Persian Tunes in an Old Schoolyard: A Summer’s Night with Mahsa...
It is a perfect Istanbul summer night after a hot July day. The Iranian singer Mahsa Vahdat enters the stage and tells the audience...
Review: Gaye Su Akyol @ Babylon Bomonti
A snowy Saturday night in Istanbul couldn't be spent any better than with 200-something fellow music lovers at a Gaye Su Akyol concert, courtesy of Babylon Bomonti....
The Last Round: Boxing, Martial Arts, and a Social Conscience
In the dead of this past winter, I ran into a friend in Cihangir who seemed uncharacteristically ecstatic. I told him as much and...
Open Studio Days: A Non-Profit Art Organization
Open Studio Days is a yearly art event and the most comprehensive open studio activity in Turkey where artists open their studios for three...
RX: Istanbul’s Central, Electric Nightclub for ‘Rhythm Xposure’
In a city buzzing with nightlife, the electronic music scene is a changing tapestry as the nightclubs of Istanbul past ebb and evolve into...
Green Getaway: Belgrade Forest
There's no denying that life in Istanbul can be a bit hectic. It's what makes this city so intoxicating. But there are times when...
BIPO Ends the Season with Aida, Commemorating La Diva Turca
The increasing temperature is not the only signal that summer is just around the corner. One by one, the concert halls are wrapping up their...
Review: Medeski, Martin & Wood – Wide Open @ Babylon
It’s Friday night, and I am at our usual hangout for all good things jazz - Babylon Club in the heart of Asmalı Mescit...
!F Istanbul International Independent Film Festival Awards Ceremony
!f Istanbul 2015, Istanbul's premier independent film festival, wrapped up recently at Nu Pera in Beyoğlu. It wasn't like you would expect, if the...
Berlin Konzerthaus: European Delight at the CRR
The Cemal Reşit Rey Concert Hall is hosting quite a program this year, and it finished October off with impressive performances back to back. Among...
Klarnet Festivali: Barcelona Gipsy Klezmer Orchestra and Ivo Papazov & Trakia...
After a year of exploring Istanbul and getting to know the locals, two things became very clear to me – Turkish people seem to...
Let the Child be Named Peace: E-refugee.com Review
You have no home.
You have no address.
You are a refugee.
With those words we enter a dystopian universe, a black comedy in which the owner...
Escaping the Rain as Com Truise Returns to Salon IKSV
On a rainy Wednesday night in Şişhane, Istanbul, I walked into Salon IKSV for the second time in my life. It was for the...
The Stories Behind reflect’s ‘Collection Zero’
Well over a year has passed since we first sat down at ATÖLYE with reflect co-founders Ece Altunmaral and Edipcan Yıldız to discuss their...
Escapist: Real Escape Room Fun for English Speakers in Istanbul
I'd be hard pressed to think of a more wholesome group activity I've taken part in these last few years, than when a group...
Off The Beaten Path: Rumeli Hisarı
Although the Bosphorus is the real star of Istanbul, its beauty is accentuated by the city’s monuments, those sturdy shapes that mediate between the...
Istanbul Toy Museum: Blast from the Past
Nestled deep in the back streets of Göztepe lies the Istanbul Toy Museum. The lovely white house is guarded by two giraffes ready to...
Review: Louis Armstrong Tribute @ Salon IKSV
Satchmo, Ambassador Satch, Dippermouth, Pops or, as he is most widely known, Louis Armstrong - yes, last night was the big man’s turn for...
Exploring 600 Years of Turkish-Polish Relations at the Sakıp Sabancı Museum
Going to the Sakıp Sabancı Museum (SSM) located on the coast of the Bosporus in Emirgan is always a treat. The SSM is one...
Review: Randy Esen Quartet ft. Şenova Ülker @ Denizde Caz
A night cruise on the Bosphorus has been on my list of things to do for a few years now. But at the same...
Parov Stelar and Oi Va Voi: A Proper Dance Party at...
A few months ago, I never would have believed that listening to a fusion of jazz and electronic music would be a pleasant or...
Review: A Seductive Evening with Rhye @ Salon IKSV
The early 2010s were a genuinely great period for sexy indie albums. The XX's xx (2010), Bon Iver's Bon Iver, Bon Iver (2011) and How to Dress...
Shadow Walker Treads on Stage with Repin and Hope
The 2017-2018 classical music season has finally begun, and BIFO, the Istanbul Borusan Philharmonic Orchestra, was on stage at the Zorlu Center on October...
People Upon the Lips of the Sea: A Look Back at...
“How should one enter the sea? In our country, men use breechcloths and pants for sea bathing. If we are to choose one of...