Advice & Info

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

In theory, BookSerf is a simple enough concept. You choose some of your own books you'd be willing to share, browse other people's selections and...

We live in a great time to be stuck in traffic! Especially if you live in Istanbul, you’ve been given the greatest gifts of...

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

Stop ordering on YemekSepeti cause you’re too scared to order over the phone in Turkish. Stop forcing your friends to call you cause you forgot...

When I first lived in Istanbul for 6 months in 2013, some of my most memorable days were spent simply wandering the old city...

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...

We all know how devastating moving to a new country can be. You wonder how you will settle in, what the people will be...

Istanbul Technical University, commonly known as ITU or Teknik Üniversite, is one of the best universities in Turkey, always ranking among the top three....

If you have lived in Turkey for a while, you’ve probably got an account with a local bank. It is easy enough to open...

The recently released Moon Istanbul & the Turkish Coast is a not-so-ordinary guidebook. At 480 pages in full-color, it's the perfect companion for any trip...

Istanbul arguably doesn’t really have one central district, like a downtown or a city center. It is a city of many centers, each with...

Every single day you spend with a person to make their day better, every moment of teaching someone something new, every step you take...

Gallery spaces can too often reflect a highbrow approach to art which can be off-putting to the more casual art enthusiast. This is where BLOK...

It's an undeniable part of life in Istanbul that, while it has many things going for it, the city is somewhat lacking in resources...

Memory is a funny thing. As much as it keeps record of reality, it also creates a reality of its own. As expats, we...

The Golden Horn was of great importance during the Byzantine and Ottoman Empires. This deep, natural harbor was a strategic point to defend the...

Some time ago, I was discussing Elif Şafak with a Turkish friend.  I mentioned that I was reading The Bastard of Istanbul, and after...

Fighting against the stereotype that Istanbul has few green spaces or parks is not an easy thing to do. It’s a common complaint that...

There’s a moment in The Time Regulation Institute, the novel by acclaimed Turkish author Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar, where the protagonist Hayri Irdal explains the...

My adventure as a student in Istanbul is coming to an end soon and one thing which makes me experience the ‘tube light' effect...

Looking to experience a city with a mellow vibe? Head to southwest Turkey, away from the crowds, to the picturesque city of Muğla, located...

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...

Taksim Square is a place that is planned into almost every trip to Istanbul, one way or another. The name “Taksim” means “division”, from...