What to take home: edible souvenirs from Turkey
After trying all the delicious food in Istanbul, you won’t want to leave without bringing some of it home. Here are some tips about what to buy for gifts and…
Right in time for Valentine’s Day: best Turkish designer jewelry
Building on centuries of jewelry-making know-how, Turkish designers transform precious materials into works of art that are suitable for daily wear as well special events. Check out our favorite Istanbul…
Five love stories from Turkish culture
Drawing on different cultures, Turkish literature has many great love stories that stem from legends, told and retold over centuries. These dramatic tales became something for people to hold onto…
Beykoz Kundura: from factory to creative hub
The opening of Beykoz Kundura’s cinema not only offers cinephiles a unique selection of movies, it also brings the former leather and shoe factory a step closer to becoming a…
Best bookstores in Istanbul
There are many places for bookworms to shelter and read in this bustling megacity. Around Galatasaray, Homer Kitabevi is an established gem appreciated by book lovers since 1995. Besides academic…
Moda’s best kept secret: hidden mansions by Constantine Pappa
The Kadıköy neighborhood of Moda is home to several underrated architectural treasures. Many were designed by one man: the versatile, talented, but little known architect Constantine Pappa. n Moda Caddesi,…
Santa Claus the Turk? Alternative Turkish Christmas ideas
n a country where Christians make up less than 0.2 percent of the population, it is no surprise that most Turks do not celebrate Christmas. The secular alternative of New…
Sustainable art in Burgazada: turning trash into treasure
Koenraad Van Lier was appalled when he saw the environmental degradation at a beach on his new home of Burgazada: so he decided to make the trash into art. adam…
The real story of Rumi and Sufism in modern Istanbul
It may be a surprise that Jalal ad-Din Rumi—the thirteenth century mystic known as Mevlana in Turkey, the Middle East, and Central Asia—is the best-selling poet in the United States.…
A Torah, a Koran, and a Christmas tree: Mario Levi’s Istanbul
While Istanbul’s overall population has swelled from around one million in 1945 to 15 million today, various splits and calamities have caused much of the city’s Christian and Jewish populations…