Many work in textile factories in and around KuЕџtepe, and Deej provides them with an affordable taste of home. Following a 2004-change to the law, Mongolians can stay in Turkey for 30 days visa-free, and more and more have come to Istanbul to pursue a different life or job opportunities. GГјzeldemirci moved to Istanbul in 1999 after marrying a Turk, and worked for many years in the small-business sector before founding the MoДџolistan Dostluk DerneДџi (Mongolia Friendship Society), a nonprofit that works as an all-around resource for Mongolian expats in the city. Deej means the sacred root, the source of life itself вЂ“ and it is certainly a source of life for IstanbulвЂ™s 5,000-strong Mongolian community. The restaurantвЂ™s name comes from a Mongolian practice of pouring the first portion of suutei tsai, or milk tea, to nature in an offering. Tourists visiting Istanbul or residents returning from visiting family often bring them here in their luggage to be sold and shared amongst the community. вЂњThese might seem simple, but these are the things we use every day, the things we miss most when we are far from home,вЂќ GГјzeldemirci tells us, gesturing to the packets of tea, noodles and herbal medicines lining the shelves behind her. With the help of our Mongolian-speaking friend Anu, we chatted with her on a subsequent visit as the kitchen staff were unpacking the latest shipment of Mongolian groceries for sale.

We struck up a conversation with a Mongolian tourist: She was freshly arrived in Istanbul and had ventured out of the historic old town just to pick up some familiar snacks for her day of sightseeing.Дeej is the brainchild of Munkhmaa, who also goes by her Turkish name, MГјge GГјzeldemirci. But as afternoon set in, people trickled through for a quick meal, a friendly chat, or some khuushuur (a sort of meat-filled empanada) and mantuun buuz (dumplings) to go. The place was empty apart from the woman at the counter and two young men wolfing down a plate of meat and rice at a corner table. The smells emanating from the kitchen, however, quickly drew us in.

Hesitant at first, we scouted around the outside вЂ“ the restaurant is tucked into a side street, flanked by a shipping office and a construction site, and does not appear to exist on Google Maps. The red storefront and Cyrillic lettering made it clear this was not just another kebab shop.

We first spotted it from the window of a moving bus while on another residence permit-related errand. Hidden in the small, nondescript streets of the KuЕџtepe neighborhood, just beyond the bustle of the MecidiyekГ¶y metrobus stop and pamphlet-pushing youths desperate to sell you English lessons, sits Р”СЌСЌР¶ or вЂњDeej,вЂќ one of the few Mongolian restaurants in Istanbul.

Buuz mongolian keyboard