This week, the spotlight is on my hometown, Istanbul, as I happen to be visiting for a couple of days and interviewing vegan bakery owners, runners, academics, as well as non-vegan chefs, bartenders, and baristas—with a few questions in mind: Is Istanbul vegan-friendly? Is it expensive to be vegan in Istanbul, or is it just expensive to eat out in general? In a city where soups are served with a side of garlic vinegar, is it possible to find one without bone broth or butter? And the most important of all: What would be the vegan snack in Istanbul?

My first day started with a simit from Galata Square. Often referred to as the Turkish bagel, simit is sold by street vendors in glass display carts in almost every neighborhood and is a go-to snack at any time of the day. From Galata, I walked in the direction of Cihangir, with a craving in my gut: poğaça. Many vegans may have forgotten about it, as it is traditionally made with animal products such as yogurt, milk and egg to give it its fluffy texture. However, a vegan version can be found in the vegan breakfast plate at Kahve6. As the day progressed, the next stop happened to be Asmalı Cavit, my favorite meyhane, a traditional Turkish pub, similar to a public house or bistro where we gather around a table to share small portions of food known as meze; laugh, discuss, or sing along with the musicians.

The final touch, when I got home, was boza, the winter drink made from fermented grains like wheat, corn, or millet which is known as a remedy for stomach aches and next-day hangovers. While it's mostly sold in stores today, during my childhood, we would hear the call of "Bozacıııı" at night, echoing through the streets. Carrying a copper pitcher, the bozacı (boza seller) would call out, and people would shout from their windows to catch him.

For more veganized versions of Istanbul snacks such as pide, tantuni, kumru, mantı, burger check out my article The 12 Best Vegan Places at Dig In İstanbul. Come back next week for more deep dives into Istanbul’s vegan scene—and maybe (hopefully) some new findings.

The search continues.

Here’s a sneak peek at our twelfth issue before you dive in:

The Place: A sustainable school's cafeteria: Postane.
The News: Dig Into İstanbul’s vegan hubs.
The Recipe: The food designer who changes the chemistry of things: Ceyda Artun.
The Plate: To you, it might be Turkish pizza; to us, it’s pide eaten at Vegan Masa.

If you’re just joining us, here’s a link to our previous issues. Send me your questions about veganism at [email protected] so I can research, dig deeper, and come up with some mind-opening thoughts.

Hazal

A Sustainable School's Cafeteria: Postane

Words by: Hazal Yılmaz

Can a building hold on to memories? Can memories seep into the concrete, the bricks, the metal, or the steel, and live on for years, decades, or centuries? Can one, while sitting on a chair waiting for lunch to begin, commemorate a past they haven’t lived or experienced, yet imagine a future—one that might actually surpass one’s temporary life? I believe one can, if they are in Postane.

After the Crimean War of 1853-1856, as British visibility in Istanbul, particularly in Galata, increases, the British Post Minister requests the construction of a new building. Designed by architect and engineer Joseph Nadin, the British Post Office building—where I am currently sitting, watching the menu being written on the blackboard—opens its doors on October 15, 1859, and serves for correspondence until 1895. Ten years after the closure of the post office, the facility becomes home to the English High School for Boys, the first trade school in Istanbul.

In 1931, the Çukran family buys the complex from the British, until 1982, the upper floors are residential, like many similar buildings in the area, while the ground floor functions as a carpentry shop. Later, the building is registered as a historical monument under the ownership of the Sarıboğa family and remains idle. In 1995, Kenan Ormanlar buys and renovates it to its current appearance before it becomes Postane, the hub as we know it today. During the entire repair process, Postane functions as an open construction site, striving to involve local residents and the future community. The flooring continues its life as plant beds on the terrace, and steel cabinets become greenhouses. Today, I am sitting on the ground floor, where the café resides, my back against the wall, ordering an eggplant dish with sumac flavor, accompanied by rice and pickles, I become a part of audible history.

Postane is many things. It’s a garden where experts from İyiEkim (Good Harvest) shed light on urban gardening from their terrace, with a panorama of Galata Tower in the background. The same products used in these sessions later appear on Postane Café's plates. It’s a shop where you can buy or sell products that adhere to fair trade principles and address social, cultural, and environmental issues—whether defending children’s right to play, providing financial opportunities for women who can only work from home, or creating innovative products through upcycling. It’s an exhibition space where Postane: Archaeology of a Building presents a selection from the memory of the Postane building through sound recordings accessible through QR codes. It’s a library where you can find books, fanzines, newspapers, and journals specifically about urban and environmental studies. Please flip through the pages of Beyond Istanbul. It’s an auditorium where you can participate in Creative Mornings or after-work talks about Fair Food Rights, or attend film screenings focused on solidarity in Gaza. It’s also an institute where you can work on projects that receive grants through funding.

