Four years of living in Istanbul will lead you to stumble upon a significant number of blogs about life in the city. The variety and scope are pretty outrageous and there’s a bit of something out there for everyone. As Tumblr, Pinterest and WordPress are some of the more common outlets, Facebook might be one of the last places you’d think to look for your random “all things Istanbul” aggregation needs.
Istanbul Insider proves such theories wrong. The project, run by Beliz Miller, has one of, if not the largest, Facebook English-speaking audiences in Turkey… for good reason. Run purely as a hobby, Beliz’s Istanbul Insider incorporates content from all facets of life in the ‘bul.
Beliz was kind enough to answer a few of our questions about her project and what it takes to keep so many of us entertained.
TY: Tell us a little bit about yourself. Where are you from and what are you doing in this crazy city?
BM: Originally from where my family still is living, in Kadikoy at the Asian side of Istanbul but I spent half of my life studying and working abroad in Europe and Australia, world wide leisure traveling included. I prefer Istanbul as my main hub because it feels right and safe. Meaning I become very clumsy in sterile and organized cities where I need to be careful at what angle I parked my car, enjoying a cigarette or go an extra mile for someone without having to calculate how much we owe each other.
TY: I’ve kept up with your page for quite some time now. Istanbul Insider recently reached the 10,000 subscriber milestone and seems to be growing at an increasingly rapid pace. Can you give us a bit of history on the project?
BM: I would like to thank you first for your kind interest. I was delighted to hear from the team of Yabangee, having regularly visited your website even before I became Istanbul Insider just about a year ago. As Beliz Miller, I am doing a full-time marketing job at a foreign trade mission in Istanbul and was given the opportunity to start marketing their company page on social media. The problem was that the company had company rules which kept interrupting my creativity. I was trying to show off and wanted more creative freedom. Istanbul Insider started shortly after.
TY: What sort of things do you try to include within the scope of Istanbul Insider?
BM: All things Istanbul, however, this isn’t as easy as I thought with the chaotic variety that exists within the city of Istanbul. I am simply trying to coordinate that chaos with only one rule, make the website appealing to anyone from any walk of life or society!
TY: As everything on your page is in English, who would you say your primary readership is? Do you think a fair number of locals also keep up with your page?
BM: Istanbul Insider started as a light, almost superficial, information sharing portal for foreigners who are or could be interested in Istanbul but as you guessed correctly, the majority of our visitors are locals from Istanbul. Gradually you spot visitors from the United States, UK, Germany, Pakistan, India and everywhere.
TY: As you are maintaining the project on your own, what would you say the biggest challenge is?
BM: I started it all on my own but was soon blessed with the friendship of professional photographers such as Yüksel Özen, Cem Gaygusuz, Ece Basaran and many others who still let me share all of their precious photographs. A big challenge is being engaged in a full-time occupation, which does not leave me the time I would like to focus on Istanbul Insider. However, thanks to sites like Yabangee we are not short of insider stories.
TY: Do you have any interaction with your readership? Any interesting stories or experiences of people reaching out to you as a result of Istanbul Insider?
BM: In April it will be a year since Istanbul Insider started. There are regular visitors whom you get attached to and who contribute pictures and stories.
TY: I think it’s safe to say that running such a project makes you a bit of an expert on the city. Do you have any recommendations of places to go or things to do that might not immediately stand out to somebody who has only lived here for a short time
BM: Places in Old Istanbul and the inner city areas of European Istanbul are rather known and available to almost everyone. For a true local experience I would suggest a night out at Kadife Street in Kadiköy, which is also called Barlar Sokağı (street of bars). Karga, Isis, Hera just to name a few bars there at Barlar Sokağı have impressed many foreign guests of mine with the style, quality and choices of alternative music. For the lesser bohemian I would suggest a walk at Kalamış Marina or Bağdat Avenue in Kadiköy.
TY: You seem to utilize a wide variety of source material for the project. Are there any interesting lesser known blogs or sites that might be worth checking out if we want some Istanbul inspiration?
BM: Don’t limit yourself, listen to what everyone has to say! I am always learning about Istanbul.
‘Citybox: Athens- Istanbul‘ is a site I would not call lesser known but still like to recommend because I enjoy their emphasis on aesthetics.
TY: What’s next for Istanbul Insider? Do you think you’ll maintain it as it currently is or do you have other plans.
BM: Istanbul Insider will grow alongside Istanbul. We will just give it some T.L.C.
TY: Thanks so much for taking the time to answer these. Any final thoughts or words of wisdom?
BM: Thank you and spread the word as in the Turkish proverb; a thousand friends are too few; one enemy is one too many.
—
To stay in the loop, be sure to follow Istanbul Insider.
