Ultimate Istanbul Food Tour: Best Turkish Street Food | Epic Food Journeys with Mark Wiens | Nat Geo
Video Overview & Insights
Istanbul is the only city in the world spanning two continents, and the food is just as legendary as the geography. Join Mark Wiens as he takes on the 24-hour Istanbul food tour, hunting down the best Turkish street food, iconic Doner Kebab, and hidden gems from the European side to the Asian side, blending centuries of history with the rhythm of modern life.
Make sure to check out the rest of Epic Food Journeys Season 2 here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLivjPDlt6ApTpbLEIo78yO9hn7te9M4n3
Starting the day, Mark goes to Çakmak Kahvaltı Salonu to experience a full Turkish breakfast. It begins with the cold dishes of vegetables, cheeses, and kaymak - water buffalo cream, topped with local honey. Next comes the hot dishes including menemen (eggs scrambled with tomato sauce) and mıhlama (a trio of melted cheese), all washed down with tea.
Doner kebabs, the most well known Turkish food in the world, are fast, easy, delicious, and next on Mark's food tour. He travels to Karadeniz Döner Asım Ust, famous for their huge 200 kilo doner kebab filled with slices of beef flavored with lamb fat. Mark devours a tombik döner, a bread roll stuffed with doner kebab meat, pickles and tomatoes.
Ayvallah Bey!
From the European side of Istanbul, Mark takes a boat across the Bosphorus Strait to the Asian side of the city for his next meal. Yaşar Bafra Pide Salonu serves classic style Turkish pide, a dish of flatbread topped with butter, eggs, cheese, and sometimes a variety of preserved meats.
At lunch, Mark travels back to Europe to a restaurant called Köfteci Kadırgalı where he tries their signature cilveli kebab (lamb kebabs topped with tomato sauce, yoghurt, and melted butter), and one of the national dishes of Turkiye: kuru fasulye (white beans stew).
You sure can eat for a skinny guy. Good for you
Çiğ Köfteci Seyfettin Usta is a Turkish street food stall that serves Çiğ köfte, a mixture of bulgur wheat, tomato, chili paste, and spices. Mark hangs out with the owner as he kneads basketball sized balls of Çiğ köfte, mixing it with fresh herbs, and forming them into bite sized pieces.
The Grand Bazaar in Istanbul is often regarded as the world’s first covered shopping mall. Mark explores the bazaar and finds Cafe Şen, a local coffee shop to try Turkish coffee and Turkish delight.
I wana visit turkey for food ❤
Mark heads to Dürümcü Mustafa, experts in grilled kebabs, and most importantly durum kebabs. Adana lamb kebabs and chicken are marinated and grilled over hot fire and filled into thin bread with lettuce, peppers, cumin and sumac.
In the evening, Mark meets up with friend and TV host Ebru Erke to eat Turkish seafood at Balikci Sabahattin. The meal begins with cold meze - small shared dishes before the main course of grilled black sea salmon, and house specialty fried John Dory fish.
i will try the kokerech
Istanbul’s street food scene thrives as the night progresses. Mark visits Osmanlı Kokoreç to eat kokorec, lamb intestines and sweetbreads wrapped into a roll and grilled.
Finally, Mark meets up with Ahmet Çiçek, owner of Midyeci Ahmet, also known as the Lord of Mussels. Mark tries midye dolma, a famous Turkish street food of stuffed mussels, and one of his absolutely favorite foods to eat in Istanbul.
He wasn't ready for hug
Desperate old lady
The food in Istanbul is a reflection of its role as a gateway between East and West. This unique geography and its history as a global trade hub have created a culinary scene unlike any other.
Chapters 📚
just so awesome Turkish people and their hospitality
00:00 - Welcome to Istanbul
01:14 - Turkish Breakfast
fun fact for the people out there😉: el pastor taco based on shawarma, which was brought to mexico by lebanese back in 60s, which is based on döner kebab from back in the ottoman days. it was a cheap street food during those years (late 1800s-early 1900s) and it got into every kitchen, including greek with gyro or gyros. i love the vegan version of it cause i'm a vegan. 🥦
05:15 - Doner Kebabs
07:23 - Turkish Pide
Loved the show except for the robotic host. The host's exaggerated expressions and the constant sounds he made a bit irritating and distracting.
08:32 - Köfteci Kadırgalı
10:56 - Çiğ köfte
Türkiyeye Hoşgeldin mark
Rakıya dikkat et diğer içkilere benzemez evin yolunu bulamazsın
Kokoreç dünyanın en lezzetli yemeğidir
Afiyet olsun
12:50 - Grand Bazaar
14:26 - Dürümcü Mustafa
Genclerberligi
16:20 - Turkish Seafood
21:45 - Kokorec
In the Ottoman Empire, many nations coexisted on the same lands. They learned a lot from each other's cuisines. Over time, dishes evolved and began to take on more complex flavors. Since the most important centers of the Ottoman Empire were located in Anatolia, the culinary traditions of all these different nations were gathered there. The cuisines of Greeks, Armenians, Arabs, and many other nations mixed with one another. That is why when it comes to food, you can never beat Turkey. Because what you're facing is a culinary culture blended from many nations. You simply cannot defeat it. After the empire disappeared, Turkey inherited the legacy of Anatolia — a land that harmonized the culinary traditions of many nations. No cuisine in the world can ever beat Turkish cuisine — not now, not ever. To challenge it would mean waging a war against the culinary traditions of many nations all at once.
