$1.50 Next-Level Baklava in Istanbul 🇹🇷

After a full day of exploring Istanbul, I had worked up quite an appetite. As the Turkish say, Kurt Gibi Acım - hungry like a wolf! I made my way to Taksim Square, which I briefly mentioned in a previous video. This is the square where the protests took place that ultimately gave rise to Labour Day as a bank holiday in Türkiye, so it has quite a bit of history behind it. The first stop was the famous Taksim Döner to try their Islak Burger, or Wet Burger. The bun was completely drenched in tomato sauce with a small kofte-style patty inside. It was tasty, the kind of thing you could easily eat several of. This came to 130 lira (~$2.86 USD, ~£2.14 GBP). Still hungry, I headed down the famous İstiklal Caddesi. It's a major tourist street so I wasn't expecting great value for money. I just walked until something worthwhile caught my eye. The street was busy with people and bright shop lights, and I even spotted a tram passing through. At one point I ducked down a side street and it was like a different world, suddenly quiet, barely anyone around. After navigating my way through, I stumbled across a local spot called Beşaltı Kirvem Tantuni & Künefe. I ordered a meat wrap washed down with an Ayran, and demolished it pretty quickly. It was very tasty. This came to 388 lira (~$8.52 USD, ~£6.40 GBP). There was another customer there called Yasmin, who had Turkish roots, and we ended up having a great conversation about food. Now it was time for something sweet. I headed over to the well-known Karaköy Güllüoğlu - Nadir Güllü, a well-regarded baklava establishment. I tried 6 variations and every single one was excellent. This came to 458 lira (~$10 USD, ~£7.55 GBP). By this point it was getting late and I was well and truly satisfied, so I wrapped up the vlog at Galata Port. Main Locations Visited: 📍 Taksim Square (Meydanı) 34435 Beyoğlu/İstanbul, Türkiye 📍 Taksim Döner Katip Mustafa Çelebi, Sıraselviler Cd. No:2/B, 34433 Beyoğlu/İstanbul, Türkiye 📍 İstiklal Caddesi 📍 Beşaltı Kirvem Tantuni & Künefe Kemankeş Karamustafa Paşa, Mumhane Cd. No:37, 34425 Beyoğlu/İstanbul, Türkiye 📍 Karaköy Güllüoğlu — Nadir Güllü Kemankeş Karamustafa Paşa, Kemankeş Cd. No:67, 34425 Beyoğlu/İstanbul, Türkiye Chapters: 00:00 - Intro at Taksim Square 01:40 - Taksim Döner - Eating Wet Burger 05:06 - Walking through İstiklal Caddesi 09:50 - Beşaltı Tantuni - Eating Tantuni and Ayran 20:20 - Karaköy Güllüoğlu - Baklava If you enjoyed this one, liking, commenting and subscribing helps the channel grow more than you'd think. And if you want to go the extra mile, sharing it with a friend is massively appreciated. Follow me on: Instagram: instagram.com/ash.excursions TikTok: tiktok.com/@ashexcursions