A day in Kreuzberg and Neukölln is like a day in Istanbul

Just recently after my Istanbul trip, my friend Simone and I discovered our mutual interest in Turkey, its culture and lifestyle. So, for my birthday she gave me a coupon for one "Turkish day" in Berlin. It may sound awkward to someone who hasn't visited the city yet, but Kreuzberg and Neukölln are for Berlin what Little Italy and Chinatown are for New York.

We started the day with an authentic Turkish breakfast at "La Femme" near the underground station Schönleinstrasse. A typical Turkish breakfast consists of cheese, slices of spicy Turkish sausage called sucuk, butter, olives, boiled eggs, tomatoes, cucumbers, jam (which is more syrupy and much sweeter than the jam we are used to), and honey. In addition to a breakfast platter which included all of the above we also ordered "menemen", which is prepared with roasted tomatoes, peppers, olive oil and eggs. Very yummy! But the best part of the breakfast were the simit (sesame "bagels") which are baked right there in the restaurant and spread an irresistible flavour all over the place. You can get them either plain and put the cheese and jam on it, or toasted with melted cheese on top. The waiter was in a super good mood and served us our black tea and Turkish coffee "with pleasure" and a big smile. By the way, the Turkish word for breakfast, kahvaltı, means "before coffee" (kahve, 'coffee'; altı, 'under').

From the filling morning meal we moved on to the shopping part. The streets are lined with all sorts of stores with cheap products from all over the world but Germany. If you are into filling your wardrobe with cheap and short-lived stuff this is the place for you! But there are also small Turkish stores and bigger supermarkets where you can get spices, nuts, dried fruits, Haloumi, Turkish coffee, sweets like Turkish Honey and Delight and even salep (my latest discovery of a sweet, hot winter drink).

After walking the entire Karl-Marx-Strasse up and down we filled out bags with fresh produce, bread and home-made cream cheeses (for example with dried tomatoes, eggplant, walnut, or saffron) at the Turkish market by the shores of Maybachufer. This market takes place every Tuesday and Friday from noon to 6pm and one can get produce for extremely little money while having the fun of joking and bargaining with the vendors just like in real Turkey.

I was surprised by how much Turkish lifestyle one can experience in Berlin without having to get on an airplane. Totally exhausted from the many international impressions we finished the day by relaxing with a coffee at the shores of Paul-Lincke-Ufer right opposite of the market where several restaurants line the canal.

Here are some pictures of the breakfast, a simit and the market.