Istanbul | Heritage Lab

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BEGÜM: So, was there a meatball shop here before?

İSMAİL TİMUR BEY: No, i don’t know if you know, the Sultanahmet was the center of Istanbul. Everything was Sultanahmet and everywhere was Sultanahmet. All newspapers, furnishings, and clothing centers were in Sultanahmet and its surroundings. They call it inside the wall. It was the center of Istanbul. But somehow here was touristic. I guess it also was touristic back in those times. It used to be a place where people lived, but not now. Currently touristy. The name of the road is divan(sultan) road, it is called the road to the palace.

BEGÜM: Do you have any connection with Inegöl, considering you said there was never a kebab restaurant here before?

İSMAİL TİMUR BEY: No, my great-grandfather's father was from East Turkistan. He comes from Kashgar, a region currently under Chinese oppression. The meatball he first made was similar to the meatballs from that region. They still use the same recipe, but the format has changed. Previously, with only 30-40 customers per day, the meatballs were served on skewers. As customer numbers increased, the format was changed to individual servings. The recipe he brought is traditional and he brought it from there to here. I later met with Coskun Aral and he said that your meatballs reminded him of the meatballs from there. So, it seems that my great-grandfather's father brought a traditional dish from there to here.

NURCAN: Do they come directly from there or are they from there?

İSMAİL TİMUR BEY: His grandfather's father came here as a child by himself. At that time, he was setting out for the pilgrimage. At that time, the pilgrimage route seems to have passed through Istanbul, there was something like that. When you leave China, there is transit through Istanbul, not directly to Arabia. Then the First World War breaks out in Istanbul and he stays here. After staying here, he begins to grow his life and settle down.

NURCAN: Did he start by opening the shop?

İSMAİL TİMUR BEY: No, as I said earlier, he starts by working in printing presses. This place used to be the center of journalism and printing. He starts working there and then he wants to open his own shop and chooses to sell meatballs. He rents the front of a coal shop and sells meatballs in front while coal is sold at the back. The business starts. Not here, but follow this road, there's the Yerebatan Cistern which has a million stones. The shops were in front of that million stones. I don't remember. It was expropriated later. The million stones were inside the shops. For example, they used to lower baskets into the Yerebatan Cistern like a refrigerator so that perishable food items like meat wouldn't spoil because it was cold and humid. He rented the front of a coal shop that supplies coal to homes and businesses.

NURCAN: So it might have been the location where the current sidewalk is.

İSMAİL TİMUR BEY: Yes, it was the location of that sidewalk. It can also be seen in the old photos, even inside the store.

NURCAN: So what about Inegol Meatball?

İSMAİL TİMUR BEY: We don't have any relationship with Inegol Meatball, but every region has its own type of Kofta. Every mother has her own way of making meatballs. The meatball my mother makes is different from the meatball your mother makes, even though they make the same thing, there is a difference in taste. I respect Inegol Meatball and Tekirdağ Meatball.

NURCAN: The thing you call Sultanahmet meatball has always been referred to as İnegöl meatball.

İSMAİL TİMUR BEY: No, that's not true. We don't have any relationship with Inegol Meatball. As I said, every region has its own unique Kofta. As a meatball maker, I feel obligated to try the unique Meatballs of any region I visit, but I love Meatball and I want to try the best Meatball in any place I visit. They say "Are you feeding Meatball to a Meatball maker?" but let's have a Meatball here. Let's taste it.

NURCAN: Is there garlic in it? Is there any difference in the Meatball?

İSMAİL TİMUR BEY: No, there are no spices. Zero spices.

NURCAN: So you're not going to give us the secret?

İSMAİL TİMUR BEY: Even if I give it to you, you won't be able to do it. This is a 100-year-old shop and many people have left and opened their own shops, but failed. Even if I give it to you, you won't be able to do it.

NURCAN: But there must be a secret tip because when you say Sultanahmet Meatball, it means something.

İSMAİL TİMUR BEY: The fact that the secret tip is not important. I can tell you the ingredients right now. You can go home and make it, but it won't be like the Meatball here. I know that. Many people have left here and opened their own shops, but failed. I know that. One of our 20-year-old employees left, opened a shop, and came back and said, "We failed." and you will fail too.