To me, Postane is the local alma mater where I can meet fellow scholars during lunch hour, learn about page-turning writers or forward-thinking projects from impromptu speeches, become an active participant in a world seeking better solutions, get inspired, get nourished, get cultured, and grow broader. As a resident of Camekan Sokak, the street that leads to Kamondo Stairs and then to the vapur, yes, I’m lucky like that.

My favorite: Ağın chickpeas sold at the pantry.

Word of mouth: Postane Cafe is also a solidarity space that supports disadvantaged communities through a pay-it-forward meal program. You can buy an “Askıda Yemek” to contribute to this mission. Also, the water is free here because access to water is a human right.

Heads up: This space is mostly vegan but also vegetarian-friendly because they believe in the importance of supporting local producers. Make sure to ask about the daily menu before ordering.

Adress: Bereketzade, Camekan Sk. No.9, 34421 Beyoğlu/İstanbul

Dig Into İstanbul’s vegan hubs

Being in Istanbul means chasing aromas drifting through the streets — coffee roasting on sand, molasses-coated simit taken straight from a wood-fired oven, and cumin rising from salads made on the spot. In summer, the scent of freshly cut watermelon takes over, while winter brings the smoke of grilled chestnuts and the cinnamony aroma of boza, the beloved fermented drink. While Istanbul is often seen as a kebap capital, we place our faith in the hometown. If you’re a vegan who shares an enthusiasm for scrumptious food, we know a place, or perhaps many, that won’t let you down. And luckily for you, we've written them down for Dig In Istanbul.

Here is the link to the 12 Best Vegan Places in İstanbul.

The food designer who changes the chemistry of things: Ceyda Artun

Ceyda grew up in a large family in Urfa, where her relatives worked on the construction of the Atatürk Dam. She was raised in a farmhouse where pasta was handmade, the dining table was the heart of conversation and laughter, and life revolved around food and food related topics such as how to separate waste. In later years, she earned her undergraduate degree from Bilkent University’s Faculty of Communication and later pursued a master’s in graphic design at Eskişehir Anadolu University, eventually becoming a lecturer. However, various health issues led her to question symptomatic medicine, read more, grow increasingly curious, and ultimately, after 5 years in the academics, leave it to study plant-based cuisine at Matthew Kenney’s PlantLab on a scholarship. She may have left the university, but she carried the institute within her.

While exploring ideas for workshops under the cooks in residency concept, private dining events with international chefs, and culinary publications opportunities at Bodrum, she crossed paths with Ayşe (Köroğlu), who had studied at the same school. This connection led her to Istanbul and to Aishatelier, where they combined and expanded their dreams. Together, they created a physical space dedicated to plant-based workshops and culinary design. Though the pandemic allowed them to stay afloat for a while by delivering plant-based meal kits, they ultimately decided to close the space in the middle of the pandemic.

Ceyda loves to create. She’s one of those people who, the more they produce, the more they feel the need to share. Social media content production alone wasn’t enough to satisfy her drive to spread knowledge. So, alongside her close friend Setenay, a texture designer, she founded Sanki inside an old coffeehouse in Vişnezade. After an extensive renovation process—and heartfelt thanks from local women in the neighborhood—Sanki became more than just an atelier. It evolved into an interdisciplinary space. A meeting place, a kitchen, not a restaurant, but a tasting hub. Sanki became a brand. Under Sanki’s roof, where everything revolved around the kitchen, each creation is guided by the principles of sustainability, plant-based nutrition, and eco-friendliness. Sanki Atölye continues to create as Sanki Kreatif these days.

I met Ceyda in March 2024, when The Vegan Gazette was still just an idea in my mind, on the first floor of Sanki Atölye, during the final days before its closure to make way for new dreams. Sitting at a table facing the street, in the middle of a lively conversation, I got to know her over carrot-smoked salmon canapés—so good they could convince anyone to go vegan.

To feature Ceyda’s story in The Vegan, I need to catch up on the past year. The future of the fermentation workshops she has created in carefully selected venues like Beykoz Kundura, and the content of her One Carnivore, One Herbivore dining series with Mösyö Şokola on Sundays, are just some of the questions I need to ask to bridge the gap.

But to pique the interest of the can’t-give-up-kebab club, I’d love to share her writings on the plant-based mixtures she uses in dishes like karnıyarık, köfte, lahmacun, and burgers. For those who miss traditional flavors, her video on handmade vegan spinach and tofu börek would be a great addition. And for those tired of making lentil soup, her recipe for transforming lentils into tofu is a must-share.