Istan Bull

If you had always thought a kebab was a rather dodgy excuse for spit-roasted meat best savoured with the benefit of beer goggles, then you could not have been more mistaken. According to the proprietor of Bistro Amedros in Istanbul, kebab means 'very tasty'. It is not what the guidebook says, but nevertheless it seems a fitting footnote for Istanbul: a city that turns visitors misconceptions about Turkey, its people and its cuisine completely on their head.