We were invited to a restaurant on the Asian side of Istanbul by some friends we meant in Capadocia, Emily and Neil. It had great trip advisor reviews, and made the top 200 restaurants in Europe list by a travel site that I can't remember right now. The restaurants name is Ciya but its pronounced chiya. [mapsmarker marker="2"]

A bit confusing at first, but after our waiters explained the process it all made sense. First, you go to what Americans think of as a salad bar. This self service bar had all sorts of interesting spreads, dips and cold items. This is payed for by weight, Berkley beat everyone's weight. Her plate cost 21 tl or about 12 dollars. Our eyes were a bit too big, we loaded our plates up, leaving very little room for the hot food that follows the salad bar. But that didn't stop us from ordering a wide variety of dishes. The food was good, but the fun of meeting fellow Americans who share our love of travel was refreshing.

[caption id="attachment_695" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Turkish restaurant on the Asian side of istanbul[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_696" align="aligncenter" width="500"] 21 tl worth of Turkish Salads[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_698" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Crispy chicken skin stuffed with rice and nuts, very good![/caption]

[caption id="attachment_700" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Berkley got to hold a baby bunny, also gets her fortune read after our meal was over.[/caption]