I would like to draw your attention to a multimedia presentation in the New Yorker about Turkish food by Elif Batuman. The piece focuses on Turkish chef Musa Dağdeviren and his restaurant Çiya Sofrasi, which happens to be my favorite restaurant in the city (see Mapplr review of Çiya Sofrasi).
Çiya Sofrasi is not in the main tourist [...]

Spring is in the air and many are planning their spring and summer holidays. I’ve been getting many inquiries about Istanbul so I decided to write this travel guide to collect all of my recommendations — currently spread over several posts — into one article.
Istanbul is one of the most beguiling cities in the world. [...]

If you are planning a trip to Istanbul, I recommend that you stay in either the Cihangir or Beyoglu district, not in Sultanahmet (too many tourists, cheap hotels and fast food joints). I already recommended the Witt Istanbul Suites and now I will add this one: TomTom Suites. It is close to the Witt and [...]

Uniqotel is a network of small, stylish hotels and apartments run by people who believe in good design and personal service. It’s hard to believe that there aren’t more of these networks around, but I guess getting small hotel and B&B owners together is like herding cats. Uniqotel’s first three members are Miniloft Mitte (Berlin), [...]

I have just returned from a trip to Istanbul and am adding more restaurants below to the original list of favorites I posted last year.  I will be posting a detailed Istanbul travel guide shortly with tips on where to go, where not to stay, what to do and more.
Refik Meyhane
Sofyali Sokak 10/12
Asmalı Mescit
Beyoğlu
Istanbul, Turkey
+90 [...]

The title of this post seems redundant and silly because there’s so much good Turkish food in Istanbul. But after eating in several restaurants over five days in this beautiful city, I have to single out Çiya Sofrasi as my favorite place. Strictly speaking, Çiya serves Anatolian food: red lentil soup, purslane with barley and [...]

Istanbul is one of those cities you must visit at least once in your life. At the crossroads of the Greek, Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman empires, there’s no shortage of historical monuments: the Aya Sofia mosque (formerly the basilica of Constantine), the grand Topkapi Palace, the Blue Mosque, the underground cisterns near Aya Sofia, the [...]

Spring is a good time to visit the city of Istanbul, one of the very few places in the world that bring together history, culture, art, architecture, gastronomy and stunning physical beauty. Here is a list of my favorite hotels (some are luxurious apartments in renovated buildings).
Sofa Hotel
Tesvikiye Caddesi No:41-41A
Nisantasi
Istanbul, Turkey
+90 212 368 1818
Find [...]

What makes a city hot? Art, history, beautiful location and of course, good food. Istanbul has it all. And as with any city with lots of good food, how does a visitor figure out which restaurants and cafes are really worth trying? To answer this question, I decided to ask a local. But not just [...]