Turkish Market, BerlinMaybe you're a new resident of Berlin still finding out where to shop, or perhaps you're just a visitor who wants to see something of real Berlin street life beyond the fakery of Checkpoint Charlie with its ersatz cold war era uniforms.
Either way, you should take a trip to Maybachufer on the bank of one of Berlin's picturesque canals on a Tuesday or Thursday. Midway between the U-Bahn stops of Kottbusser Tor and Schönlein Strasse on U8 and a thirty minute walk from Gendarmenmarkt, you will find a wonderfully colourful evocation of Berlin's multi-kulti life. Selling a fantastic range of fresh fruit and vegetables at supermarket bankrupting prices alongside every possible haberdashery need, gorgeous hand made breads, perfumes from the Orient and street food to enjoy on the spot, usually accompanied by music from a variety of buskers and all in the shadow of elegant Judendstil era architecture. |
Berlin is now home to the world's largest Turkish community outside Turkey (some 200,000 strong). The Turkish guest workers were such a vital part of German'y post-war reconstruction and subsequent economic success that it is impossible to imagine Germany without it's largest ethnic minority group. When the wall came down in 1989 there was work to be done in modernising the showpiece capital of the Bundesrepublik and opportunities to be had so there has been a huge migration here, which brought such colour and flavour to the old Prussian city. If, like me, you like to cook lots of Malaysian style dishes with warm spices, if you like hand-made breads, if you like buying flavourful melons at 2 per Euro, beating the inflated prices for rock-hard tasteless supermarket fruit, why are you waiting? The Turkish market in Berlin is a great day out and a fantastic place to buy a tasty dinner (much better and cheaper than room service). |