Smells of Istanbul - Sense II

Every city has its own smell, or so I like to believe. Something of its culture that's spread out in the air. Something that you breath in and make a part of you. Istanbul's air is full of warmth. Even when the temperatures are low the air is warm with the smells of the welcoming city. 

The most distinct smell I encountered walking on the streets was the smell of Roasted Chestnuts. Chestnuts are a popular street food in Istanbul and you'll be able to find several of these carts roasting and selling them. Some of them also sell you roasted corn. The smell of that wood burning is a smell that dominates the streets, you can just smell the air and tell there's a chestnut cart close by. 

Coffee is the most distinguishable smell in the air of Istanbul. It is the first fragrance you are likely to recognize the moment you land at the airport. The streets are crowded with coffeehouses and the fragrance of coffee is a constant invitation to have some.  Throughout my trip in Istanbul, it seemed I was always craving coffee because I could smell it everywhere I went. 

I found Turkish coffee different from the regular Nescafe that I'm so used to having here in Karachi. The first thing you'll notice its not served in a mug, but a tiny little cup. They're like a shot of strong coffee, those few sips give you the right amount of a caffeine kick. The aroma of the coffee is heavenly; very concentrated. You're not going to be smelling anything besides this cup of coffee in front of you. Lastly it tastes great but it also doesn't dissolve completely, so you're going to find dregs at the bottom of your cup. 

The streets also smell of baked bread, and we all know how inviting that is. At the start of the day, when the bakeries are just opening their doors to the customers, the whole place smells of freshly baked bread, warm and steamy just out of an oven. The fragrance will linger in your mind and keep directing you to a Simit throughout the day as you go about exploring the city. And not until you've had one, will that craving go away. If you're wondering what a Simit is, it's a kind of bagel. It is available easily across the city on carts. The one on the carts aren't the same as the freshly baked ones that you smelled in the morning but it still satiates your want to have fresh baked bread.

Another fragrance that dominates the air is cooked lamb. Istanbul is famous for serving a variety of kebabs that you can easily smell walking around the streets. You'll also find doners being sold around that are the go to fast food for the Turks and the tourists visiting. These doners are filling and and smell heavenly. The smell (only if you're a non-vegetarian) is so inviting you want to drop everything and try out a doner.

Lemon was another fragrance dominating the air. Not naturally though. I smelled lemon in everything from soaps, disinfectants to hand sanitizers and I smelled so much of it thanks to Corona. But glad to have known things were being cleaned, surfaces being wiped, and you were being protected from others who they were being protected from you. The lemon made it pleasant to endure. 

Apart from all the food items that you're likely to smell, early morning, when the day is just beginning you'll be able to smell the sea. Of course, once the day has begun and other aromas and fragrances start dominating the scene, you're likely not going to smell the salty smell of the sea anymore. 

But the smell of the sea is a wonderful smell to begin the day with. 

More regularly you will smell the earth after it rains, that's how I knew it rained the previous night when I woke up the first morning after I arrived. The earth has a unique and universal way of smelling after it's been touched by rain. And the rain has the ability to show itself through more than one senses. 

We visited at the start of November that was the beginning of the rainy season in Istanbul, out of the 7 days we were there it rained almost 5 of those days. 

Have you experienced the smells of your city? Tell me what it smells like?