In the mid-19th century the sultans moved from Islamic inspired Topkapı to European designed Dolmabahçe Palace. It was the start of a new era in Turkish history and Sultan Abdülmecid I led the way. The formerly tree covered parklands of the palace elite were named Teşvikiye, meaning ‘encouragement’ in Ottoman Turkish. Two obelisks adorned in calligraphic…
Turkey has long produced exquisite and practical objet d’art made from paper, stone and glass. Careful attention to detail and a focus on maintaining tradition, means many items are still being made using production methods dating back hundreds of years. Beautiful on their own merit, they conjure up images of distant lands where order, method…
The name Mustafa Kemal Ataturk is known the length and breadth of Turkey and beyond. There are statues, memorials and monuments in his honour all over the place and even a street named after him in Tunis, the capital of Tunisia. One of the first places I ever visited related to Ataturk was the huge…
Back in April this year I wrote a list of must try Turkish foods for CNN Travel. My aim in putting it together was to let people know there’s more to Turkish cuisine than kebab and baklava. I made a conscious decision not to include a famous dish called Adana Kebab because, well, it’s famous….
In an effort to improve my Turkish and learn what’s going on in my neighbourhood, I regularly check out the Kadikoy Council website. That’s how I discovered their initiative, Dukkan Kadikoy Council Waste Free Shop. It sells products and foods that are long-lasting, ecologically sustainable, produced from indigenous seeds, non-poisonous and seasonal, sourced from local…
A few years ago I spent a fun afternoon and early evening picnicking with a big group of friends in Yildiz Park. After a lunch that went on for hours we decided to play frisbee, not an easy task as the park cascades rather steeply down towards the Bosphorus. This was especially unfortunate for the…
I’m a Leo so I usually go large on birthdays with celebrations lasting at least a week and sometimes as long as a month. In the past I’ve enjoyed dinner with all my friends at a nice restaurant, held a party at home or had a romantic dinner with my lovely husband in a beachside…
I’ve been using public transport since forever. I have a driver’s licence but to be honest, the idea of driving in Istanbul scares the living daylights out of me. Besides, the traffic is so heavy I’d prefer to be on a bus, train or ferry, free to chat, read or look out the window, rather…
I’m an Australian living in Istanbul and like many people here in Coronavirus Turkey, I haven’t been out other than to buy food since March 14. Every day I read the contradictory medical reports about the Coronavirus on the news, see the rise in infections and deaths and like everyone, wonder when this will end….
Just before the December rains set in I took advantage of Istanbul’s blue sunny skies to go exploring. My aim was to find works by Raimondo D’Aronco, an Italian architect responsible for bringing Art Nouveau architecture to the city. Raimondo D’Aronco was born in Gemona del Friuli (by coincidence part of the district where my…