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Kurtulus Tour: Culinary Delights and Artisan Visits
5.0
37 Ratings
Şişli
Embark on a culinary adventure through Istanbul’s Kurtulus neighborhood. Indulge in delicious breakfasts, heavenly dairy delights, meze samples, kebabs, street food, and more!
Embark on a culinary adventure through Istanbul’s Kurtulus neighborhood. Indulge in delicious breakfasts, heavenly dairy delights, meze samples, kebabs, street food, and more!
Duration:
5 hours
Cancellation:
24 hours
Highlights
- Kurtulus - Far from the tourist trail, get a taste of one of the last bastions of classic Istanbul flavors, including bread fresh from the tandir oven, a mind-boggling assortment of meze, sizzling kebab, old school ice cream and much more. On this full-day food tour, we will dig deep into the culinary traditions of one of Istanbul’s most culturally diverse and food-centric neighborhoods.
- Kurtulus - Far from the tourist trail, get a taste of one of the last bastions of classic Istanbul flavors, including bread fresh from the tandir oven, a mind-boggling assortment of meze, sizzling kebab, old school ice cream and much more. On this full-day food tour, we will dig deep into the culinary traditions of one of Istanbul’s most culturally diverse and food-centric neighborhoods.
What's Included
- Breakfast
- Lunch
- Snacks
- Breakfast
- Lunch
- Snacks
What's Not Included
- Private transportation
- Private transportation
Additional Information
Our Kurtulus tour starts with an exclusive visit to a sports club belonging to that historic community, where we’ll have our first breakfast, followed by a stop for the heavenly dairy delights of Erzincan. We’ll walk off breakfast with visits to local artisans
- artichoke peelers, cuckoo clock repairmen, Armenian book venders
- as then begin grazing on…
Our Kurtulus tour starts with an exclusive visit to a sports club belonging to that historic community, where we’ll have our first breakfast, followed by a stop for the heavenly dairy delights of Erzincan. We’ll walk off breakfast with visits to local artisans
- artichoke peelers, cuckoo clock repairmen, Armenian book venders
- as then begin grazing on our way to lunch. There will be stunning meze samples, including top-grade stuffed vine leaves and topik, a classic Armenian speciality. Down the street, kebabs at a real-deal grill house will arrive sizzling, fresh from the fire. Along the way, we’ll sample street food from the Mediterranean port city of Mersin and share a couple plates of the daily special in a cozy family-run lokanta. Depending on the season, there may be boza, a fermented millet drink with Ottoman roots, or Turkish-style ice cream at a beloved dairy bar run by the third generation of a local family.
Location
Açık Yol Sk. No:2
Açık Yol Sokak
The meeting point is in front of the Carrefour Supermarket, Feriköy, Açık Yol Sk. 2-6, 34377 Şişli.
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
5.0
(37 Ratings)
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Sfffg
Dec 14, 2025
Don't miss the Kurtulus tour! Top-quality guide. Not a tourist in sight, enjoy both street life & 'behind the scenes' - Ugur was an excellent guide; his 12 years of experience came through in his depth of knowledge, his flexibility and enthusiasm. It was a real treat to be taken around the neighborhood where he's lived for many years, where we didn't see a single tourist in six hours, and where Ugur's research helped reveal so many waves of history, migration and food culture -- all within a single neighbourhood. The variety of foods he introduced me to, in such a rich mix of settings (social clubs, markets, shopfronts, white table cloth spaces, simple bakeries) in spaces not possible to enter without an 'insider', with so much context …. an my absolute DREAM day. Thank you Ugur, and Backstreets!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Tourist08700651527
Dec 9, 2025
Culinary and culture perfectly combined - Rarely have I learned so much about the city of Istanbul, its history, the minorities and living together in Kurtulus in such a short time as on this food tour (yes, we ate well too). Ramziye as a tour guide was very lucky! She knows how to inspire with her great knowledge. After 3 years in Istanbul, the food was not new to us, but rarely before have we experienced such a quality with so much taste.
Thank you! It was great!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
L2204jealexandrai
Oct 29, 2025
Excellent tour of Kurtulus - We had the excellent Katarina as our guide, who made us feel at home in Kurtulus.
Our tour ran over by about an hour, making it very long, but this is my only negative comment. Overall it was a brilliant tour and opened up an area of Istanbul we would have never otherwise visited with fascinating food, culture and history stories.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
503lindai
Oct 26, 2025
Fabulous insight into an area with fascinating history. - We had a fabulous day exploring the area of Kurtulus with our fantastic guide Katerina. Being shown this interesting neighbourhood by a local made it so interesting. I can’t recommend highly enough.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Albtraveler1
Oct 22, 2025
An absolute must-do in Istanbul - What an incredibly enjoyable experience getting to know the backstreets of a lesser known neighborhood in Istanbul! Our guide Esin was vibrant, fun and personable and knew literally everyone on the street. We got to meet vendors, see hidden gems in the area, learn about the cultural history and architecture of the area and come to understand Turkish culture all while snacking our way through the experience. 10 of 10! I highly recommend this tour during your time in Istanbul.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Harrietwf
Oct 15, 2025
Just so good - Ugur was fun, knowledgeable, informative and totally charming. The tour took us to places we would never have ventured or known about, as we would have hoped, and it was a special part of our trip. Wonderful insight and tastes of different cultures' food and life. I thoroughly recommend this tour and Ugur to others and it left us wanting to try out many more tours not just in Istanbul but in other countries too. Just so good.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Roving60289
Oct 7, 2025
Interesting and delicious time in Kurtulus - Esin was a wonderful guide. She knew so many people in the Kurtulus neighborhood and also the history of the area. The time with her was fun and the food was delicious.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
B6132ripetrap
Oct 4, 2025
Cooking workshop Turkish cuisine in Istanbul - At the end of September I did a very nice cooking workshop, where we made some typical Turkish dishes, simple but delicious in taste thanks to the good ingredients.
Very suitable to participate as a solo traveler, you meet fellow travelers and enjoy the homemade meal together.
Prior to cooking, we did a small tour of the neighborhood, where we were explained the different street food. This makes you look differently at what is on offer on the street and try new things
I still like to receive the recipes, so I can recreate it at home
Review provided by Tripadvisor
915ingridc
Oct 1, 2025
Strolling Kurtuluş - Remsiye was a terrific guide: knowledgeable, easy to understand, and cares deeply about both her guests and the people she introduced us to. The neighborhood was unfamiliar to us and in a part of the city we wouldn’t normally have visited. Each of the stops was interesting and the mix was balanced. The food was delicious and satisfying. We both enjoyed our day and look forward to doing another tour with Culinary Backstreets.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Natashae668
Aug 28, 2025
Delightful food tour of Kurtulus - Wonderful tour guide Ugur was so knowledgeable about the area and food and made the experience very enjoyable. Delicious dishes and plenty to eat and drink. Would highly recommend!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