Whether you're European or Asian, when you visit Turkey, you’re guaranteed to find dishes that suit your taste. Turkey is neither purely Asian cuisine nor purely European; Turkey is a grand mixture. What you’re seeing is the culmination of centuries of culinary evolution from many different nations. The cuisine here has undergone incredible mutations.
23:39 - Lord of Mussels
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Türkiye'nin en iyi mutfağı Gaziantep de oraya da gitmenizi tavsiye ederim 😊
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Mera munh mn pani ara h 😂❤
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The only problem is inflation😂
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The east side of Istanbul is NOT Asia, it's Anatolia
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Welcome to İstanbul. Afiyet Olsun.
#NationalGeographic #EpicFoodJourneys #MarkWiens
About National Geographic:
same expression after every bite of every food in the world :P LOL the dude knows acting
National Geographic is the world's premium destination for critically acclaimed storytelling around science and exploration. Discover amazing wildlife, ancient civilizations, hidden worlds, and the incredible wonders of our Earth. Through world-class scientists, photographers, journalists, and filmmakers, Nat Geo inspires fans of all ages to connect with, explore, and care about the world.
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Dostum gerçekten mutlu görünüyorsun Türkiye'yi sevmiş olmalısın😂
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24:09 Bak esnaf budur görüyor musun. nasıl karşılıyor adamı. Bide karadeniz dönercisindeki ustaya bak. te allahım ya. 06:34
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Mark is one of those big youtubers who wont need some turkish hairline.
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i will definetely go to istanbul :))!!!
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Ultimate Istanbul Food Tour: Best Turkish Street Food | Epic Food Journeys with Mark Wiens | Nat Geo
I think that the top 4 cuisines are Chinese, Japanese, turkey and mexican
https://youtu.be/qNwMZ8Sdon8
National Geographic
Turkish cuisine is a science in Türkiye
youtube.com/natgeo
looking at the breakfast spread can't help wonder about the food wastage part
More User Perspectives
I'm just wondering if there has been a situation where Mark doesn't "hum" after biting into some food...I've never seen it...🤣
@sirlener.r.magalhaes2630How can you eat so much and stay thin 😊 ??
@rangvi1956I wanna go back to Istanbul! I miss it and the foods are really delicious.
@jadenrukzI hate the usa 😊
@candacecanamucio3505I watching with my son until you drink alcohol at the fish restaurant. 👎🏻👎🏻👎🏻👎🏻👎🏻👎🏻👎🏻👎🏻👎🏻👎🏻👎🏻👎🏻👎🏻
@Sbhrzgr.❤❤❤❤
@amazingvideos1700going again this summer, one of my favourite cities
@cr3amyn3ll66Cool that you stay slim.
@SynkeWagner-s4yTurkish cuisine is loved worldwide because it reflects six centuries of imperial culinary refinement, cultural heritage, and extraordinary geographic abundance. From the Mediterranean and Aegean to the Black Sea and Anatolia, Türkiye’s diverse climates and fertile lands offer exceptional ingredients year-round. The result is a cuisine that is incredibly varied, deeply flavorful, often healthy, and built on craftsmanship, hospitality, and proud food traditions. You will be astonished how clean and neet the cafeshops and restaurants are even in the busiest districts. Food is always served with wet towels with lemon 🍋 🩵
@sirinkocaCongratulations mark on teaming with National Geographic channel. What a dream come true for most. ❤
@Oceangrace90Dünyanın en iyi yemekleri
1) Türkiye
2) Azerbaycan
3) Özbekistan
4) Uygur
5) İtalyan
6) İspanyol
7) İran
Aşağıda saçmalayan arkadaşlara istinaden bir bilgi vermek istiyorum. Meyhane kültürü bizde vardır, kadın erkek gider rakımızı içer soğuk mezemizi yer sonrasında ara sıcak sonra ana yemek meyve tabağı tatlı şeklinde akşamı bitiririz. Bunu bazen muhabbet ederek bazen de müzik eşliğinde şarkı söyleyerek veya dans ederek yaparız. Sonrasında gece de acıkıp bir güzel üstüne kokoreçimizi midyemizi yeriz. Bu bizim kültürümüz. Türkiye, bazı kısıtlı yerkerde yaşayıp da herkesi Müslüman zanneden tiplerin söylediği gibi bir ülke değildir. Burda din ve devlet işlerinden ayrıdır ve biz bu LAİK ülkeyi korumak için böyle tiplerle mücadele halindeyiz. Ve inanır mısınız biz sokaklarda, çimenlerde, sahillerde her alanda alkol alabiliyoruz ve alırız da.
@diyarguler6657En guzel döner erzincanda
@jadejade8543çiğköftecinin burnunu koluna silmesi...
@CanTurgaySızır-v1ogosh I'd die happy if I live here and surrounded by food
@RiverCityTransitI've travelled the entire galaxy, Turkish food is still the best. Even better than food on the moon!
@ishycWow natgeo mark wiens collab - the best collab
@genesisabelGuacala……..disgusting.
@NancyRamirez-444Well I'm Turkish and I'm gonna tell you one thing; every time you taste a food I was feeling it too. The sincerity +(professionalism) in this video is like a lesson. It was so fun to watch. Thank you.
@bahadircolakTürkiye is a food paradise.😋 If we were separated for 3 months, we would starve to death. 😦
I hope you liked it too Mark.
Enjoy your meal!🙂👋🙏
Mark you are fantastic👏👏👏👏❤️🧿🇹🇷
@leventutin6405Welcome to our country Jim carrey
@ikk997We do not call it Asian side. We call it Anadolu (Anatolia), which means land full with mothers.
@circrnaIn hungry 😋 now , look delicious
@k.s5889