deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum – deCordova Party for the Park 2014
Auction Ends: May 1, 2014 11:59 PM EDT

Travel

A truly once-in-a-lifetime art, food, and culture trip to Istanbul for four people

Item Number
7
Estimated Value
21000 USD
Opening Bid
14000 USD

Live Event Item

After the online close, this item went to a Live Event for further bidding. Absentee Bidding offered.

Item Description

Travel to Istanbul with Chef Ana Sortun, founder of Boston's renowned Turkish-inspired Oleana, Sofra, and Sarma restaurants, and deCordova Chief Curator Jennifer Gross as you culinary and cultural guides.

Istanbul is a city of bewildering contradictions: ancient and modern, western and Asian, religious and secular, familiar and exotic. As momentous as Rome, as captivating as Paris, and as exotic as Bangkok, Istanbul is a literal bridge between our ancient past and the multicultural future.

The only city that literally straddles Europe and Asia, Istanbul is layered with evidence of its status as the center of the Byzantine and Ottoman empires. Christian, Islamic, Greek Orthodox, and Jewish architecture, art, culture, and history are overlaid with one another in a way unlike any other city in the world. It is also a city of modern design and cuisine, exotic nightlife, and unforgettable experiences.

Chef Ana Sortun will take you exploring the street food, spice markets and food scene of this wondrous city. You'll discover the secrets of local cuisine during private tastings with wholesalers and artisanal producers, and even a private cooking class with Ana. Ana knows Istanbul like few other chefs, and will help you uncover the food and culture of Turkey as only she can. Along the way you'll eat at the very best restaurants Istanbul has to offer every evening.

Chief Curator Jennifer Gross will help explain the incredible art and architecture of Istanbul, old and new. You'll visit the Roman Cisterns, the Golden Horn and Topkapi Palace with its harems, and visit three of the most incredible works of ancient architecture in the world: the Blue Mosque, the Suleymaniye Mosque, and the Hagia Sophia. Istanbul has become the home to a thriving international art scene, and you'll also visit leading-edge contemporary galleries and private museums of contemporary art.

Along the way you'll have tons of fun—shopping the Grand Bazaar, visiting the most famous of all rug merchants, Sisko "Fat Man" Osman, enjoying afternoon Turkish coffee (and have your fortunes read in the grounds), drinking Raki, enjoying innovative Turkish/Asian fusion cuisine, and partaking in some of the most amazing nightlife available anywhere in the Mediterranean.

Winning bid includes 8 days/7 nights hotel for four at the luxurious Four Seasons Istanbul (two rooms), all food, experiences, local travel, and incidentals. To allow you to make travel plans as you may prefer, airfare is the responsibility of the winner. Dates to be arranged on a mutually agreeable date in Fall 2014 or Spring 2015.