Every week I try to have two what I call outing days in Istanbul. One is with my husband Kim and usually involves a museum or art gallery visit and lunch at one of our regular favourites. The aim is to enjoy each other’s company, learn something new, and of course, eat. For the second…
I’m pleased to announce the release of my latest book, Longing for Istanbul: The Words I Haven’t Said Yet. In the last two years while the world as we know it has turned upside down, I’ve worked hard to share my life in Istanbul through my blog and Facebook posts, Instagram pictures and tweets. The feedback…
In her latest novel, Blood Business, Nadel tackles the topic of illegal organ trafficking within the context of the enormous movement of displaced people around the world. Turkey currently hosts four million refugees and asylum seekers, the vast majority of them from Syria and the largest number living in Istanbul. Blood Business begins with a…
Until now I haven’t been a fan of Elif Safak’s writing. I found her early novels (The Bastard of Istanbul and The Flea Palace) disjointed and in the case of the latter, more like a collection of vignettes than a work of narrative fiction. However since reading The Three Daughters of Eve and most recently…
Everyone hopes their children and grandchildren go on to bigger and better things, but it’s unlikely Orhan Veli Kanik’s grandfathers expected their grandson would become a poet. They were both traders and yet they were exactly the people Veli had in mind when he created a new style of Turkish poetry directed at the people….
With Christmas fast approaching it’s time to think about presents that leave lasting memories. To me, that always means a book, and if it’s connected to Turkey in some way, even better. I’ve read hundreds of books about Turkey so deciding on titles to include in this Christmas book gift ideas list was hard work….
The story in Not Constantinople follows a young American couple who come to Istanbul planning to work for a few years, save money and then go back home to buy a house. Fred and Virginia’s dream comes to an abrupt halt when they return to their rented Istanbul apartment one night to find a family…
I’m Lisa Morrow writer, sociologist and author, but more importantly I’m someone who has a real passion for Turkey. I’ve lived in Istanbul and other parts of the country for more than 15 years and counting, after first travelling in Turkey in 1990. I was surprised to learn, after reading a comment on a social…
A lot has changed in Istanbul since I first arrived. Like this memorable experience at the now defunct Topkapi bus station. “Anyone who’s spent any time in Turkey is likely to have caught a long distance bus. And if you’ve only ever had to use the Esenler bus station in Istanbul you’d be forgiven for…
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….