Born on the 15th of January 1902, in Salonica, where his father was serving as an Ottoman government official, Nazim Hikmet Ran, commonly known as Nazim Hikmet, was a Turkish poet, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, director and memoirist. Best known for his intellectual pursuits and considered a romantic communist and revolutionary, he was very active throughout…
Prior to 1925, the Turkish fez, a conical hat made of red felt, was synonymous with Turkey and the Ottoman Empire. Indeed, the factory that made them can still be seen on the shores of the Golden Horn and has been converted into an art and culture centre. Long associated with the dangerous wilds of…
Most people are aware of the big events in the Islamic world, such as the fasting month of Ramazan (Ramadan) and Kurban Bayramı (Eid al Fitr), when an animal is sacrificed to Allah. Less well known are the five holy nights on the Muslim calendar called kandil, meaning candle. The tradition dates back to the…
I’ve lived in Turkey for a long time and been lucky enough to participate in lots of traditional activities. One of my favourite things to do is to join in on a kına gecesi, or henna night. This is the night Turkish women get together before the wedding to celebrate and commemorate the upcoming nuptials….
The idea for the Orhan Pamuk Museum of Innocence in Istanbul was based on his novel of the same name, and was conceived at the same time as the idea for the book. They simultaneously came into thought in the 1990s, and the novel was published in 2008 while the museum opened later, in 2012….
The Holy Month of Ramadan, the thirty day period when devout Muslims fast during daylight hours has started here in Turkey. As a visitor you’re exempt from fasting but life does change so here are some useful Ramadan tips to help you make the most of your travels during this special month. While locals abstain…
A Turkish friend recently invited me to attend a mevlit, one of the important Turkish death rituals, to be held for her mother. Her mum had been failing for months, going from being a chirpy chatty woman to a small silent figure swaddled in a now too large bed, who no longer spoke but always…
“A few months ago, Lisa Morrow, an experienced travel writer living in Istanbul, contacted me. She had just released a book, Exploring Turkish Landscapes, about Turkish culture and asked if she could send a copy, for a published review. I said yes and a week later, received a 162-page book via cargo. Since I am…
One of the first things people rave about when they come to Turkey is the food, so it’s not surprising that ‘Afiyet olsun’ is one of the first Turkish phrases they learn. It’s the Turkish for ‘bon appetite’ and I find it highly amusing that I have learnt the Turkish for something I say in…
“If you want to know how to improve your Turkish, I have one word for you. Bureaucracy. Forget expensive courses and fancy textbooks. Just spend one day (or maybe a lifetime) trying to get anything of a bureaucratic nature completed, and you’ll be as fluent as any native born Turk. By the time you’ve asked…