Off The Beaten Path: Rumeli Hisarı

Although the Bosphorus is the real star of Istanbul, its beauty is accentuated by the city’s monuments, those sturdy shapes that mediate between the...

Arrested as a Spy, Caught in a Major Earthquake, & More:...

We've all been there, haven't we? You are in a foreign country and some strangers approach you. You immediately think: "Whatever they are they selling,...

Book Review: Ten Minutes Thirty-Eight Seconds in This Strange World, Elif...

I deem Elif Shafak's novel Ten Minutes and Thirty-Eight Seconds in This Strange World, in which she tells the story of a prostitute named...

Noga Erez Lights Up Salon IKSV With Back-to-Back Nights of Energetic...

Every year when Salon IKSV announce their season's program, I inevitably find myself discovering a new artist I want to catch live and thus...

Midnight at the Pera Palace

A young journalist travels back in time to 1919 Istanbul, accidentally disrupting the natural flow of history. She must act quickly to prevent the...

Other Lives Brings Atmospheric Indie Rock Life to Salon IKSV

After a long drought, my thirst for a familiar indie rock live show was quenched at Salon IKSV with a much anticipated performance from...

Escapist: Real Escape Room Fun for English Speakers in Istanbul

I'd be hard pressed to think of a more wholesome group activity I've taken part in these last few years, than when a group...

Theatre Review: 3 Short Comedy Plays in 1 Night!

Under the direction of Kenny Laurie, comes together three half-hour comedy plays that tell the tales of transformation and rebirth. Come Again! is the...

The Blaze and Label Project Light Up Istanbul at Volkswagen Arena

The level of production value that went into Label Project's preparation for The Blaze performing at Volkswagen Arena (Saturday 29 January, 2022) is still...

Altın Gün Bends Past and Present to Start 2022 in Anatolian...

On January 27th, courtesy of Pozitif, Altın Gün ventured from Amsterdam to the halls of Volkswagen Arena, tucked away in Istanbul's Maslak, for a...

Reflections on “Kulüp”: A Yabancı Perspective

“Do you know why this city exists? So that a guy like me doesn’t take you to the end of the world.” This is...

“Longing for Istanbul”: An Expat’s Love Letter to the City of...

Longing for Istanbul doubles as a sociological reflection on modernization processes in Turkish culture and a personal memoir that articulates what it means to...

Ginza Ginza: Authentic Vietnamese and Southeast Asian Cuisine in the Hub...

Opening a business at any point in Turkey, especially as a foreigner, is a daunting prospect. Restaurants in particular pose significant challenges for aspiring...

Bir Başkadır, A Kaleidoscopic Gem of a Turkish TV Series

In an abnormal and downright weird 2020, healthcare workers have been the heroes that the world needed. In a more mundane fashion, the ones...

Kem Kum Egyptian Vegan Restaurant: Moda’s Family-Owned Culinary Delight

For those happy with Turkish cuisine, finding a place to eat in Istanbul is easy enough with plenty of options in every neighborhood and...

Reflections on the 2019 Istanbul Theater Festival

This past year’s recent Istanbul Theater Festival by IKSV explored many topical issues we see on the news almost daily in this stage of...

RX: Istanbul’s Central, Electric Nightclub for ‘Rhythm Xposure’

In a city buzzing with nightlife, the electronic music scene is a changing tapestry as the nightclubs of Istanbul past ebb and evolve into...

Exploring “Correspondences” by Yunus Emre Erdoğan & Clemes Wolf at Sanatorium

25 October - 1 December, 2019 Artists: Yunus Emre Erdoğan, Clemes Wolf Curator: Domenico de Chirico "With power to expand into infinity, Like amber and incense, musk, benzoin, That...

Review: Sutra Visits Zorlu Performing Arts Center

One of the highlights of my incredible solo backpacking trip around China in the winter of 2012 was seeing a traditional kung fu performance...

Arter & Antrepo 5: Architectural Monuments Hosting Contemporary Art in Istanbul

That Istanbul is a force to be reckoned with in the contemporary art world is undeniable. You just need to look at spaces like...

The Exhibition: Theatre Puts A Spotlight on Community

The year is 1874. In Paris’ Café Guerbois, gathering place of artists, writers and their admirers, a group of six painters meet on the...

Exploring “This Is Not Us, This Is What Remained From Us”...

Freaky Fringe Fascinated Fearsome Fabricated Forgotten Foretelling FINGERS THIS IS NOT US, THIS IS WHAT REMAINED FROM US A Mixer Exhibition by Ali Şentürk (5 September – 12 October) This...

Nicole: A Sophisticated, Ambitious Culinary Experience in the Heart of Istanbul

One might be surprised to learn an unassuming turn off Istiklal, down an unusually silent path featuring several slumbering cats, and proceeding through an...

Big Burn: Istanbul’s Greatest Fire Concept Party That Really Did Happen

Anyone who’s lived here long enough has likely noticed a proliferation of high-quality music events around the city in the past several years generally...