Welcome to the second part of Sultanahmet – playing tourist in the city I call home. If you haven’t read part one already, here’s the link . The next morning we woke up ready to go out and play tourist again but to be honest, it was tempting to just stay put. We were staying…
When I was invited to stay at the Empress Zoe Hotel in Sultanahmet after I wrote about it in my piece for the Guardian, I jumped at the chance. Being a travel writer most people imagine I spend my days wandering around Istanbul playing tourist and journeying to all points of the compass on endless…
Every year Muslims around the world take part in Ramadan when for thirty days they allow no food or drink to pass their lips in daylight hours. True believers are also required to abstain from sex. Doing without is a personal statement of faith and shows solidarity with those who have very little all the…
As soon as I saw a photo of the Odunpazari Modern Museum, I knew I wanted to see it in person. The building was conjured up by Japanese architecture firm Kengo Kuma and Associates, known for designs featuring natural materials such as timber, stone and paper. They aim to amalgamate nature and architecture to create…
I remember when I first came to Turkey as a tourist (more than a few years ago now I’ll admit) the one thing I found hard to take and then actually annoying, was the way sales people persisted in trying to sell me things. Of course it’s their job but when you’re new to a…
The present day Pierre Loti Café, overlooking the Bahariye Islands and the Golden Horn was built over the site of the original coffee house where French novelist Pierre Loti used to come to admire the view. Loti, real name Louis Marie-Julien Viaud, was a French naval officer and novelist born in 1850. He wrote tales…
I’m neither a mad dog nor an Englishman and I never go out in the midday sun in summer, but this year the temperature in Istanbul from June through to August was set on high no matter the time of day. Nonetheless I still went out exploring, but tried to plan outings involving air-conditioned transport…
I do a lot of research before going out exploring Istanbul and other parts of Turkey and also for writing these posts. More and more these days I reference websites written in Turkish. There are a couple of great ones run by Turks who travel independently all over the country and I use them a…
Summers in Istanbul are hot and humid so when I have to be out and about I always try to combine errands with a bit of exploring. I was a winter baby so heat and I don’t get on. This year summer started early so when I headed to Üsküdar in the last week of…
Kurban Bayram, known as Eid el-Adha in Arabic, is the most important Islamic festival of the year in the Muslim world. It falls about seventy days after Ramazan and the start dates for each are determined by the Muslim calendar, thus changing every year. Traditionally, all Muslims are expected to mark this occasion by sacrificing…