Lifestyle & Commentary

The Winter of 2018 experienced a 'train crisis' in Turkey as a large group of travel enthusiasts found themselves refreshing the website of the national...

It started with my husband spotting a rat on his way to work. "Don't get scared, but I saw a mouse on the ground floor...

I arrived in Istanbul with little knowledge of the country, its culture or language. Straight from the vacation in Japan with my boyfriend and...

I went and played my first game of football for a team in Turkey, adding to several other nations around the world in which...

In the era of digital nomads, Turkey has proven itself an idyllic destination for freelancers from all over the world. Whether settling in for...

With so many rapid changes happening in Turkey and the world, along with all the changes in our personal lives, the LGBT community needs...

Even though decades pass, some stories and books are ageless. Reading is more than just a hobby, as books also help us manage mental...

Istanbul Airport has a rhythm of its own part symphony, part storm. The first few times I flew out of IST, I underestimated that...

Old-school followers of Yabangee will likely have noted that we love starting the year off with resolutions (How to Stop Being Such a Yabancı:...

Did you notice that every Renault 12 in the known universe had disappeared? Are you worried that some black hole had appeared and was...

Stereotypes are inherently oversimplified, but can also hold some truth to them and be a fun(ny) opportunity for self-reflection. The international community living in...

Wherever you go, there you are.  And wherever you are, there is someone who wants to be somewhere else.  After living in the United...

In all facets of daily, human life, the divide between what is expressed to others and what is in truth thought in one’s own,...

Wow, I know, that was a controversial title wasn't it? Now that I've got your attention, can I just say that obviously this is...

In a few days my wife and I will be leaving Istanbul after living here for three years. We have had an incredible time...

Yabangee is now on Discord - an easy way to chat and stay close with friends and communities in Turkey. What is Discord? A free...

Up until last year I was a happy man, a contented man, living in that commercial hub cum residential suburb of Bakırköy. Bakırköy’s unique...

Perhaps there is no word more loaded and simultaneously mythologized yet scorned than the term “gypsy”. From Fleetwood Mac to Cher to Lady Gaga...

Being an expat is difficult. You start a new life somewhere you probably have very limited knowledge about. All your old habits and automatized...

A feeling that was about to disappear in the chaos of life suddenly hit me so hard that I had to sit down and...

Have you ever heard of the word yabancı, which also lends its name to this platform? If you've ever visited Istanbul, you’ve probably heard...

Just as you never fully know a person, a subject or yourself, you never grasp Istanbul in its entirety; it’s too big, too complex...

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,...

The man who runs the corner shop next to my apartment building has a very strange approach to business, whereby he literally just changes...