Scent of Istanbul in Poetry

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

Diaspolis Temizlik: Professional, Trustworthy Cleaners for Your Home or Office

Those who have spent time living in Turkey will know that hiring a cleaner to visit your home is a fairly common practice. While...

Barbarossa: A Monument in Passing, But a Legend on the White...

If you have ever strolled through the ferry port of Beşiktaş on the European side of Istanbul, chances are you have walked past a...

Take 5: Karaköy (Shopping Edition)

Karaköy is a unique neighborhood with a mishmash of art, culture and food all packed into a zigzag of tiny streets and alleys. Although...

Black Cats and Slippers: Turkish Superstitions

The first time I visited a Turkish home, I got perplexed upon hearing the phrase ''Don't walk barefoot, you'll get a stomach ache.'' Have...

A Surprising Way to Improve Your Turkish: Bureaucracy (Part II)

Read the first part of ''A Surprising Way to Improve Your Turkish: Bureaucracy'' here. Buoyed by your success on the phone to the bank you walk for...

Yabangee Recommends: “Where do I take my friend who is sick...

"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...

5 Burgeoning Food Trends in Istanbul

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

Istanbul’s First Second-Hand Shopping Guide

This article was adapted from Yesilist.com. Don’t you just adore the colorful display windows of second-hand shops? Even more so, the quest for second-hand treasures...

Nicole Restaurant: Raising the Haute Cuisine Bar

My wife and I have something called “The List.” It started in Washington, D.C., when my then-fiancée and I had recently finished graduate business...

10 Reasons Why Living in the Deep West Isn’t So Bad

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

Famous Turks: The Mysticism of Mevlana Celaladdin Rumi

In this month’s ‘Famous Turk’ article, we’re looking at Mevlana – known more popularly in the English-speaking world as ‘Rumi’ – the Anatolian philosopher...

The Top 5 Yeşilçam Films

Yeşilçam, which translates to “Green Pine”, is a shorthand for Turkey's old film industry. The name comes from Yeşilçam Street, an area of Beyoğlu...

Waymarking the Carian Trail – Part 2

...continued from Part 1. Bozborun Peninsula Bozburun is the full package; it has stunning rocky cliffs, turquoise waters, traditional village life, and a tourism industry just...

Magnificent Monument to Raging Narcissism: Nemrut Dağı

Who said there was something wrong with megalomania and narcissism? Antiochus I Theos Dikaios Epiphanes Philorhomaios Philhellenos of Commagene certainly did not think so....

Camel Wrestling in Turkey

The long wait is over: The camels are in heat. Bright-yellow shawls are fetched from the back of the closet. It’s okay again to...

Just for Fun: Seven “Best” Turkish Foods

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

Five Beloved Turkish TV Series from the 2000s

Every New Year's Eve, Turks reminisce about the early 2000s and its classics. Rightly so, if there was something special about the 2000s, it...

In Conversation with Multidisciplinary Artist and Researcher C.M. Kosemen

C. M. Kosemen is an artist and independent researcher born in Ankara, Turkey in 1984. He studied at Cornell University, Istanbul’s Sabancı University and...

Anatolian Travel Archives: Eflatun Pınar

We raced against the sun to reach the spring before all light had gone, Seçkin at the wheel and me biting my nails with...

Fires Across Turkey: Relief Organizations You Can Support

We recently made an open call to our community for suggestions and have since compiled a list of organizations that are currently taking part...

(PAST EVENT) 18th Contemporary Istanbul @ Tersane Istanbul

Contemporary Istanbul, the city's premier international art fair, is back for its 18th edition, bringing together art enthusiasts, collectors, curators, and artists from around...

Top 10 Worst Things About Living in Taksim

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...

A Five Star Toilet – Bathroom Tales in Turkey

Back in 1990 when I first visited Turkey, toilets, whether squat or what we think of as ‘normal’ but the Turks call Ala Franga,...