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,…
Republic Day Turkey, or Cumhuriyet Bayramı as it’s known in Turkish, commemorates the offical start of a new Turkey. On this day in October 1923 Mustafa Kemal Atatürk officially proclaimed the establishment of the Türkiye Cumhuriyeti (Republic of Turkey). The Turkish Grand National Assembly, the parliament, had been in operation since it was established on 23 April…
While the country known as Turkey has a history going back hundreds of years, had it not been for the Turks’ decisive victory during the Turkish War of Independence in a key action in the province of Kütahya, led by Mustafa Kemal Pasha (now famously known as Atatürk, father of the Turks) in 1922, the…
I’d love to start this post by writing that I go to my local Istanbul street market in Göztepe every Monday but I can’t. My husband’s the one who goes. He’s known to the vendors as the Turkish looking foreigner (his mother was Italian) who buys the food for his family, rejects any apples, strawberries…
On the 23rd of April every year, the streets of Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir and other large cities, towns and villages across Turkey will be full of local school children. Decked out in brightly clean school uniforms, with the neatest hair and straightest socks, they march proudly alongside fire trucks, police marching bands and other municipal…
Back in 1990 when I first visited the country, Turkish toilets, whether squat or what we think of as ‘normal’ but the Turks call Ala Franga, were a constant topic of discussion among tourists and travellers. There were plenty of toilets around, in mosques, restaurants, bus stations and even in free standing facilities in parks,…
In part two of my interview with fellow Australian Craig Roach, he shares his love of Gallipoli and suggests which places should go on your ‘must visit’ list for Turkey. If you missed part one you can read it here. Craig, what might readers be surprised to learn if they take one of your Gallipoli tours?…
I’m pleased to welcome fellow Australian Craig Roach. Like me he’s passionate about Turkey and has a lot to share about his life and adventures in the country over the last thirty years. Here’s part one of his exclusive interview with Inside Out In Istanbul (updated April 2023). What first brought you to Turkey Craig?…
Getting to know Istanbul can be overwhelming. It’s a huge city, inhabited by people from all over the country and the world, with diverse neighbourhoods, confusing street layouts and a language most foreigners find hard to master, at least at first. Feeling at home and comfortable in your everyday life can take some time, so…