Istanbul Basics & Guides

Although Istanbul is not really a bike-friendly city, nor it does have a vibrant biking culture, it is still a good idea to buy...

One of the simplest and easiest ways to help others is to donate blood. Back in Barcelona I was a regular blood donor, donating...

Unpredictable Spring showers can put a real dampener (pun intended) on one's social calendar. But even if you have exhausted the city’s museums and...

So you're visiting or moving to Turkey and you want to bring your foreign mobile phone with you to happily use here. Great! Let's...

Long ago, great explorers traversed huge bodies of water with little more than the stars to guide them. And now? Well, you just need...

The work permit process in Turkey is unclear or confusing for many people because of the bureaucracy and inconsistent manner in which information and...

On Monday 06 February, 2023 two massive earthquakes (7.5 and 7.8 in magnitude) devastated Turkey and Syria, with aftershocks being felt hundreds of miles...

We live in a great time to be stuck in traffic! Especially if you live in Istanbul, you’ve been given the greatest gifts of...

While eating healthy might not normally be a top priority, if you have kids like me, that opinion will likely change as you probably...

Living in Istanbul is not for the faint of heart. We face a pretty hefty amount of stress on a daily basis – the hours...

When I first came to Istanbul in October of 2014, I was completely bewildered by the recycling system. I found almost nothing on the...

One of the many seemingly incessant complaints I hear from other yabancılar is a disdain for Turkish wines. Navigating the wine scene in Turkey...

I’ve been in this crazy, lovely city for two years now, and although I cannot claim to know all its secrets, I have in...

Well, hello there. Chances are you are leaving Turkey with your pet, and you’ve stumbled upon this page looking for advice. Don’t worry, we're...

Thinking of staying in Türkiye for a while and want to file a first-time residence permit application? That's lovely to hear! Before getting too...

While we are leaving 2017 behind, all sorts of celebrations for Christmas and New Year's Eve are underway. We are regularly bombarded with countless...

On Friday 11 January, three new movies come to Cinemaximum! Bring along your loved ones, get yourself some popcorn and snacks, and enjoy a...

Eleven essentials for the Turkish home: 1. Hamam kit – Regular trips to the hamam are an Istanbul institution. With this in mind it’s no...

When I first came to Turkey six years ago for a vacation, one of the first things that enamored me was the food. The...

To be a true yabancı, there are certain skills you have to master... 1. Become a teaholic. Drinking copious amounts of black tea is an...

As New Year’s Eve draws closer, the pressure is increasing on how to best ring in the new year. We’ve asked some of the...

As a vegetarian or vegan, by now you may have realized that Turkish people love their meat! Walking through the city you’ll see families...

When I first moved to Istanbul in 2016, I too experienced loneliness. After all, I was a foreigner in a new country, who did...

The end of this semester is approaching quickly. Along with it, come final projects, papers, tests, presentations, and a number of other things, which...