Arts, Culture & History

These days quasi-historical shows like Game of Thrones are the most watched (and pirated) shows on TV. Also, Muhteşem Yüzyıl, “The Magnificent Century”, a prime-time...

A darbuka drum is a Middle Eastern instrument whose structure varies depending on location. They all have a conical shape with a nearly circular...

Someone recently described Istanbul to me as a city where you can "have the best day of your life, followed by the worst day”,...

I’m Australian, so coming from a country with one of the highest rates of skin cancer in the world, wearing a hat in summer,...

Turkish poetry often tells us stories of love, anger, sorrow, longing, agony, happiness, and excitement... many with a scent of Istanbul. These poems were...

One day, after having heard our neighbor's son practicing his guitar almost daily, I went to her door and asked in piecemeal Turkish if...

Why make such a list? Because after each two hour journey home from Taksim in the early hours of the morning, I have to...

It started as good a time as any – on a dolmuş to Hasankeyif with a crate of live chickens on my lap. I...

The 90s was a unique period all over the world and the same goes for Turkey. In Turkey, alongside its distinctive music genres and...

Artifacts have been found in Istanbul (previously home to some of the world's largest empires, the city has also been known as Byzantion, Nea...

As you walk down the streets of Istanbul, the air swirls with color and unfamiliar smells. Occasionally, you stop and peer into shop windows,...

There is a new space for performing arts in Kadıköy’s vibrant Yeldeğirmeni neighborhood: Köşe ("corner" in Turkish). Located on the Asian side of Istanbul, Köşe...

If you are a fellow yabangee and have been noticing pictures of cattle hanging around in the streets lately, don’t worry. You haven’t stumbled...

Last week, my husband brought home a 5-liter bag of raw milk. He secretly stuck it in the refrigerator and then surprised me by...

To-morrow is Saint Valentine's day, All in the morning betime, And I a maid at your window, To be your Valentine. Then up he...

Home of the Design Biennial and a (gradually) increasing number of design and architectural gems, Turkey is finally becoming a name on the design...

Having been one of the contributors to the Tales from the Expat Harem anthology over a decade ago, I was excited to see a...

A friend of mine from the Czech Republic once told me her feelings while she visited Istanbul one year ago. She said that it...

Altın günü is not just a get-together of women, it is a culture. So if you have no clue on how to behave properly,...

Versus Art Project is hosting a new exhibition from artist SABO entitled "Time Machine" from Thursday 3 June through Saturday 10 July. Based on...

For a long time there has been a culture struggling to make itself known, to have its voice heard. Often relegated to the sidelines,...

When my husband and I first visited Istanbul as tourists several years ago, we got the requisite blurry shots of the Hagia Sophia and...

Kuzguncuk is a little slip of a neighborhood whose reputation has a surprisingly wide reach. I had not even left dusty Tarsus in Southern...

My first introduction to Istanbul came via embellished story, when my father regaled me as a pre-teen with tales of his freewheelin' hippie misadventures traveling...