Alan S.
Yelp
Sevda Gazozcusu has done a great sevap (sawab in Urdu; mitzvah in New York English) in amalgamating the fantastic and nostalgic regional sodas of the country in one place, right here in Vefa. This little street has become a bit of a destination for the nostalgic of İstanbul - anyone who enjoyed Pamuk's Kafamda bir Tuhaflık will want to sample the boza across the street, and a traditional preparation of helva is available next door as well.
In any case, I came here with a very specific purchase in mind, which was nar gazozu (pomegranate soda), produced locally on the Datça peninsula. The Datça brand is more famous for their badem gazozu (almond soda), making use of one of the peninsula's most famous exports, but I find the pomegranate soda to be their tastiest offering. I doubt this soda is available anywhere else outside of Datça other than at Sevda, so props for that. There are other local offerings worth sampling, such as a variety of products made in the city by the Beyoğlu brand.
Bugünler, yani yenileştirme projecelerin yüzünde ve saçma Galataport açıktan sonra İstanbul çok değişiyor ve eski Karaköy gibi mahalleleri çok özlüyorum. Bi tarafta şimdilik Tarlabaşı'da ve Balat içisinde turistler geziyor, öteki tarafta sadece namaz kılmak için Ayasofyanın içine geçebilirsiniz. Hatırladığım İstanbul'un bi parcasını Sevda Gazozcusu korusun.