Yabancı Abroad: When in Rome…Levitate
When we got off the bus at Rome’s Termini Stazion, the first thing we saw was an Istanbul Kebab Shop.
My girlfriend Ozge laughed at...
Letters from Istanbul: Avenues & Interludes
One Saturday afternoon in the autumn of 2012, I was walking around Beyoğlu. I don’t spend much time on the European side of Istanbul,...
Want a Romantic Evening? Try Kuzguncuk
When you first arrive in the city, you feel drawn to the riotous spectacle of Taksim, or to the multitudes of the street markets...
City Scherzos: Chopin in Koşuyolu
Some time back, I decided to try a new approach to my Istanbul stories.
Up until that point, the stories, though carefully written, were missing...
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...
Letters from Istanbul: The Journey of a Tissue Pack
In the city of Istanbul many poor old women sell packets of tissue in the streets, mostly to passing motorists and the people sitting...
When the Night Comes Falling
All day long, in fits and waves, there had been blackouts. And not just in one part of Istanbul, but across the whole vast...
Letter from Istanbul: Anlaşma (or ‘The Arrangement’)
When I first arrived in Istanbul, nearly ten years ago, I found a room for rent in Kadıköy. It was on a narrow street...
City Scherzos: This Matter of Medusa
You may have read in the Turkish news recently that archaeologists in Antalya found the head of Medusa … in stone.
The archaeologists told reporters...
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...
Letters from Istanbul: The Sum of Our Travels
The other day I was having lunch at Café Nero with one of the new teachers.
She said she came from Austin. Since I grew...
City Scherzos: Istanbul’s Absurdist Heart
The other evening, my wife and I were out in our neighborhood of Koşuyolu feeding the cats as is our evening ritual.
While we were...
Letter from Istanbul: Looking Back at the Old New World
This month marks my tenth anniversary in the city by the Bosphorus, so I want to go back and remember how it was that...
Out Now: “Letters from Istanbul, Vol 3: Living with Terror” by...
We're delighted to announce that long-time contributor James Tressler has recently released the third volume to his Letters from Istanbul series, available for purchase via Lulu....
House-Hunting in the Age of Terror
My wife wants to buy an apartment. That’s a pretty common goal for many people in this city, since it’s a sound investment. The...
The View from Kuştepe (Life in the Shadow of Trump Towers)
It’s hard to miss the Trump Towers in Istanbul.
The twin tower complex, bearing the signature brand name in large letters, commands your view as...
City Scherzos: Lahmacuns in the Sky
Ali was a 27-year-old Kurd from the eastern Turkish city of Van. He and his brothers had come to Istanbul nearly a decade before...
A Strange Fast
With the start of the holy month of Ramazan this past week, many Turks have been fasting and praying. It’s not easy, especially in...
Beating the Istanblues: A Night at the Spa
My wife Özge and I can’t afford many luxuries. We’re a working couple, with different schedules. We don’t even share the same days off.
We...
Letters from Istanbul: The Ballad of Angry Çetin
We all have those people who drift in and out of our lives, and years later, we find ourselves musing about them, wondering whatever...
Letters from Istanbul: In Search of the ‘Real’ English
On the way to work the other morning, the taxi driver, noticing I was a yabancı, asked the usual, inevitable question.
“America,” I answered.
“Amerika?” the driver...
Inside Devrim Erbil’s Revolution Factory
The word “devrim” means revolution.
Does Devrim Erbil consider himself a revolutionary?
“Of course,” he says, without hesitation. “Every day. Every night. I work constantly.”
Indeed, at...
Construction Fever: Will It Save Us from the Next Big One?
Bağdat Caddesi is a long, wide shopping avenue on the Asian side of the city, Istanbul’s equivalent of 5th Avenue or Rodeo Drive.
Nearby are...
In The Shade of Karaköy
“I’m steppin’ out, steppin’ ou-ou-ou-out!” The chorus to the old John Lennon song was bouncing in my ears as we boarded the ferry at...