Bellihan Cafe - Two visits
An excellent cafe that delivers you the traditional Turkish tea and coffee experience in the heart of the grand bazaar.
We first visited this cafe seven years ago on our first visit to Istanbul via a cruise. We were delighted to stumble across the same cafe on our visit to the grand bazaar.
You are greeted with beautiful energy from the staff. It is the perfect location to enjoy a traditional Turkish Çay (black tea) and watch the hustle and bustle of the Grand Bazaar around you.
It is very popular with tourists, so you will find it busy most of the day, but the tables turn over rapidly, so you shouldn't need to wait.
We were also blessed to have experienced the Friday noon 'Call to Prayer' during this visit, where we were amidst the ritual. It was quite the experience to see over 100 local men surround us whilst they prayed. It was very peaceful and memorable.
While reminiscing, I found some pics from our first visit exploring the grand bazaar in 2014.