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...
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...
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...
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...
On the Road to Gebze: Surviving in the Industrial Heartland
On the road to Gebze, where I teach twice a week, I have a lot of time to contemplate the passing landscape.
Out on the...
Observatory Time: With Man Ray in Anamur
It’s always a good idea to get out of Istanbul, to escape the traffic, the noise and endless grind of people and machines.
My wife...
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...
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...
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...
Letters from Istanbul: The Anatolian Way
As a yabancı, you probably have your own first impressions of the city.
One of my own was made while coming from Ataturk International Airport...
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...
Dreaming of Dollars (But Waking Up With Liras)
The other night I was sitting with my son on the sofa, trying to read a book with him, while on the TV the...
My Dinner With Gökhan
A friend of mine, whom I’ll call Gökhan, loves eating. It is one of his great passions in life. As the son of an...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Ataşehir and Ümraniye: Portraits of the City’s ‘New Hope’
At first glance, Ataşehir seems to embody everything you hate about modern Istanbul. At second glance, it doesn’t get much better.
You can insert here...
Letter from Antalya: Border Patrol Agents on Vacation
A group of border agents are sitting on a beach in the southern Turkish seaside resort town of Antalya. It’s a working holiday –...
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...
Letters from Istanbul: Surrogate Lives
They were three sisters and they had all grown up together in a small town in the south of Turkey. The oldest, and the...
Letter from Karaman: Night of the Dervish
The city of Karaman stands on the low wheat plains of Anatolia, about an hour south of Konya, the birthplace of Rumi.
Arriving from Istanbul,...
My Old Neighborhood
I was 50. Half a century. How was that even possible?
Some years ago, one of my directors Zeynep, a lovely, cheerful Mediterranean woman had...
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...