The internet is full of lists of top ten, eleven best or simply must buy Turkish souvenirs from your trip to Turkey. Carpets, apple tea and nazar boncuk are high on the list, but I can’t fit any more Turkish carpets in my house, apple tea is something only tourists drink and I have a…
Update: As of September 2025 Sirkeci railway station and the museum are closed for restoration works. Tucked away in an almost overlooked corner of Sirkeci Railway Station in Istanbul, the one room Sirkeci Railway Museum is a ferroequinologist’s (someone who studies trains) delight. In fact, even people like me who see trains simply as a…
Anyone who’s ever visited Istanbul, even for the shortest time, will have seen a kedi (Turkish for cat) or two (hundred). It’s no surprise really, as love for cats in Turkey goes all the way back to the life and times of the Prophet Muhammed, peace be upon him. Muhammed was raised by his uncle…
If you’ve ever walked along the waterfront from Üsküdar to Salacak, you’re likely to have passed the number 1453 in big bright red letters. It commemorates the Fall of Constantinople because that was the year Mehmet II laid siege to the city now known as Istanbul. Constantinople was founded by the Roman Emperor Constantine I…
Anyone who follows my website knows I’m a Kadıköy girl. It was the first district where I lived in Istanbul, and other than a brief six month foray on the other side, Kadıköy has always been my home in Istanbul. So it was exciting to learn that Ataturk Youth and Sports Day, commemorated every May…
The huge Istanbul Airport on the European side of the city opened in the district of Arnavutköy in 2019. It’s eventually expected to see 200 million passengers pass through its streamlined modern environment a year. However, for me and anyone who first arrived in Istanbul at the Ataturk Airport in Bakırköy, the big question is,…
Nowadays Emirgan Park is known around the world for its famous tulip festival held in the grounds every April. Beds of these once priceless flowers cascade down the winding paths and slopes, blanketing the banks of the Bosphorus with a wealth of colour and vibrancy. Less well-known is the history of the park. In the…
The word miraç in Arabic translates as ladder, to go up or rise. Muslims believe that on the night of Miraç Kandili the Prophet Muhammed was taken from the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca to the Masjid al-Aqsa in Jerusalem and from there passed into heaven via Sidretul Munteha, which even the Angel Gabriel could not…
On March 18 1915 Turkey, sixteen battleships, including six English and four French, set sail for the Dardenelles intending to wrest control of this vital waterway. The stakes were high as the strait had been heavily mined, but if victorious, the rewards would be great. Just one kilometre wide at its narrowest, this strip of…
The word regaip means wanting or desiring so Regaip Kandili is commonly referred to as the Night of Wishes. On this night believers say Allah opens up the doors of mercy. Followers seeking his forgiveness and kindness mark the occurrence with special prayers. Believers seeking to repent from their sins will also fast on this…