Advice & Info

On Monday 06 February, 2023 two massive earthquakes (7.5 and 7.8 in magnitude) devastated Turkey and Syria, with aftershocks being felt hundreds of miles...

Cities like Istanbul stand alternatively as testaments to humanity's sustained success and survival and to its limitless culture of waste and forgetfulness. While Newton...

Let’s be honest, us Yabangees know all too well that the online resources available for learning Turkish are far from enjoyable and rarely interactive....

Somewhere in the winding alleys of Fener and Balat, the former Greek-Jewish neighborhood of Istanbul, there is a hidden workshop and store that might...

A notable player in the current world of art house cinema, Turkey has seen a new wave emerge and establish itself. Amongst others, there...

When I was about 12, I was bored to tears by rock music. My brother was in a band and practiced for hours. If...

Editor's Note: As of April 2024, foreigners with residence permits are NOT eligible to purchase a Müzekart. We will update this post again with...

Tired of over-crowded Istanbul parks? Want a larger natural space to walk through? Want to leave the city, but not go too far? Well,...

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...

If you are a coffee lover, no doubt you have heard by now of single-origin coffee. It’s all the rage; even Starbucks has joined...

There are several reasons why residents of Istanbul need a Turkish bank account - the most obvious being that it is required for most residence permit...

“O for a beaker full of the warm south,” wrote John Keats, capturing that almost marrow-level need for sun after a long time in...

In a vast, seemingly endless field near the village of Geyre, west of Denizli, the white marble structures of Aphrodisias seemed to glow hauntingly...

With its own attraction and magic this game seems to appear everywhere, may it be in the çay evi or at home, tavla is...

As of 15 January 2021, an Istanbulkart (used predominantly for public transportation within the city) will need to be linked to a HES (Hayat...

Boğaziçi University, commonly shortened to BU, was founded in 1863 as Robert College and is the first American higher education institution founded outside of the...

I have been living in Istanbul for four years. Just writing that sentence makes me dizzy. As a Spanish expat living in this amazing city,...

Three weeks ago, I was taking the metrobüs with my brother from Şirinevler, on a very rainy day. Being as crowded as it was...

The timeless column feels cold and rough to the touch. I like to visit things that are a lot older than I am. It...

South Asians love spice in everything – life, movies and of course, food. South Asian food is truly so spectacular; the complexity of flavors,...

In Turkish, the word ‘korkma’ means ‘don’t be scared.’ How I learned this makes for an interesting story—one which strengthened my belief that people,...

Sunday, 8 December had Haydarpaşa Station hosting a danceathon like no other. The tango, swing and salsa communities of Istanbul staged what can only...

Miniatürk, situated on the North-Eastern shore of the Golden Horn, in a nutshell, is a display of the main monuments of Istanbul and Turkey...

It is well known that the Ottoman Empire was a place of incredible cosmopolitanism. What is often overlooked is the existence of “syncretic” peoples,...