The first thing that struck me visiting Istanbul again in the summer of 2006, after having spent seven years in the U.S., was the fast changing face of the city. Many squatter’s houses (‘gecekondu’ in Turkish and translated as ‘built overnight’) in shanty-neighborhoods had been destroyed or were gradually demolished and replaced by modern mass-housing compounds developed by the... Read more »

One of the many charms of Istanbul is that you still find lots of street vendors, also called hawkers, everywhere. They sell all kinds of merchandise or provide services like shining your shoes. It reminds me of my youth in the south of the Netherlands where I saw them selling sweets, or shoe shine, or sharpening... Read more »

Lots of tourists want to relax in a swimming pool after a busy and tiring day of sight-seeing in Istanbul. So which hotels are equipped with a swimming pool? I found several in the touristic heart of Istanbul, in the district Sultanahmet with the Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque, Topkapi palace, Grand Bazaar, Spice Bazaar, Hippodrome,... Read more »