Serefiye Cistern (Şerefiye Sarnıcı in Turkish) was built on the orders of Emperor Theodosius II who ruled Constantinople from 428 to 443 AD. It was constructed as a water depot to distribute supply to the inhabitants of Istanbul, then known as Constantinople. Fresh water was drawn from Belgrade Forest and its surrounds and reached the…
I have to admit, first up, that I’m a long-time fan of the Barbara Nadel Ikmen series set in Istanbul. That’s because her stories, full of fascinating twists and turns, never disappoint. The House of Four is no exception. What makes it even better for me is it’s largely set on the Asian side of…
When I first came to Turkey more than 20 years ago, I experienced the sweet frenzy then known as Şeker Bayramı (sugar festival) for the first time. It marks the end of the fasting month of Ramazan. It would be logical to think the name Sugar Holiday comes from the amount of chocolate, baklava and…
Kadir Gecesi is thought to be the most important of the five holy nights in the Muslim calendar called kandil. According to the 97th chapter of the Koran and the traditions of the Prophet Mohammed, it is the night on which the first verses of the Koran were revealed to Mohammed. “We revealed the Koran on…
When I travelled through Turkey in 1996, Arabesque music was everywhere. On jukebox cafes, in crowded minibuses full of toothless farmers dressed in wool and smelling of sheep and damp, at bus stations and on stretched tapes in car stereo cassette players. Enormously popular, Arabesque could be heard everywhere but on the radio. As happened…
Turkey Earthquake 2023 – How you can help When does Berat Kandili fall? Berat Kandili is one of the five holy nights on the Muslim calendar called kandil, meaning candle. It is mübarek, a blessed night that falls on the 15th night of Şaban, which is the 8th month of the Muslim calendar. What is…
On the 23rd of April every year, the streets of Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir and other large cities, towns and villages across Turkey will be full of local school children. Decked out in brightly clean school uniforms, with the neatest hair and straightest socks, they march proudly alongside fire trucks, police marching bands and other municipal…
It was with great pleasure that I opened the pages of reviewing Ozlem Warren’s new cookbook Ozlem’s Turkish Table: Recipes from My Homeland. She’s already well-known for her website of the same name and the cooking classes she gives all around the world. In this collection, Ozlem not only shares many of her favourite recipes…
Even though I don’t think of myself as superstitious, I don’t walk under ladders or step on cracks in the pavement. There’s no actual proof these things bring bad luck, but I think it best not to tempt fate, because you never know. Now, having lived in Turkey for such a long time I pay…
What type of music each person likes is an individual thing, usually based on where you grew up, the people you hung out with, and your life experiences. Whenever I play Turkish music for my friends who don’t know much about the country, they’re always surprised by the number of different styles and personalities that…