Journal
What we write about the city, the building and around it.
Galata
48 hours in Galata
What you can do in two days without ever getting into a taxi — from the morning coffee to midnight, with the hills accounted for.
August 2, 20265 min read
Eating and drinking
Breakfast in Galata and Karaköy
The spread, the menemen, or just coffee — three kinds of Turkish breakfast and where each one is better.
July 30, 20264 min read
Practicalities
Ferries on the Bosphorus: which line, which hour
How to see the Bosphorus without a tourist boat — four public routes and when each of them is at its best.
July 16, 20264 min read
Practicalities
When to come to Istanbul: season by season
Weather, crowds and price are never all good in the same month. What each part of the year gives you and what it takes.
July 4, 20265 min read
The Historic Peninsula
One day on the Historic Peninsula
The order that fits Hagia Sophia, Sultanahmet, Topkapı and the Basilica Cistern into a single day — and which one to drop.
July 27, 20266 min read
Practicalities
İstanbulkart: the key to getting around
Where to buy it, how much to load, what it works on — and why it is the first thing to sort out.
July 24, 20264 min read
Beyoğlu
What is on İstiklal Avenue, and what is not
How to get off the main run and into the side streets without wasting an afternoon — and whether the old tram is worth it.
July 21, 20264 min read
The Historic Peninsula
The Grand Bazaar: haggling, gates and the real price
How to walk a four-thousand-shop labyrinth without getting lost, how haggling actually works, and what is genuinely worth buying here.
July 19, 20265 min read
Eating and drinking
How a meyhane evening works
From choosing meze to the rhythm of a rakı table: the order of an evening, and what it costs, for a first-timer.
July 13, 20265 min read
Practicalities
From the airport to Galata: four ways, four prices
How to get in from Istanbul and Sabiha Gökçen, with realistic times — and what to do if you land at night.
July 10, 20265 min read
Galata
The streets of Galata: seeing it without the tower
How to see Galata without going up the tower — five streets, what is on them, and the order to walk them in.
July 7, 20264 min read
Eating and drinking
Street food: simit, fish sandwich, kokoreç
Istanbul eaten standing up: what, where, how much — and which of it has turned into a tourist trap.
July 1, 20264 min read
The Historic Peninsula
Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque: what to know first
Tickets, dress, hours and queues — the practical things that decide whether these two are a highlight or a disappointment.
June 28, 20265 min read
Galata
Karaköy: coffee, fish and the quay
Five minutes downhill: what the old port district is now, and how to spend an afternoon in it.
June 25, 20264 min read
Beyoğlu
Music and nights in Beyoğlu
Live music, meyhane fasıl and after midnight: what is on which street, what it costs, and how to get back.
June 22, 20264 min read
Galata
A rainy day in Galata
Istanbul gets a lot of rain in winter, and the cobbles are genuinely slippery when wet. A day close enough to walk and full enough to spend indoors.
June 19, 20265 min read
Beyoğlu
Çukurcuma: antique shops and the Museum of Innocence
One street back from İstiklal and downhill. Second-hand shops, a museum built out of a novel, and cafés the tourist crowd has not reached.
June 16, 20265 min read
The Historic Peninsula
Topkapı Palace: which gate, and how long it takes
Four courtyards, a harem on a separate ticket, and a visit twice as long as most people budget for. Where to start and what to skip.
June 13, 20266 min read
Practicalities
Money in Istanbul: cards, cash, tipping, exchange
Where cards work, how much cash you need, who expects a tip and how much, and the one place not to change your money.
June 10, 20265 min read
Practicalities
SIM card, internet and your phone
Buy it at the airport or not, whether an eSIM is better, what the phone registration rule actually means for you, and the wifi in the flat. Short answers.
June 7, 20264 min read
Galata
Galata to Cihangir: one hill, two neighbourhoods
A twenty-minute walk, one avenue in the middle, and at the end the most comfortable neighbourhood in Istanbul to sit down in. Cats included.
June 4, 20265 min read
Beyoğlu
Art in Beyoğlu: Pera, Salt and the rest
Five exhibition spaces on İstiklal and one street behind it, most of them free. Which day they close and which one takes an hour.
June 1, 20265 min read
The Historic Peninsula
The Spice Bazaar and Eminönü: spices, coffee, ferries
Confused with the Grand Bazaar but far smaller, far quicker and far easier to shop in. Twenty minutes on foot from the door.
May 29, 20265 min read
Eating and drinking
Turkish coffee and tea: where and how to order
Sugar or none, how to ask for your tea, why the glass is held that way, and what the water beside the coffee is for.
May 26, 20264 min read
Eating and drinking
Istanbul as a vegetarian or vegan
Not eating meat in a meat-famous cuisine is easier than it sounds — half of Turkish cooking is already vegetables. What to order and what to watch for.
May 23, 20265 min read