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A closer look at Istanbul, through food
Food Trail Istanbul grew out of our work at Bonita Tour and our wish to give food a central place in the way we introduce Istanbul.
A palace can tell you how a city was ruled. A neighborhood bakery, a market counter or a shared table can tell you how people live. We created Food Trail Istanbul to bring those everyday stories into the journey: what people eat, how traditions travel, and why familiar dishes can mean different things from one neighborhood to the next.
Our food tours connect tastings with the streets around them. You might cross the water between neighborhoods, pause for tea, or discover an ingredient you have never tried before. Your guide helps make sense of what you encounter, leaving room for questions and conversation along the way.
Behind Food Trail Istanbul is Bonita Tour, the travel agency established in Turkey in 2010. Hatice and Fatih are part of its founding team. Food Trail brings a focused interest in Istanbul’s food culture to that agency background.
Hatice Kelek is a licensed professional guide and an Ege University graduate who speaks English, Spanish and Portuguese. Her interests in history and culinary heritage inform an approach that connects what guests taste with the people and traditions behind it.
When you contact Food Trail Istanbul, Hatice can help you choose an experience and discuss the details of your visit. Tours are led by licensed professional guides; requests for a particular guide are subject to availability.
Food is our specialty. Our private cultural tours and shore excursions share that same curiosity about Istanbul’s food traditions, alongside its history, landmarks and neighborhood life.
We would love you to leave with more than a list of dishes you have tried: a better understanding of Istanbul, and a few places you will want to return to.
Food Trail Istanbul — operated by Bonita Tour.
