​​Before I say Istanbul, I go away for a while just thinking about it. At that time, I had a lot of visions from my Istanbul. I spent a third of my life in Istanbul, but more than half on an emotionally weighted average. I was not born and raised in Istanbul, until I took my residence in Istanbul, the visits were always for travel purposes. The reason for my placement was being a student. Finally, Istanbul was my place to live and I was very excited. Everything seemed very fascinating; The Bosphorus, the ferry, the views were at my first end back then. It still is. I will not do anything, just watch Istanbul from the ferry between Kadikoy and Besiktas, but at the entrance floor, I will sit on the side of the ferry; and If possible, with a tea and a bagel. What more can you ask for? Even this was incredibly magnificent, while this huge city spanning two continents had more to discover. I was literally dying of excitement. Even though I sometimes forget to look around by diving into daily running, life gauntlet, every Istanbul moment I looked up and looked around me, every Istanbul scene always gave me that first excitement. I closed my eyes softly and said “luckily!" every time.

During my years in Istanbul, which started as a student, I was living the city on the one hand and discovering myself and life on the other. I was a student in the first years, then an @damaktandimaga who discovered all the tastes of the city as an engineer and enthusiast of gastronomy in business life. A lot has happened over the years; there were many dreams and disappointments. The only thing that did not change was that both the celebration and the consolation were at the rakı tables of friendships. In the toasted glasses; there were celebratory screams for the dreams that came true, the words "whatever it takes, whatever it takes" for the dreams made, and their acceptance of "all is well" for disappointments. The scene of the incident was mostly an Istanbul tavern; on Friday-Saturday nights, sometimes a Sunday rakı or a weekday out.

I was a fan of some Istanbul taverns but as you know there is @damaktandimaga then it would be experienced with as many local taverns as possible! My dear friends always left the decision to me, wherever I said we went, we sipped our glasses at the table of many rakı tables. Beyoğlu, Kadıköy, Beşiktaş, Arnavutkoy, Karaköy, Adalar, Sarıyer, Istinye, Kandilli, Moda, Kurtuluş, Çicek Pasajı, Cihangir, Beylerbeyi, Çengelköy, all the taverns of Istanbul, with leaving our lips in rakı glasses.

What about now? The situation at this moment is miles away from Istanbul, a year long longing and lack of meyhanes. We are not going to stop, the distances that we can reach to Yeni Rakı and friends; the rakı tables extend from Rotterdam to Istanbul, London, Berlin, Barcelona and anywhere in the world.

This time at Özlenen Muhabbetler, I reach across from Rotterdam to "London".

My guests are education consultant and accessory designer Özge and marketing manager Ufuk, who have lived in England for 4 years, and today we will create the Rotterdam-London-Istanbul triangle in the "Omitted Conversations" as people displaced from Istanbul.

Dear Özge and Ufuk, I raise my glass from Rotterdam to London, saying welcome and “to health" first. I moved from Istanbul to Rotterdam for 1 year and 3 months, and I could not go to Istanbul for a long time due to the pandemic, therefore I missed it very much. You have been around a lot in 4 years, but living is different. What comes to mind when you say Istanbul, how was your Istanbul?

Ufuk: I used to go to Istanbul frequently for business reasons, except during the holidays before the pandemic. In this respect, it was like I was living in two cities. But, it is missed all the time. We miss the mobility, friends, the Istanbul culinary culture. Although there are a few Turkish restaurants here, there is not much choice and easy accessibility in Istanbul. But most of all, the rakı tables with friends come alive in my eyes. Regardless of the subject, when we gathered for the match, birthday or any other subject, our table setting was always a rakı table. Usually evening raki fot entertainment, celebration with a wider group, but if the issue is serious, Sunday daytime rakı with the core team.

Özge: Turkish breakfasts against the Bosphorus at the weekend, our rakı tables with our friends in the evenings, the taverns we are regulars. We miss the long hours of rakı tables with family and friends.

Oh, exactly the same feelings, the most "Özlenen Muhabbetler". Of course, there are some geographical features that make Istanbul unique in the world and differentiate it from other world cities. Do you have a longing for this?

Ufuk: London is a very beautiful city and although it has a river, it is lacking in the sea. Because we are from Izmir with Ozge, so we are people who have grown by the sea. That is why it is very important for us to have a sea in the city. The sea namely the Bosphorus with its view and seagulls, they are very missed. For example, walks along the Bosphorus…

Özge: I also missed the concerts in Harbiye on summer nights or in September. Before the concert, again a very pleasant rakı table in the open air, then the concerts of our favorite artists. Unfortunately, the weather conditions are not so favorable here. A warm atmosphere, a rakı table, and then a concert...

Speaking of a warm weather, these moments take place in the first frames that come to my mind about Istanbul. I used to live on the Anatolian side and generally met with my friends on the European side. I always crossed the ferry. I always felt the enthusiasm of approaching the next conversation, appetizer, and music while sitting outside, watching the Bosphorus on the other hand, when a warm, neither hot, but sweet wind blows my hair. Even if cities and even countries change, these feelings do not change at all, again, one creates routines that will remind and revive these moments at your new address. Is there a routine you have created during this time?

Özge: Even though the environmental and geographical features are different, the table setting established when we come together with our friends here is definitely the table of a locksmith. During the meal, the Spotify competitor list is definitely opening, and everyone has a playlist that they have created for themselves. We listen to all of them in turn. As the hours go by, we turn on pop music and dance like crazy, as if we came out of a tavern in Istanbul and passed out to another place to dance. Yes, we have a lot of fun, but I still get emotional even at that most fun moment. Also, the song I listen to at every opponent's table is "My heart remained in the Aegean" from Sezen Aksu. In terms of mezzes, we can generally access most of the ingredients and we can prepare the mezzes we want. But it's really hard to find real “Ezine" cheese.

