Music Street

A few blocks from my apartment is a street informally known as Music Street. It runs from Istiklal Cad., the busy pedistrian mall street (where cars and trams are allowed!) down toward the Bosphorous. It's earned it's name from all the music related shops lining it. You might think of it as the music souk. Here you can find shops selling musical instruments, musical equipment, recording equipment and recording studios, anything to do with music. At any given hour, there are musicians walking up and down Music Street, with their instrument cases. Repairs, lessons, I'm not sure. But if you are a musician in Istanbul, you're here.

There are lots of other wonderful things happening on Music Street, too. It's one of my favorite streets. It runs down past the Galata Tower, and if you keep going down the hill (it's pretty steep!), it will dump you out near the port, where all the big cruise ships dock. It's also very residential. So you have this interesting mix of locals going about their business, musicians, and tourists. There seems to be a bit of a hippie crowd, too. There's a hostel or two on Music Street, and also a funky Spanish place, Venta del Toro where they do pretty decent tapas, a la Turka. The couple who owns the place is there day and night. They appear to have a good time with their crowd-tourists, turks and a fair amount of Spanish speakers. Stan and I like to hang at Venta Del Toro, but not today.

My Friday starts on Music Street. After coffee, that is. I can't help but patronize the new Gloria Jeans near my apartment. It is just too convenient. Plus, they have a NS section and soy milk. The former is more unheard of than the latter, but the two together? A rare find! Gloria Jeans is sort of at the mouth of Music Street, so I think it's close enough to count. Coffee, then down the hill, to Yogaist, get it? Yoga -IST, like Istanbul? Hee hee. This is the third yoga studio opend by the Yogasala owner, Can Malta. And I think it might be my favorite. It's a no frills place, where all classes are on a drop-in, cash only basis. And at half the drop in rate of the other studios, it's a bargain. Yoga in Istanbul is pretty pricy, mostly for the well-off. For example, at the other Yogasala locations, a drop in class is the equivalent of $25 and at Yogaist, its $13.

The yoga studio is on the third floor of a pink apartment building on Music Street. So as I enjoy my practice, the babooshka'ed ladies working at the cafe on the FOURTH floor of the building next door are enjoying my practice as well! That sums up Istanbul. Here I am, in a beautiful high-ceilinged space with hardwood floors, stainless steel ceiling fans and fixtures, and there is a working class tea shop in the building next door. This city is a study of contrasts everywhere you look. When the tea drinkers, however, start enjoying my practice as well, I am forced to close the blinds!

After practice, I walk to the street for a juice. Pomegranates are in season now, and since Turkey is all about seasonal and local, fresh pomegranate (nar) juice is the drink of the day. I prefer mind mixed with orange (portakal) juice. I pull up a pint sized stool at Yildiz Bufe, order one up, and watch the guy make it with his manual citrus press. Unlike in America, my juice comes in a REAL glass, and measures 6 ounces at the most. No supersizing here. Yet at $2.50 still a bargain, especially considering the view. I sit and watch the world go by. Not a bad way to start a Friday!