Love in Istanbul. Heartfelt Adventures in the Most Culinary City

Even if you have never been to Turkey, let alone Istanbul, and do not know the names of streets, boulevards, palaces, mosques, and temples, or even the Turkish language, — you have surely heard of, and perhaps even read, Orhan Pamuk's book "The Museum of Innocence" about tragic love, about the beautiful girl Füsun and the extraordinarily beautiful and sad city of Istanbul. And now in front of you is a book filled with such joy, fun, energy, and aroma of dishes that it is practically impossible to stop reading if you have already begun. There is a story here about a modern Füsun with beautiful pink asters, about an Istanbul man whom his mother cannot marry off, and about a neighbor who worries everyone, who has many suitors but cannot find a father for her noisy children, and about a secret love letter from a European empress to the Ottoman sultan, which the hero of the book found in an old suitcase. Many secrets, adventures, and delightful dishes await you on the pages of this book. And here are the miraculous recipes that can win the heart of your beloved man:

A recipe for ajika, leading directly to a man's heart, A recipe for börek with a filling sweeter than baklava in the mouth of a lover, Eggplant Kaygana — tender, like the soul of the hospitable Burcu from Cihangir, Yayla soup to calm a capricious mother-in-law, Pekmez, or the Elixir of Istanbul love with the taste of late grapes, Nutty pişmaniye for tea therapy during Istanbul's bad weather, Winter Beyran soup against any misfortune, Pumpkin katmer as a prerequisite for proposing marriage, A recipe for airy pişis for breakfast from Gezne-hanım's recipe, The recipe "Hünkar Beğendi," which the Empress of France delighted in at the heart of the Ottoman Empire, Sorbet from purple basil, or The Elixir of Love according to Zoe Porphyrogenita's recipe.

Istanbul and its enlightened inhabitants have hidden many secrets for centuries, one of which the author approached this time with full responsibility and courage. She had to dive into the subtleties of arguably the most passionate language on the planet, descend into the dungeon under the "bloody" cathedral in Balat, find a message from Zoe Porphyrogenita, try a dozen dishes from the cookbook of the cook of the Basileus, and personally brew the elixir of true love from purple basil… All this for an enigma that is carefully guarded by the native Istanbulites.