You’d think the chances of crossing paths with someone who only lives a few blocks away from you in real life in Istanbul (pop 16 million and counting) via a Facebook group started by American writers would be pretty slim. Especially when you’re me, a woman from Australia and the other person is Pinar Tarhan,…
HISTORY The Sabiha Gokcen airport has been in operation over on my side of town since 2003. It is named after Sabiha Gokçen, one of the adopted daughters of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the modern Turkish republic. Gokcen is famous in her own right because she was the first ever female combat pilot…
Reams have been written about the Hagia Sophia, originally a Byzantine church, mosque, museum and now a mosque again, so I thought it was high time I wrote a post about it for Inside Out In Istanbul. The inspiration for this came not from a visit to the building itself, but from an exhibition of…
After the devastating earthquakes in south eastern Turkey in 2023, thousands of lives were lost and more changed, and innumerable damage done to individuals and places. It will take years for the people and the region to recover and one way you can help is by coming to visit the UNESCO World Heritage Sites Turkey….
The two devastating earthquakes that struck south eastern Turkey in the early hours of Monday and again around midday, 6 February 2023 continue to effect the people of Gaziantep. However the city is once again welcoming visitors. Tourism dollars go some way to normalising life but there is still a lot to be done. If…
(This post was originally published before the earthquakes that struck in south east Turkey. Recovery is on ongoing, and if you want to help please read my Turkey Earthquake 2023 post.) In this post I introduce Gaziantep in south eastern Turkey and give everything you need to have a brilliant time. I’ve divided this guide…
Once again I’m receiving messages from people asking is it safe to travel to Turkey. Once again it’s with a sad heart I am updating this post I originally published in 2016 and have updated several times since then. First I want to share some facts to put things in perspective when it comes to…
I’ve often said Istanbul isn’t so much a metropolis as a series of small interconnected villages and a set of coincidences I experienced when I went to Hatay and Gaziantep has really confirmed this belief. One day I was looking for a Whatsapp chat I’d had with someone at an animal shelter on this side…
Like Pierre Loti Cafe, which probably wouldn’t still exist if a woman hadn’t got involved, much of the city was built by Istanbul women whose unofficial machinations made them more powerful than the sultans they married or the sons they birthed. Women who fought for their rights while helping to establish the Turkish Republic. Turkish…
For this year’s birthday post I thought I’d tell you about my long horror hate relationship with kelle paça, sheep head soup for the uninitiated. My intense dislike of offal started long before I moved to Turkey, although as a four year old I apparently loved the tongue soup my nana made, at least according…