Lifestyle & Commentary

Moving to a new city, where you don’t really know anyone? There is a lot of excitement when you open a new chapter in...

Before I left for Istanbul, I had many friends promise that they would come and visit me. Unfortunately - since life gets in the...

Have you ever heard of the word yabancı, which also lends its name to this platform? If you've ever visited Istanbul, you’ve probably heard...

By Abdelrahman Mahmoud Permaculture. Does the word ring any bells? If yes, and you are already well acquainted with the concept, then hold on a minute...

If we were to take our students’ grammatical grasp of English as a direct indication of their level of intelligence, and were to recognize...

Having lived in Istanbul going on a decade, I have seen a lot of people come and go. It becomes almost like clockwork. Every...

This October, the Yabangee community enjoyed a wonderful basketball match-day with Darüşşafaka Tekfen - one of the top teams of the Turkish Basketball League....

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...

Up until last year I was a happy man, a contented man, living in that commercial hub cum residential suburb of Bakırköy. Bakırköy’s unique...

Wherever you go, there you are.  And wherever you are, there is someone who wants to be somewhere else.  After living in the United...

Moving from Poland to Turkey was definitely a big cultural shock for me – people, living conditions, working etiquette, and even foods were (and...

Just as you never fully know a person, a subject or yourself, you never grasp Istanbul in its entirety; it’s too big, too complex...

We sometimes forget how hectic life in a cosmopolitan city like Istanbul can be (I know I do). Weekdays can feel mechanical, while weekends...

It has been incredibly tragic day; the deaths of those workers in the Soma mine seem so senseless, we've been having a hard time...

“If the world were merely seductive, that would be easy. If it were merely challenging, that would be no problem. But I arise in...

It started with my husband spotting a rat on his way to work. "Don't get scared, but I saw a mouse on the ground floor...

Yabangee is now on Discord - an easy way to chat and stay close with friends and communities in Turkey. What is Discord? A free...

I have never really been a "film guy" in the traditional sense, but growing up in a small town where there wasn’t much else...

Many will be quick to share the story of how prophet Mohammed cut his robe as to not disturb the slumber of a cat...

My favorite season in Istanbul is fig season. Never having seen or eaten a fresh fig in my life, I was fascinated by this...

When Tas decided to share her cheeky and genuinely pretty accurate list of worst Turkish foods (looking at you leblebi!), my inner Turk compelled...

Anyone who has spent time in Turkey, especially Istanbul, will have noted the condition of street animals here. For all the compassion that exists...

cold, dark, eerie leather soles staccato along pavements avoiding cracks and stray van İstanbul becalmed, again street lamps whisper through hüzün diesel engines growl like kangal buses ready to depart north...

I lived in Mecidiyeköy for my first few months in Istanbul. That part of town is interesting in its own right, and it was...