Many years ago I worked in Dymocks Bookshop in Sydney, Australia, the largest bookshop in the Southern Hemisphere at the time. I loved being surrounded by books (you should see my home office!), getting my hands on new things to read and meeting likeminded readers. I read almost everything and anything, but I’ve never been…
I’m a member of a lot of Facebook travel groups and I frequently see people asking for recommendations for the best authentic, non-touristy hamam spas in Istanbul. I live in Istanbul and have been to hamam here and elsewhere in Turkey, so thought I’d share what I know. Hamam history The idea of going to…
Pera Palace Hotel History The Pera Palace Hotel opened in 1895 to host passengers arriving in Istanbul on the famous Orient Express train. Renowned architect Alexander Vallaury oversaw the construction of the building. It has an Art-nouveau façade and inside, the grand ballroom and the glorious Kubbeli Lounge, combining oriental grandeur with geometric patterning where…
Late last year I finally made it to Joshua’s Hill, otherwise known as Yuşa Tepesi in Turkish. Yuşa is one of the four saints of the Bosphorus, and this holy site is famous for his tomb, aka the Giant’s Grave. It’s so named because the spot where he’s believed to be buried is 17 metres…
As I’ve mentioned elsewhere on this website I’m no historian. When it comes to remembering important names and people, I’m forever looking things up and almost immediately forgetting them, unless I actually visit an historical sight and the experience brings the facts to life. As you can imagine, writing a brief history of the Ottomans…
Banks and other corporations have collected art as part of their private portfolios since the 19th century. Usually kept behind closed doors, it’s not often shared publicly. However in Istanbul, some of the most interesting exhibitions happen in bank owned galleries. Compelling painting displays, installations, photographs and film screenings are open to the public in…
I’ve long appreciated cemeteries. As a teenager I spent a lot of time pondering over the lives of the many people buried in the Gore Hill Cemetery in St Leonards, Sydney, where I grew up. Even aged 14 I thought it ironic that rooms in the adjacent hospital overlooked the graves. Gore Hill was established…
I’m a winter baby and I love when the temperature drops so I can roam Istanbul to my heart’s content without getting too hot. It’s really lovely to visit Istanbul in winter, as Julia Bayne, business owner at Istanbul Place Apartments – offering historic apartments for short stays in Galata – knows well. You remember…
When I studied history at high school we learned about World War I from an Antipodean perspective. Heroic Australian Johnnies fought local Mehmets at Gallipoli, the Germans were eventually defeated and everyone went back home again. What we weren’t told about was what happened next, the Liberation of Istanbul and Turkey. Even before the war…
Every week I try to have two what I call outing days in Istanbul. One is with my husband Kim and usually involves a museum or art gallery visit and lunch at one of our regular favourite restaurants. The aim is to enjoy each other’s company, learn something new, and of course, eat. For the…