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...
The Golden Hour
Nizam walked quickly and nervously through the twilight. The fences and houses along Limon Paşa Boulevard were dark silhouettes beneath the rapidly aging sun....
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,...
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...
Songs for an Unfinished City (An Istanbullu’s Listening Guide)
Every great city has its own soundtrack, or at least, deserves one. If it doesn’t, you should think about moving somewhere else.
I think of...
City Scherzos: Mother-of-Pearl
We were getting married. We couldn’t believe it. It was unbelievable. We didn’t consider ourselves the marrying type. We were too lazy to get...
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...
Yabancı Abroad: When in Rome…Levitate
When we got off the bus at Rome’s Termini Stazion, the first thing we saw was an Istanbul Kebab Shop.
My girlfriend Ozge laughed at...
Letters from Istanbul: Avenues & Interludes
One Saturday afternoon in the autumn of 2012, I was walking around Beyoğlu. I don’t spend much time on the European side of Istanbul,...
Autumn Rhythms: Life in the ‘New Normal’
Life begins all over again in the fall: That old saying is particularly apt this year.
In the city by the Bosphorus, students and teachers...
Reflections on “Kulüp”: A Yabancı Perspective
“Do you know why this city exists? So that a guy like me doesn’t take you to the end of the world.” This is...
Inside Devrim Erbil’s Revolution Factory
The word “devrim” means revolution.
Does Devrim Erbil consider himself a revolutionary?
“Of course,” he says, without hesitation. “Every day. Every night. I work constantly.”
Indeed, at...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
The Rise and Fall of a Telecommuting Empire in Istanbul
Traffic is a daily grind for some 14 million Istanbullus. That’s not even counting the outskirts, which include several million more.
You get used to...
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...
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...
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...