Moda Van Kahvaltı: Brunching in Turkey
Around every corner, down every alley, and through every doorway Istanbul reveals a surprise. If you walk far enough and long enough the city...
St. Mary of the Mongols: The Last Byzantine Church
Nowadays Istanbul is known for its mosques, but prior to 1453, Constantinople was a completely Christian city replete with churches. Many of them exist to this day:...
Review: Mashrou’ Leila @ Bronx Pi Sahne
On Friday, Nov. 28, a group of friends and I were getting pumped for a concert in Istanbul that we had all been looking forward...
Review: Iron & Wine @ Babylon Bomonti
The southern United States is quite a distance from Istanbul, but that didn’t prevent Sam Beam, better known by his stage name “Iron &...
3rd Istanbul Design Biennial: An Evening at Galata Greek School
Are we human? That is the main question surrounding the 3rd Istanbul Design Biennial which debuted on Saturday 22 October.
“The 3rd Istanbul Design Biennial...
Visiting “Istanbul’s Seaside Leisure” at Pera Museum
This is my first visit to a Turkish museum, in Istanbul or elsewhere. When I went online to learn more on Istanbul’s museum scene,...
Turkish Films II: Classics, Skeleton Suits, and Lesbian Vampires
This piece is a follow-up to Turkish Films: Four Istanbuls and a Golden Fleece.
“You Can’t Win Them All” (aka “Soldiers of Fortune”), starring Charles...
Review: “Istanbullu” by Buket Uzuner
What does it mean to be an Istanbullu? Can everyone who lives or has lived in Istanbul have the right to call themselves a real...
Review: múm Presents Menschen am Sonntag @ Salon IKSV
Do you like Nordic spirit? Do you like cold, smooth Icelandic melodies? Do you like 1930s vibes? What about a black and white silent...
Review: Borusan Philharmonic Featuring Nicola Benedetti and Leonard Elschenbroich
The March 13th program of the Borusan Philharmonic Orchestra, featuring Nicola Benedetti on the violin and Leonard Elschenbroich on the cello, was a program...
Summertime and the Livin’ is Easy: Review of Babylon’s Soundgarden
Two of our contributors, Erin West and Will Dawson, had an epic day at Babylon’s Soundgarden on Saturday. Things got so crazy they even...
The Kronos Quartet Crawls into Our Souls at the CRR
I remember very clearly the day that I was introduced to the Kronos Quartet. It was 1992 and I was in seventh grade. It...
Why It’s OK to Love “The Water Diviner”
The Water Diviner, or Son Umut in Turkish, is a film about a father traveling from Australia to find his sons lost in the...
Review: Hamdi Akatay & Tepecik Filarmoni Orkestrası @ Babylon Bomonti
A Thursday night spent in Babylon Bomonti never disappoints. Last week, I finally made it to see Hamdi Akatay & Tepecik Philharmonic Orchestra on stage....
An Evening with Popist Supper Club: Istanbul’s Newest Pop-Up Dining Experience
There is an old Turkish saying stating if you are bored with Istanbul, you are bored with life. Although Istanbul is rarely boring there...
Reflections on Contemporary Istanbul 2018
In Julia Cameron's classic book on creativity The Artist's Way, she recommends a tool called an "artist date," which she describes as "a block of...
The Exhibition: Theatre Puts A Spotlight on Community
The year is 1874. In Paris’ Café Guerbois, gathering place of artists, writers and their admirers, a group of six painters meet on the...
Weekend Getaway: Edirne
With the Children’s and Youth holiday coming up on 23 April and warmer weather upon us, many of you may be wondering where to...
Review: Gripin @ Jolly Joker
What a crowded Jolly Joker lacks in elbow room it certainly makes up for in performance quality, and this month's Gripin performance was no...
Clash of Cool: Pete Doherty @ garajistanbul
“Shall we give him the egg now?” I panicked.
“I don’t know,” Sam replied, half reaching into his satchel, “I just don’t know.”
The evening up...
Fazıl Say enchants us in poetic style at Burgazada
The stars twinkled overhead. Subtle waves lapped along the shore, caressing the rocks, sand, and the deck ever so gently. It was mid-summer, and...
Menuhin’s Prodigious Youth Perform in the Bach Festival
If you are into classical music at all, there is no chance that you have not heard of Yehudi Menuhin. He is the single most...
The Elgiz Museum: A Mixed Bag of Contemporary Art
While the Elgiz Museum is a bit off the beaten path, it is well worth a visit. Located in Maslak, it showcases the Elgiz...
Review: Luis Ernesto Gomez & Latin Jazz Band @ Nardis Jazz...
This weekend, I visited Nardis Jazz Club, just a few metres away from our beautiful Galata Tower, to catch Luis Ernesto Gomez & Latin Jazz Band. Despite visiting the venue on...