Real Turkish traditional ice cream isn’t like other ice cream. It is creamy and has a flower flavor. The most famous one and the most flavor-rich one is maraş dondurmasi. Made with salep, the ground-up roots of a wild orchid native to Turkey. And Turkish ice cream vendors are not like any other vendor you find in your neighborhood. turkish ice cream vendors are famous for their tricks, playing and messing around with customers. They simply love to laugh and spread joy.

While walking in Istiklal Street in Taksim or beside the Bosphorus at Ortakoy Square, you will definitely find on the street-side a  couple or more vendors serving ice cream from behind carts and messing around with customers in laughter. Well,  enjoying the wide variety of scrumptious ice cream in the summer months is a tradition in Istanbul. But, what makes it a different experience is the fun time that every customer experiences while waiting for an ice cream cone, it has become a Turkish tradition to give trick shows for customers waiting in line. This is mainly to attract more customers if not to buy then to watch! No worries, they will definitely come back to buy one day.

Ice Cream Vendors Tricks:

When you visit an ice cream shop you will find a cart in front of it and a vendor knead and pounds away at the dessert all day with long metal rods, working it like a bread dough ice cream in the cart, The salesmen wear regional dress costumes from the Kahramanmaraş area which is the origin of Turkish traditional ice cream. And when you come to buy a scoop, the vendor breaks out their showoff and put on an act, utilizing the peculiar qualities of dondurma to perform a seamless series of magic tricks.

Now, You have to work for your cone while laughing and having fun. The vendor will start a competition between you and him, you can actually touch the cone or even hold it but never take it, every single time the vendor will trick you with a move of him.
He will let you think that it’s about to fall down, stick it to your nose, and confuse you with his tricks.
Whenever you think you are closer to his ice cream cone, the vendor would definitely fake you out with another trick. It is a lesson in patience.
You can also trick him if you want! Vendors are expert at tricking but if your less, you can flip the competition over and win the game.

Although you will find a lot of ice cream vendors during summer time in istanbul but, here are the most famous ice cream shops in Istanbul.

Dondurmaci Ali Usta:

Located in Kadikoy and serve ice cream in both summer and winter since 1969, Dondurmacı Ali Usta serves up 30 different traditional Turkish flavors such as Santa Maria, Hazelnut, strawberry, and Melon, and pours scoops into warm mugs of salep in the winter months to add a smooth warm flavor to the ice cream.

Mini Dondurma:

You can know it from its name, the smallest and tiniest ice cream shop in Turkey, it is almost four square meters overall! they have their own flavor which is a signature of them, caramel, mastic, raspberry, and many other flavors served to customers in Bebek, On the Bosphorus basin.

Dondurmaci Yaşar Usta:

A classic Turkish ice cream shop. Besides the great flavor, they produce such as red plum, chestnut, carrot, tahin, and tomato! What makes it famous is that it uses no preservatives and only fresh fruits and flavors.
Yaşar usta has been serving Istanbul since 1962 in Bostancı, They have since branched out to seven different locations in Kadıköy, Bağdat Caddesi, Koşuyolu, Cihangir, 4. Levent and Bakirköy.

Mado:

Probably the greatest success story in Turkey. It was established in late 1992 serving Turkish delights, ice cream, snacks, and Turkish Breakfast. Now, with nearly 83 branches around Turkey, MADO is considered one of the most unique brands in Turkey. Actually, it has grown more and now they have established branches abroad and become famous in the Middle East and Europe.