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 has started here in Turkey and over this thirty day period devout Muslims fast during daylight hours. This means not eating, drinking, smoking or even chewing gum, from early in the morning until the evening. Once it’s no longer possible to distinguish a piece of white string held up to…
In my library on Turkey, I have a lovely little brightly coloured pamphlet style book filled with the kind of garish photos I used to see on postcards when I first travelled in Turkey in 1990. This book dates from about a decade before that, and features traditional Turkish crafts the author deems to be…
In Turkey, when you a buy a fridge, they don’t tell you how many litres it holds. Instead, they tell you how much Turkish ice cream it can store. Not just any ice cream though. Called dondurma, literally meaning ‘freezing’ in Turkish, Turkish ice cream is made with two magic ingredients, mastic and sahlep, and…
Everyday, in a suburb somewhere in Istanbul, a weekly street market is being held. One of the one of the many traditions brought to the big city from small towns and villages, vibrant, crowded, noisy Turkish street markets persist, despite the increasing number of supermarkets opening up every year. Trucks loaded with produce criss-cross the…
Turkish moustache cartoon by Margaret Hogan (include link to website) http://www.razblint.com/2009/10/turkey-land-of-the-mustache/
Istanbul has long been known for its historical collections of art and antiques, such as the overwhelming wealth of jewels in Topkapı Sarayı and the priceless Hereke silk carpets in Dolmabahçe Palace whose gigantic crystal chandeliers reflect the waves of the Bosphorus from outside. Elsewhere the hills of the city are dotted with the former…
Tombs are very important in Dervish traditions in Turkey and elsewhere. One tomb I particularly love is in a suburb called Merdivenköy, also on the Asian side of Istanbul. Today this is a heavily built up residential area but the suffix köy, meaning village, points to its history. During the reign of the Ottoman sultans…
Living in a foreign country it’s usual to feel homesick sometimes, especially now when the end of the year are just around the corner. For many of us this is a time of celebration, to observe our beliefs and be with family. However during Christmas in Turkey there are few if any of the familiar…