Advice & Info

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...

Some of you may already have your flawless Christmas plans in place; spending all day in your tiny Istanbul apartment kitchen, trying to recreate...

Let’s just admit it: Istanbul is saturated with coffee shops. Yes, it kind of makes sense -- the city was formerly the capital of...

Çay is the traditional black tea of Turkey... and one of my favorite things about day-to-day life in this country.  Even if you are more...

"Where do I take my friend who is sick of Turkish tea?" Don’t get me wrong: I love Turkish çay. And it also proves to...

Where can you feel like being on a Greek island without leaving Turkey? Look no further than the beautiful Aegean island of Bozcaada (known...

It is not as though we've all been spoiled by the weather in recent months. Noses hidden and protected by thick scarves as well...

If you’re anything like me, or the average Istanbul resident, you probably spend a larger percentage of your life commuting than you’d like to...

Turkey maintains strong foreign relations with most countries around the world, and many have dedicated missions to foster diplomatic relationships and provide services to...

Proverbs are short but powerful expressions that aim to convey a message of wisdom, truth, and morality. They stem from collective experience and are...

Merlin Entertainments - Europe's number one entertainment venue - is a first choice for those who want to have fun with their family in Istanbul....

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...

It was a bright, sunny Saturday, during my very first trip to Istanbul, when I went where very few tourists would dare – Yedikule...

Valentine's Day in Istanbul isn't necessarily for everyone, but it's got much to offer for those in love and plenty of potential for romantic...

On the morning of February 6th 2023, the citizens of Turkey woke up to the tragic news of a 7.6 magnitude earthquake affecting major...

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...

Head-On by Fatih Akın is one of those films that perfectly encapsulates the beauty and energy of Istanbul, with its flaws and all. The...

Belly dancing is not something I’d always dreamed of doing. In the US, this style of dance has been pretty stigmatized and sexualized. Coming...

For many people living on the European side of Istanbul, crossing over to the “other side” (the Anatolian side) seems like a trek, especially...