Istanbul Travel Blog

If you will are visiting Istanbul this week, you may have already noticed that it is not a regular week. You may have noticed that the banks are closed, in fact if you were already here yesterday, you would have noticed that many restaurants and shops were also closed -unless you went a mall. That is...

Merve getting ready for her next piece Merve Ünsal is an artist/writer based in New York. Native of Istanbul, Turkey, she has recently finished an Internet-based art project questioning the nature of airports and airport security. She is the co-editor of BoltArt.net and is currently working on various...

I’m starting a new series on Istanbul… Pretty much like the Gourmet Diaries series I had initiated weeks ago… This one is going to feature your thoughts… I’m picking people from different sectors (arts, finance, education, engineering…) to have a diverse variety of...

I had started with concierge picks on a previous note. I am now moving on with different people from different sectors. Investment banker living around the hills of Arnavutköy, not willing to disclose their identity, kindly provided us with their picks in the city. 1. A friend of yours is visiting you...

Overlooking the Hotel courtyard and the Hagia Sophia Image courtesy of: Ottoman Hotel Imperial Handan Küçük from the Ottoman Hotel Imperial was kind enough to spare us some of her time and discuss what she likes about Istanbul and what she would recommend her visitors to do when in the city. Ottoman...

“Do”s Street food: eat kestane (chestnuts), simit (bagels), mısır (corn), kağıt helva (waffle) Kestane Be on a roof-top at least once… Go dining at Mikla, take a drink at 360, go clubbing at Nu Teras. Take the ferry or rent a shuttle boat and cross the canal… Tip: Go brunching...