All photos courtesy Bozkurt Karasu. Then it all started to be real during my high school years. My school was in Beyoglu, an old multi-cultural neighborhood famous for its meyhanes , bars and nightclubs and most importantly for its diverse population. And I started to hang out at night with my friends, discovering our own Istanbul.
We were not in a romantic movie anymoreโit was the real deal. Throughout the years I shared my table with directors, drug dealers, street musicians, workers, soldiers, fishermen and prostitutes.
Every night I witnessed the wonder of this milky, heavenly-smelling spirit bringing people together - sometimes to laugh, sometimes to cry, most of the time to argue about politics and soccer, and of course always to sing-along.
Almost every nation on the coast of the Mediterranean has their own anise-flavored spirit: pastis, absinthe, chinchon, sambuca, ouzo, arak and many more. If fresh grapes are used they are pressed, if raisins are used they are chopped to break their skin, mixed with water and left to ferment. Adding ethyl alcohol was a practice brought into the process during the WWII years purely to bring the cost down, but has remained in the recipe since then. After the master distiller takes the hearts he wants from the distilled spirit, it is diluted with water and sent to rest in stainless steel tanks, or for some rare expressions, in giant oak barrels, for three to four months before it gets bottled and find its way to our tables.
You add some water, its color turns to milky white and then top it with ice. The dinners are long in Turkey. Adjusting your pace without getting drunk in the middle of the night is a practice learned in years. Around when you start with your second glass, cold mezes start to arrive representing all the varieties from former Ottoman Empire territories: various fish dried and brined, tarama fish roe salad , fava bean puree, Circassian chicken shredded chicken breast with garlic and walnuts , hummus, pilaki white beans cooked in olive oil , haydari yogurt with garlic, mint, dill, parsley, etc.
