| The Pudding Shop | |
"How do you know where you are going
if you don’t know where you have been".
Like the study of history you can learn from the experiences of others. Look, listen,
learn and plan. Read, or place your own travel story or message.
What is the Pudding Shop?
Istanbul the bridge from Europe to Asia and for
centuries the great meeting point for travelers and traders alike. When overland travel really started to increase in the 1960’s, many
adventurous souls made what was then a more rugged trip, the great overland trek from
Europe to Australasia (or visa versa) via the Middle East, India, Nepal and South East
Asia. A small restaurant in the centre of Istanbul soon became a favourite meeting place,
not only for coffee and food (puddings what else), but to pin your travel related message
on the wall for other travelers to see. Here was the place to find a travel companion for
the longest and hardest section of the journey, someone to share the costs and thrill
with. Some travelers arrived with vans or old buses and this is where they found other
travelers to join them. Over many cups of local coffee, or tea you could find the latest
information from someone who had just arrived from the other direction.
Pre-dating another famous travellers information icon, the Thorn Tree Café in Nairobi (established in 1961), Idris Copan and his brother Namik opened Lale Pastahanesi in 1957. At this time The Pudding Shop was the only place in the area the adventurous could get direct transport to Asia and tourist information on Turkey
The tourists made The
Pudding Shop famous, using it as a meeting and message center. Idris Çolpan
explained that "pilgrims" travelling East, often driving old cars or Volkswagen
vans, would stop at his restaurant to meet new acquaintances and find other
travellers with whom to share expenses and experiences. The Çolpan brothers put
up a bulletin board to handle all the messages from people offering or hitching
riders to Europe or the Far East
The restaurant still
exists to this day, but know
longer functions as it did in the past. However, the name lingers on as a true icon of a
place to meet travelers and learn from their experiences. The original notice
board is preserved and is the first true 'Travelers Blog'.
So, sit back with your own cup of coffee or tea if you have it put on a CD of Turkish music and let you keyboard take you to the world via our PUDDING SHOP.
‘TRAVEL STORIES’ - here will be found a selection of travelogues sourced from all over the world. We welcome contributions from anyone, so if you have something of interest please send it to us by email.
Here are some stories. Enjoy....
Trans Russia by Motorbike
Blog
Ben
Madsen has started in Japan and is riding to Europe. We helped him
with the paperwork and start logistics. Follow his journey and maybe
you might do it one day. For more stories from travellers visit the
Pudding Shop.