Category Archives: Istanbul

Away from the Golden Horn – what lies outside Istanbul’s centre (2/2).

Posted on April 15, 2016 by

Across the Bosphorus: Kuzguncuk. Istanbul, it can be argued, is a world of its own, and as in every self-respecting world you need a guide. Not a handbook, but someone who can direct you, offering insight and advice. Dante had … Continue reading →

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Away from the Golden Horn – what lies outside Istanbul’s centre (1/2).

Posted on April 7, 2016 by

Symbols you won’t find on your keyboard: Beşiktaş and Örtaköy. I turned a corner on Beşiktaş caddesi and basically run into them. Milling around on civilian buses and police vans, sitting besides the mammoth hydrants that usually turn up, at … Continue reading →

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The places in between: wanders through Fener and Balat.

Posted on March 31, 2016 by

I saw them from the above, a rare treat for a city like Istanbul, where landings seldom come from the north: huddled close together, squashed between the Golden Horn and the minarets of Ottoman mosques, were the houses and streets … Continue reading →

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A six-hour layover – snapshots of Istanbul in black & white

Posted on February 25, 2015 by

My inbound landed at 18:00. My outbound wasn’t due until some 6 hours later, at about half past midnight. Six hours that I could’ve spent wandering aimlessly through the airport corridors, boozing in a lounge, ending up – inevitably – … Continue reading →

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Hagia Sophia – a tour through an icon’s history

Posted on September 20, 2014 by

The Hagia Sophia museum has an entry price which is nothing short of a rip-off. Outside, you’ll be harassed by street sellers and impostors posing as guides. Inside it’ll be full of noisy and disrespectful people either yapping on their … Continue reading →

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Overlooked places – Moda, Istanbul’s Asian side

Posted on June 27, 2014 by

“Çai tea Çai tea…” the litany resounds from aisle to aisle in the open deck of the ship, echoed above by the tremulous shrieks of seagulls trailing in our wake. The ferry waiter, immaculate in his white shirt and blue … Continue reading →

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Beyoglu: on the trail of Istanbul’s revolts

Posted on June 25, 2014 by

Intrigued by my enthusiastic reviews, my boss and his partner visited Istanbul earlier this May and, as it often happens when visiting a new place whose non written rules and behaviour are unknown to us, they merrily walked straight into … Continue reading →

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Backbone of the city: a praise for Istanbul’s ferries

Posted on June 21, 2014 by

Istanbul lies in probably the best geographical location in the whole world; its strategic importance might not be as prime as it used to be when the Byzantine Emperors used to run the shop, but its looks are still as … Continue reading →

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