Ufuk: More than the main meal, cold and hot mezzes are on our table. Habit from homeland because we are Aegean. There is always seafood on the table, especially when it is hot, shrimp or calamari is a must. Apart from that, an appetizer with yoghurt and an aubergine appetizer are part of our routine. Mezzes and chat, music of course. I have two different playlists, the first is Turkish pop and the second is Old Turkish Music. But the only name I can listen to for hours is "Ferdi Ozbegen". I would like to especially mention that this is a fascination that started long before the "Ethos" series.

"Whatever I remember, everything is as if it was yesterday. Oh those days, those days…" we go to those days with a song, a mezzes or even a gentle breeze.

I love calamari and shrimp. I make more shrimp because it comes easy. I can't do much with calamari. How do you make it?

Özge: Between the two, I prefer shrimp more. You know very well that we have red sweet pepper in Aydin. We dab the shrimp in butter with sweet red pepper and make it sauteed. It is delicious.

Of course! Butter, pepper and shrimp. You can't get enough of its taste! What about calamari?

Ufuk: We take the calamari fresh and grill or bake it. When fresh, there is no need for a long marination. We like to consume seafood as it is rather than saucing it too much and oiling it.

Due to the high cultural diversity in London, it is very easy to access different cuisines. Are there any dishes that you try there and say that this matches well with our rakı?

Ufuk: I love Asian cuisines. It is a warm, salty, peppery Asian style fried calamari that I took from outside and added to the rakı table. In addition, since we are a nation that loves onions and pickles, I like shallot onion pickles as a mezze.

Özge: Sometimes there are adaptations of the flavors we are used to. For example, hummus. There is hummus craze in Europe at the moment. We in Turkey are simple person eats bacon humus or humus. We consume humus as basic or with pastrami in Turkey. There are many types here, our favorite among them is hummus with pesto. Both Italian and South East, a beautiful match with the rakı. Whenever we want a taste of the area, we sometimes order hummus with meat from the Lubnan restaurant. Also, I like to consume Thai-style seafood with rakı.

Your rakı table is very varied, you stretch from London to Anatolia, the Middle East and Asia. What about your guests of the rakı table? Have you set up a rakı table with your foreign friends?

Ufuk: We set up a rakı table for our foreign friends both in Australia and England. For example, in a Turkish tavern in Australia, we organized a fun meal with Turkish music and belly dance. After we got very nice comments from our foreign friends. Rakı, of course, it is a very strong drink, it has a different aroma, especially for those who try it for the first time. But over time, I had foreign friends who got used to and loved very much. In fact, my Finnish and Japanese friends, whom I met from Australia, came to visit Istanbul. Once again, the tables were set up, they all love rakı very much now.

Özge:  We set up a table for our Italian friends in England. Since they are vegan, they loved all mezzes and rakı, except for the yoghurt appetizers. An Irish friend of ours had tried it, because he was familiar with the alcoholic beverage culture, he quickly adapted to rakı and rolled two doubles the first time.

How were the reactions of your friends who came to Istanbul and tried the rakı table about the city and the cuisine?

Ufuk: Their first impression was that Istanbul was very crowded. They were scared because people felt like they were coming upon them, because in everyday life everyone is in a hurry to catch up and there is heavy traffic.

The phrase a French cartoonist uses to describe Istanbul is exactly “they call it chaos; we call it home".

Ufuk: The second is the area that food takes up in our daily lives. Because our guest hospitality culture is a continuous treat starting from breakfast. Both the richness of the food culture and the frequency of eating affected them. We also went to a meyhane across Bogaz. Of course, they enjoyed the geographic beauty of Istanbul, the Bosphorus and the sea.

When we say Yeni Rakı, we see a view of the Bosphorus directly in our eyes, or when a foreign guest arrives, as you have done, we definitely say “time to have a rakı table" against the Bosphorus view. Is there a scene in London that you think would be very beautiful with rakı?

Özge: There is, fortunately there is: Tower Bridge. It is a sight that I always liked when I was walking or driving overlooking from afar. When I look at it, I remember the Istanbul Bosphorus.

Ufuk: I also think that in the south of England, there could be a great rakı place against the endless blue in the ocean view piers and spaces. And against the Sydney Opera House in Australia.

Just as Özge remembers the Bosphorus at Tower Bridge, I see Istanbul in Rotterdam's iconic landmarks. Here the Maas River runs through the middle of the city, and it divides the city into two on the North South axis. Between the two regions, there are very small but hanging bridge type bridges compared to Istanbul bridges. For me, those bridges are almost like the Bosphorus bridge and regions Anatolian-European continents.

At their “İstanbul Dublesi" video, Yeni Rakı captured the aspirations of a woman who is a new Berliner but an old Istanbulite, which we are talking about now. What did you feel while watching?

Özge&Ufuk: Very emotional. It's a movie about us.

I absolutely agree, I watched it over and over again with tears in my eyes. Very real, very sincere. The film is told from the perspective of the new Berliner and the old Istanbulite, but the feelings apply to anyone who is new from Rotterdam, the new Londoner, or old Istanbul anywhere in the world.

Today we talked a lot about Istanbul; 'Our glass is full, we remembered; filled our hearts, we sipped". Thus, the distances are disappeared with Yeni Rakı and the conversation was very enjoyable in “Özlenen Muhabbetler".

Many thanks to Özge and Ufuk for their participation.

See you next month!​