Columns & Conversation

The years between 1900 and 1940 were more than a little eventful for the Turks. The period saw numerous wars fought on many fronts,...

Joshua Oppenheimer’s remarkable film, The Act of Killing will screen at Istanbul’s !f film festival for the final time on Sunday 24 February. The...

Meet Ali Halabi, a transplant from Beirut who came to Istanbul in 2012. Although currently preoccupied with his start-up Volt, a ride-sharing app, Ali...

Istanbul-based band Gece released their third album Iyi Niyetti Bir Gün on 6 May. To mark the occasion, I sat down with bassist Gökçe...

In anticipation of the 15th !f Independent Istanbul Film Festival we reached out to co-founder and co-director of !f, Pelin Turgut. She took the time...

One day I went a-wandering. I set out for an entire day of tourism, hitting some of Istanbul's must see hot-spots. I had planned...

Friday, 21 September I began my second full day in Çardak using the hotel’s slow internet connection to upload photos to my blog. Toward the...

For best results, click to enlarge images. Surrounded by pine trees in the district of Üsküdar, Kuzguncuk feels like entering the perfect time capsule. One...

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....

We are looking for 25 creatives to imagine the post-social media era. Post Social Media Club brings together young European creatives for a program...

I wake with a start. Where am I? Through the parting fog of sleep I remember that I am in İstanbul. A hot sun...

It was fig harvest season in the valley, and there was rack after rack of figs drying by the side of the road. Early...

There is an Istanbul that is unknown to many visitors; it lives beyond the chaos of Sultanahmet and Beyoğlu, hiding in suburban streets and...

Recently, a collective of San Francisco-based musicians created a unique musical concept: a band whose primary aim is to reach a travel destination. Luckily...

In the buildup to the summer of 2018, the announcement of a new festival series reaching Istanbul, appropriately titled Electric Playground, managed to turn...

Forever Tango has finally come to Istanbul preceded by its worldwide fame: the show has captivated audiences on Broadway and has been nominated for...

I first went to Piano House over New Year’s Weekend. I had seen pages for their concert events on Facebook, but had been unable...

Haydarpaşa Garı train station, quiet of late because of construction work, is once again buzzing with people. But this time the crowds running to...

Last week finally gave me an opportunity to visit the Zorlu PSM, a relatively new entertainment complex in the Zincirlikuyu district of Istanbul. Performing in...

You might have already noticed that Istanbul is a place that can be hard to comprehend. Thousands of years of history, millions of inhabitants,...

For the second part of our interview, I asked Ray about his work at Zorlu Center PSM and how the project has developed over the...

Saturday, 8 September About 3 hours out of Horsunlu, I started the climb out of the Menderes River valley. The predictable pattern of the farm...

As soon as I exit the Taksim metro station and begin my walk to the event location, I begin to panic. Why am I...

Zeynep Mar is a striking young artist who is currently based in Istanbul. We talked about her inspirations, working process, and her divergent style....