Yesterday, I had a chance to do a short walk on the streets around the hotel before my group sessions started. Every time I travel somewhere I like getting lost in the local atmosphere to try to get how life is in the place I am visiting. Later, in the evening I walked by İstiklal Avenue again, to go try a local Turkish dessert at the rooftop of this local restaurant.
I had a Turkish dessert, it looked like a small pancake but it was filled with cheese and you spread honey and pistachio powder on top of it from the two small jars you can see on the left of the image. The place is called Hafiz Mustafa and they have several stores around the city. They sell local candy and pastry and this specific store is located in Istiklal Avenue.
While enjoying the desert, I was reviewing the photos I took in the morning, with small tiny streets, and local stores with their owners dealing with the day-to-day business, and thought we were losing some of the world's local culture as big brands are landing all over and pushing us into global products, taking away the chances for local experiences. I
Wen traveling, I love learning at least the basic words to say thank you and please in the local language, trying to talk to locals to see how they deal with their day-to-day life, and comparing that with my own experiences to understand how every part of the world deals with day to day regular life. To me, that is the most satisfying part of travel.
