My family wasn’t religious, so when I was a little girl in primary school I was always slightly jealous of the other children at Easter. I’d see them emerge from scripture classes clutching Easter bonnets festooned with strips of paper, straw baskets filled with fluffy yellow cotton wool chickens and colourful pictures of the saints….
At least once a month I set off to explore Istanbul’s lesser known streets and sights. Armed with a vague plan to see at least one specific place, I often come across unexpected delights. The day I headed to Nısancı Mahallesi with my husband and two friends, was no exception. This time I discovered an…
In a little known film set in Istanbul spanning the last century, Turkish seasonings play an important role. In Turkey herbs and spices represent the continuity of history as well as the diversity within cultures. After interviewing my baharatçı, my spice seller Ayhan Baloğlu, I can see why. Born in Gaziantep on the hot dusty plains…
Istanbul is well-known for its many beautiful mosques as well as architectural marvels from the Ottoman Empire. Under their reign, peoples from many different ethnicities and religions flourished in Istanbul. Pockets of this diverse past remain in richly decorated Istanbul churches and other religious buildings still in use today. There are hundreds of Armenian churches…
Living in Istanbul … “Each day certain sounds can be heard echoing down my street. Early in the morning I hear the eskici come through. These buyers of old wares and junk roam the streets dragging or pushing two-wheeled, flat barrow carts, calling out “eskici, eskici”, buying old books, lamps, bric-a-brac and knickknacks. The items…