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...
Turkey at the Expo Milano 2015: Food, Hospitality, Design
The World Expo, held this year in Milan, is one of the foremost opportunities for states to dazzle the rest of the world. This...
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 &...
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...
Review: Oh Land @ Babylon Bomonti
I have to admit that I wasn’t the biggest fan of Oh Land... until last Tuesday when I listened to her perform live on...
Review: Chinawoman @ Babylon Bomonti
Born in Canada to Russian parents, Michelle Gurevitch, or Chinawoman, is a happy new discovery for me, although I seem to be late to...
Turkey’s Rise on the International Fashion Scene
This week Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Istanbul (MBFWI) was set to show why more and more Turkish stylists are inching their way up the ladder...
Review: Ilhan Erşahin’s Istanbul Sessions @ Babylon Bomonti
I was pretty upset about missing Ilhan Erşahin perform on the Denizde Caz cruise this August. So when I checked Babylon Bomonti’s Fall &...
Review: GusGus @ Babylon Bomonti
In short: This review is written by a person who, before going to the GusGus concert last Thursday at Babylon Bomonti, knew only two...
14th Istanbul Biennial: Büyükada Art Safari
'SALTWATER/TUZLU SU: A Theory on Thought Forms' is the theme for the 14th Istanbul Biennial drafted by Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev. In a city deeply saturated...
Review: Oldies But Goldies – Serious Nostalgia @ Babylon Bomonti
Saturday 26 September saw Babylon’s classic “Oldies But Goldies” night, a throwback mash-up of primarily 80s and 90s hits, making its debut at the...
Review: Nilüfer Verdi Trio feat. Ülkü Aybala Sunat @ Denizde Caz
A night cruise on the Bosphorus is always a good idea, as is a jazz concert by local musicians. Thankfully, The Primetime Cruise gave...
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...
Babylon Bomonti’s Housewarming with Flight Facilities
This past Thursday was a big day for Babylon and for those of us who missed the venue this summer. But the wait was...
Venue Spotlight: The Hidden Terrace of #bunk taksim Hostel
#bunk kicked off in 2011 with the aim of bringing high-quality, stylish hostel accommodation to Istanbul in an affordable package. With two locations currently in the...
Rain or Shine, Minipax Played On
The Minipax Festival was besieged by rain storms for a second year in a row, much to the chagrin of most of the attendees....
Review: Mor ve Ötesi @ Dorock XL Kadıköy
Sending “rock” waves through Turkey and the world for over 20 years, Mor ve Ötesi played to a jam-packed house last Saturday at Dorock...
Antalya Heat
“O for a beaker full of the warm south,” wrote John Keats, capturing that almost marrow-level need for sun after a long time in...
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...
Liszt and more…
All 24 of the performances that took place last month as part of the Istanbul Music Festival were events not to miss, and several...
Review: Art Tour with Sena Başöz of istanbulite
By Missy Weimer and Zamira Skalkottas
In Istanbul, it can sometimes be hard to view art, but not for lack of content; the city is...
Review: Grayson Perry’s “Small Differences” @ Pera Museum
This impressive and satisfying show at the Pera Museum by acclaimed British artist Grayson Perry has everything to love about contemporary art. Grayson Perry's...
More Mozart, More Fazıl Say, More Delight @ IKSV Music Festival
And so the evening of Mozart Sonatas performed by renowned Turkish pianist and composer Fazıl Say at Heybeliada came to an end. After having...
Enchanting Trio: Mozart, Fazıl Say, and the Heybeliada Monastery
Among the most acclaimed and anticipated segment of this year's IKSV Music Festival was the Mozart Marathon with Fazıl Say. The former, a legend...