with a sense of humor…. Otto clearly aimed to break with the Dutch concept of ‘volkstypen,’ meaning ‘ethnic types:’ A koelie is always an indigenous Javanese or Chinese person, whereas an ambtenaar (official), a priester, and certainly a regent is always of Dutch descent.”

“Fighting Colonial Claims to Power,” Kerstin Winking, Stedelijk Museum website

Before the Japanese occupation during World War II, the archipelago now known as Indonesia had been a profitable colonial outpost for the Dutch for almost 350 years. Following the Allied defeat of Japan, revolutionary forces declared independence, taking advantage of the Netherlands’ weakened state after years of war and German occupation. The Netherlands balked at recognition, so a bloody four-year war ensued.

Yet, in 1947, in the midst of this revolt, the curator of the Stedelijk Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art and Design boldly mounted an exhibition focused on the work of two brothers, Agus and Otto Djaya, newly arrived in Amsterdam from their native land, the Dutch East Indies. Members of the revolutionary army, the pair harnessed the power of art as a weapon to persuade the Dutch to recognize Indonesian independence. Some of their works brazenly represented Dutch colonialism as a monster.

This, in a museum originally funded by private donors who had made their fortunes through colonial exploitation. I’ve tried, but it’s impossible for me to imagine the public outcry and political fallout caused by this exhibition. Think of Queen Wilhelmina (1880-1962), only just returned to The Hague following her wartime exile in England. Exhausted after ruling through two world wars and facing intense criticism for the potential loss of the oil-rich Dutch East Indies, the ailing Queen Wilhelmina abdicated in favor of her daughter Juliana (1909-2004) in 1948.

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