Columns & Conversation

Yabangee has had a number of columns through the years…

Retrospective – Expat Spotlight #4: Community Leaders

In collaboration with ATÖLYE, Yabangee continues to present Expat Spotlight, a new monthly series showcasing the freshest, most inspiring contributions being made by Istanbul’s...

Accessible, Riveting and Totally Radical: Catch Ai Wei Wei’s “On Porcelain”...

“If you love your country, you become a criminal,” celebrated and controversial Chinese artist Ai Wei Wei said during an artist talk when his...

Take 5: Karaköy (Shopping Edition)

Karaköy is a unique neighborhood with a mishmash of art, culture and food all packed into a zigzag of tiny streets and alleys. Although...

In Conversation with Senem Tüzen, Director of Ana Yurdu (Motherland)

Senem Tüzen is an up and coming Ankara-born director who has been creating compelling short films since the early 2000s. Now, having just made...

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...

In Conversation with Poet Gamze Saymaz

Gamze Saymaz, born in 1994, is a poet based in Istanbul. She studied English Language and Literature as well as Psychology while participating as...

In Conversation with Luke Frostick and Thomas Parker, Editors of the...

Thomas Parker and Luke Frostick are the founders and editors of the Bosphorus Review of Books, the first English language online literary journal in...

In Conversation With Abdulwahed Kabakibou, Co-founder of A Clean Start

During my three years in Istanbul, hiring A Clean Start has been a simple and inexpensive way to take care of my apartment. Let’s...

IKSV 38th Istanbul Film Festival Kicks Off

Organised by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (İKSV), the Istanbul Film Festival’s 38th edition will host 467 screenings of 186 films by...

FotoIstanbul: Art on the Streets

Istanbul is a city brimming with creative people and galleries heralding their work, showing off its art and photography collection inside white walls. Now, the...

ATÖLYE Spotlight: In Conversation with Carla Lemgruber, Design Consultant & Freelancer

Carla Lemgruber traveled quite a distance from Rio de Janeiro in pursuit of love so that she could set roots here in Istanbul. A...

Walk Across Turkey: Denizli’s Charm

Monday, 17 September - Denizli Monday morning, the third week of the walk, I packed up my stuff and said goodbye to Metin and the...

Walk Across Turkey: Peace

Wednesday, 26 September The next morning, about forty-five minutes into that day’s walk, I pulled off at a gas station for a morning break. I...

In Conversation with Selcen Öztürk of Duolingo Turkish

Most of us foreigners living in Turkey struggle with learning Turkish. It’s quite common to find internationals living here for five, ten or even...

In Conversation with Ahmet Onur of Kolektif House (Part 1)

Kolektif House, the city's latest arrival in co-working spaces, has embarked on a quest to transform how we view shared work environments. Tucked away in...

Discussing the Dönme with Artist and Researcher C.M. Kösemen (Part 2)

Dayla Rogers continues her conversation with artist and researcher C.M. Kösemen about the Dönme and their history.  You are a person of Dönme background. A...

Through the Lens: 100 Faces 100 Countries

For best results, click to enlarge images. I wanted to combine my passion of photography with the airport I worked at. I was encountering hundreds...

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...

In Conversation with Itır Erhart on Running and the Adım Adım...

Itır Erhart, an Assistant Professor at the Media School, a part of Istanbul Bilgi University’s Faculty of Communication, studies a wide range of topics,...

Review: Benedict Cumberbatch’s ‘Hamlet’ @ Salon IKSV

This season, Salon IKSV is offering something completely new to theater lovers with its Oyun Salonu program. I assume that most of you have...

ATÖLYE Spotlight: In Conversation with Melis Abacıoğlu, Founder of Actifit, Kızlar...

In the midst of our professional lives, understanding the need for a moment of self-reflection and reevaluation can help set us on the right...

Büyülü Fener: A Magic Lantern to Istanbul’s Past

A middle aged man passes under a vivid yet rustic sign that reads BÜYÜLÜ FENER, which fits like a puzzle piece among the colors of...

Walk Across Turkey: The Wedding

The next day, Saturday, Metin and I took a car to his village for the wedding. Our first stop was in another village to...

Band Profile: Peripheral Dots

Peripheral dots is something you see when you get whacked in the head, strong enough to feel dizzy, but not too fatal to make...