It was a perfect weekend with the sun up in the sky as if the weather makes us, people in İstanbul, a favor to amend the recent cloudy days. No need to say we took advantage of the sunshine and allow ourselves to get the utmost enjoyment out of it by crossing over to the European side to walk around the ancient part of the city. However, we may never have known that everyone was planning the same. Let alone the heavy traffic on the road, there was even congestion on pedestrian sidewalks. I can still hear in my mind the old lady muttering “My good lord! Is there any blessed mortal staying at his home today?”

We were planning to attend the 11th International Istanbul Biennial after a walking tour around Karakoy and Eminonu (Spice Market for sure) and to treat our stomachs with a lavish meal right after feeding our souls thanks to the artistic feast at biennial. The title of the biennial was “What keeps mankind alive?” and scrutinized mainly the politics and economics which are intimately connected in the new world order we have all been living in.

One of the interesting artworks was Mladen Stilinovic’s “Nobody wants to see” and it was based on the fact that the three richest men in the world own as much as six hundred million of the poorest people. The artist visualized this fact by using a bulk of paper containing the number “3”printed six hundred million times and right across that hanging just one piece of paper with only one “3” printed on it. Another exciting point is that he also uses organic materials and food in his artworks which makes me admire him even more.

As for the politics, all time problematic relations in the Middle East region was playing the leading role without letting any other issue to overshadow its magnitude. The artist Jumana Emil Abboud’s video showing a woman’s hand obsessively trying to place the seeds of the pomegranate back into its shell emphasizes the fact that violent displacements cannot be amended easily.

Right after completing the biennial tour, we lost ourselves among Hamdi Restaurant’s special Turkish dishes till our stomachs were full up but even then it was impossible to resist mind blowing desserts of Karakoy Gulluoglu which was our next stop. We got one of the most tempting desserts in the shop with its green color due to lots of pistachio used in it. Its name was “bride’s purse” and I can give my word that I would love to marry anyone coming with that delicious little purse again and again.

A day brimmed with oriental flavors was over but I wanted to keep the taste in my mouth on the next day with a well known eastern recipe, hummus and harissa sauce from North African cuisine on top. As far as the biennial’s question is concerned, “Fine food keeps me alive.” is my answer.

Ingredients (makes 6-8 servings)
For the hummus

• 300g. (10.6 oz) boiled or canned chick peas (drained)
• 100g. (3,5 oz) tahini
• 2 garlic cloves (ground)
• 1 lemon’s juice
• 3 table spoons of virgin olive oil
• Sea salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

For the harissa sauce

• 2 roasted red peppers
• 2 g. (0,07 oz) cumin
• 3 sprigs of chive
• ½ table spoon of virgin olive oil
• 1 garlic clove (ground)
• Sea salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Additional cucumbers for serving

Instructions