Asia and Europe, Two Continents Divided By One City On Water.
With its Spice Bazaars and rich culture in hospitality, Istanbul is also known for its magnificent relationship to water, with it flowing underneath and between the city, as the artery of life.
Istanbul, or as it was formerly known as, Byzantium, was established as a fishing village on the edges of the Bosphorus at Seraglio Point in 657 BC. Since then, it has grown in vast amounts in land and over the Bosphorus, joining two sides of the river into one. This has allowed the fishing business to expand their ports across to the Marmara and Black Seas to the north and south of the city.
The food in Istanbul is renowned for its variety of flavours and textures as well as its fresh fish direct from the seas to the restaurants and town markets. A fine delicacy Istanbul is highly regarded for, are the fish sandwiches by the waters edge, cooked fresh from the river on the backs of boats for passers by and locals to indulge in.
Kumkapi has one of the busiest morning shipments of fresh fish in each day. Auctioneers barter away the days catches before dawn breaks, getting the best prices for market stall holders and restaurants alike; then the boats are readied for another trip onto the water as the sun begins to rise.
Within the Kumkapi fish warehouse, there was a large variety of species being packed in ice and sold, from small crustaceans and sardines to large flat plaice and more. With a vast selection of species collected from the neighboring seas, the fish market in Istanbul is a booming trade, supporting many local residents, with generations of families working under the same roof.
