The Best of Winter in Istanbul

We arrived in Istanbul with runny noses and foggy heads. Luckily we were introduced to Salep, a hot drink sold on the cheap from street vendors armed with steaming copper kettles. In addition to ingredients like milk, honey, and cream, ground...

So why go to Istanbul in the late fall/early winter? Well, airfares are lower than in high season, you can pretty much get any hotel room you want, there are no crowds so no lines to stand in, and the price of pretty much anything you might want...

If you’re keen to experience the medieval practice of "kahve falı" or "fal" (fortune telling with Turkish coffee) then make an appointment at Symbol Café in Nişantaşı with Tunc, one of the few English-speaking coffee readers in the city. Once...

If you’re in Istanbul and interested in Turkish music and dance, then you should shimmy along to a Turkish Night. Favorite venues are Sultanas (www.sultanas-nights.com) and Karavansaray (www.kervansarayistanbul.com) in Taksim or Gar Gazino...

Walk into Hagia Sophia (Aya Sofya) and look up to the heavens to see why so many conquerors and their respective religions claimed this basilica turned mosque turned museum as their own. Visitors will swoon over the Byzantine gilded mosaics,...

The Sema ceremony at the Galata Mevlevihanesi in Istanbul can be described in three words: hypnotic, tranquil, solemn. It was a beautiful experience.

Try to catch a football (soccer) game in Istanbul even if you don’t care about football. In any other city, you’d want to watch the game live at a stadium. But if you are in Istanbul you want to be in a hookah bar. I would recommend "Ali Baba...

Come October, the weather cools and fisherman start overflowing local fish markets with freshly caught hamsi (European anchovies) from the Black Sea. Istanbulites (locals) who have been patiently waiting for months to taste this tiny meaty fish...

Nestled in the tourism precinct of Sultanahmet, Rumeli Cafe is an ideal location for dining while people watching the nations of the world from the restaurant’s streetside terrace. Summertime sees the opening of the rooftop dining area, where...

If you revel in gastro-travel, or perhaps you’re pondering how to make Ottoman and Turkish classics back home, then don an apron and broaden your culinary horizons at Cooking Alaturka in Sultanahmet. This innovative cooking school, for groups of...