Advice & Info

So you've decided to move to Istanbul. Hoş geldiniz and congrats on a fantastic decision! We're confident you'll love it here just as much...

IMPORTANT NOTE: As of Friday 07 October, the Interior Ministry has made the decision to close several districts in Istanbul entirely to any new...

Istanbul Bilgi University, known to most as simply "Bilgi", is a private, liberal-arts university founded in 1994. Bilgi is frequently ranked as one of...

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...

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...

I discovered a great passion for cooking when I started traveling around the world. I couldn’t believe what I’d been missing! I wanted to...

With its long and colourful history, its unique geographical position, its collection of characters, cultures, and creeds, Istanbul has no shortage of laudable attributes....

İstiklal Caddesi is home to many eateries, stores and coffee shops. Although chains such as Shake Shack have been cropping up, the promenade manages...

Istanbul was the capital of the Ottoman Empire for centuries. Sultans and their wives, princes, viziers and pashas loved to show their power and...

In the midst of all the fairytale magic of Cappadocia, there lies an overlooked jewel embedded in the valley known as Mustafapaşa. Despite its...

Trying to balance my life is quite a job in the big city. That’s why I have been making time for the things I...

While burger bars have become the food equivalent of Spanish Flu in Istanbul, it is hard to see the market for such a staple...

These days more and more imported items can be found somewhere here in Istanbul.  But finding these items often involves a wild goose chase...

One of the great things about living in Istanbul (and Turkey more generally) is the incredible produce. Turkey benefits from more than a million...

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...

Having lived in Izmir for over a year, I can say that I truly love the expat life here. Many people ask what the city is...

Galata is a beautiful neighborhood in the apex of Beyoğlu district. It used to be a sanctuary for Turkey’s Greek, Armenian, Italian and Jewish...

So, you’ve been in Turkey for a while and decided that it might make sense to buy a house or maybe you have your...

Undoubtedly one of the most surprising qualities of Turkey's international community is how few foreigners have taken the time to learn Turkish despite choosing...

When we first brought our daughter home from the hospital she was fast asleep in her car carrier. We were home, she was asleep....

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