Back in 2000 when I first lived in Istanbul, most of the foreign women in Turkey I knew were blonde. Whenever we met up for coffee they would regale me with stories of being followed by strange men and touched intimately and inappropriately on the shoulder or the backside. Perhaps I was more prejudiced than…
I can vividly remember the first time I came face to face with the results of the feast known in Turkey as Kurban Bayram. It’s the traditional religious holiday when all Muslim are expected to commemorate the strength of Ibrahim’s faith by sacrificing a cow, sheep or goat (read more about the meaning of Kurban…
After Republic Day in 2002, the main topic of conversation among my students was voting in Turkey due to the the upcoming Turkish elections. It was impossible to ignore them because every other day some party leader came to Kayseri to mount the hustings and win votes. Posters appeared everywhere advertising rallies in Cumhuriyet Meydan,…
Living in Turkey for many years I’ve learned about a lot of different Turkish wedding traditions. Here are just a few. “Some years ago I lived in central Turkey. It was at the beginning of the 21st century and Kayseri, the regional capital of Cappadocia, was equipped with all the modern conveniences you would expect…
One of the things I love about Turkey is the way objects are displayed. It was clear to me the first time I came to Turkey back in 1990 that when it comes to Turkish display style, Turks believe there is no such thing as too much when it comes to showing off what they…
There are many good books about Turkey, and after reading most of them (and writing one or five of them), here are some I’d like to recommend (updated May 2024). Happy reading! FYI I’ve reviewed the books about Turkey marked with an asterisk and you can read what I thought by clicking on the title….
Written in memory of my father, born 14th of February 1930. He set off on his last trip on the 14th of December 2013 and lives on in my heart. As I sit by my father’s bedside in Australia, holding his hand and watching him lose his fight with cancer, I’m reminded of the way…
Istanbul is well-known for its many beautiful mosques as well as architectural marvels from the Ottoman Empire. Under their reign, peoples from many different ethnicities and religions flourished in Istanbul. Pockets of this diverse past remain in richly decorated Istanbul churches and other religious buildings still in use today. Istanbul churches to visit There are…
Unlike popular stereotypes about women, I am not a great fan of shopping. True, I will go to great lengths to track down the perfect shoe or boot, but when it comes to other items of apparel, I am far less interested. Particularly when it comes to buying an outfit for a special occasion like…
Although the exact year of his birth is still disputed, the brilliance of Turkish architect Mimar Sinan, which translates as Sinan the architect, is not. Fathered by a stonemason, Mimar Sinan became a military engineer in the Ottoman Empire where he rose through the ranks to become first an officer and finally a commander in…