ISTANBULBEAT
Situationist puts out a contract
“Impossible is nothing” as the folks with three stripes like to say. And this could ...
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ISTANBULBEAT
10 things about Formula 1 2009 Turkey
Here are 10 things you might not know, but should know, before the race on 5-7 June
The checkered flag, start-finish lines, platform, champagne, and of course, ...
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ISTANBULBEAT
Rhythms of the city
“2009 half full, or half over?” wonders Situationİst
Since 2009’s now entered middle-age with the arrival of June, it&rsq...
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CULTURE
Theodore Metochites and the Chora Church
One of the greatest cultural legacies of the Byzantine world is the Chora church. Scott Newman explores the financier, Theodore Metochites, intellectual and bureaucrat.Theodore Metochites was born, 1270, at the beginning of the final phase of Byzantine history. ...
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ISTANBULBEAT
SituationIst Says Summer May, or May Not be Here
“Sweet and lovely, Sweeter than the roses in May” crooned Ferry on his 1999 nostalgia-fe...
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ISTANBULBEAT
Living Samatya
A quaint town by the seaside Where: Samatya
Why: Samatya is one of the oldest towns in Istanbul, even older than Istanbul as an ...
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ISTANBULBEAT
Red Sky at Night, Situationİst’s Delight
“Fool me once”… as the old cliché has it, “shame on you. Fool me twi...
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CULTURE
674 A.D. What if?
The last Great War between the Byzantines and Persians marks one of the least known, but most important, turning points of history, as Scott Newman explains.
674 A.D.
The people of Constantinople could easily see the smoke from the camps of the Arabs be...
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CULTURE
Did You Know?
Istanbul is full of secrets; some legend, and some true. Either way, they are all fascinating. Here are a few to get you thinking twice about this magical city we live in. Şile Lighthouse: The 2nd largest lighthouse in the world (Şile)
A lighthouse is probably the most...
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CULTURE
Turning Points
Rich Carriero examines a few watershed moments in Turkish history.
Occasionally there are moments when history turns on a dime. A sing...
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ISTANBULBEAT
Rhythms of the city
SituationIst Takes Tea with the Mad March Crowd
Charles Dogdson, a.k.a. Lewis Carroll. Mathematician, fabulist, author of one of the most lastingl...
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ISTANBULBEAT
Rhythms of the city
“Saints preserve us” is of course one of the milder English expletives; and preserve u...
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ISTANBULBEAT
Ex-Pat Chronicles
Why is printing type size here so minuscule that you need a microscope to read it? I have a stack of...
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CULTURE
IT’S ALL ABOUT THE BENJAMINS….
Brazilian Kidnapper 1: Look at all that pink and purple.
Brazilian Kidnapper 2: Our money sure is g...
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CULTURE
Murder or Suicide?
Friday June 9th 1876 Istanbul
The new Sultan, Murat V, made an impression, riding a white stallio...
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CULTURE
The Papal Visit
The visit of a Pope has not always been smiles and waves, as Scott Newman delves into the darker chapters of the city’s history.We’ve seen the image a thousand times – the Pope arriving in some distant land – g...
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ISTANBULBEAT
Rhythms of the City
New Year brings more of the same, SituationIst happily reportsOn January 1st, citizens and residents of this city will groggily awake to a collective hangover in ...
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CULTURE
Christmas - Christian or Pagan?
Christmas has a lot of odd traditions: trees, stockings, coloured lights and people singing in the streets. Rich Carriero explores the mystery of whether the origin of Christmas is Pagan or Christian.
The history of Christmas has always been something of a mystery. Nothing in the bi...
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CULTURE
Hanukkah
Alizah Salario talks about Hanukkah in the city
The Jewish celebration of Hanukkah marks the rededication of the Second Temple in ...
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CULTURE
Death of An Architect
Scott Newman on Fatih Camii and its ill-fated architect Atik Sinan.
We all know the story: upon completion of a great wonder, the mighty ruler dispose...
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ISTANBULBEAT
SituationIst Hangs a Bauble or Two of his Own
Rhythms of the city A character in novelist Iain M. Banks’ sci-fi...
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CULTURE
What's in a name?
Istanbul has changed hands—and names—more times that just about any place on earth. Rich Carriero tries his hand at peeling back a few layers of the ancient city’s wallpaper. One of the reasons I travel is for the rich sense of time interwoven with the bui...
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CULTURE
Constantine the Last
Scott Newman explores the story of Constantine XI, the last emperor, Missing in Action, 1453.
One by one the candles were extinguished, and the shadows of night slow...
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ISTANBULBEAT
SituationIst Finds His Sins Reflected in the City
Having an emotional bond with the place we live in is as important to good mental health as breathable air is to the physical variety.
Be they cities of our birth, or those adopted well into adulthood, we harbor a narcissisti...
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CULTURE
That sinking feeling…
How safe do you feel on the ferry to Kadıköy? Scott Newman looks back to 1915 when British submarines lurked off Kız Kulesi and a trip across the Bosphorus could have been your last.How safe do you feel on the ferry to Kadıköy? Scott Newman looks back to 1915 when British submar... “It’s a fine morning for submarines”, noted Raymond Swing of the Chicago Dai...
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ISTANBULBEAT
Situationist One Day in a Cafe, generically speaking
The luxury of having a day off is being aware of it stretching blissfully ahead of you when you wake. Which of course is also its inherent tragedy, as you haplessly watch it evaporate before your eyes – meaningful morning to enervated evening. Don’t despaThe luxury of having a day off is being aware of it stretching blissfully ahead of you when you wake...
“It’s Monday”, Bowie intoned, scaling his musical peak in the late 70s. “Y...
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ISTANBULBEAT
Rhythms of the city
SituationIst Says Skip the Pre-amble and Walk the WalkSituationIst Says Skip the Pre-amble and Walk the Walk...Earlier this week I set myself a strict walking regimen for crossing central Beyo#lu, and then follo...
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CULTURE
The Afterlife of Euphemia
Scott Newman explores the life after death of Byzantium’s most popular saint.Scott Newman explores the life after death of Byzantium’s most popular saint....September 16th 304
Euphemia looked across the sand as the lions appeared. They eyed her and s...
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CULTURE
Bad grass
The grasslands of central Asia are a great unknown to people in the west. Rich Carriero describes how this remote region continuously shaped history in Turkey for centuries.The grasslands of central Asia are a great unknown to people in the west. Rich Carriero describes h...The steppes, an ocean of grass stretching between the Volga and China, were a historic wild card.&nb...
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CULTURE
Econo-tourism
OK, OK, we know you live here, you’re not a tourist. But you still have visitors, don’t you, and they want to see the sights? So if you’d rather not see your entire month’s salary gobbled up while showing them round you’re going to have to find some ways OK, OK, we know you live here, you’re not a tourist. But you still have visitors, don’t you, and...Complimentary culture
It’s not easy to get out of paying the whopping entry fees for the Su...
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ISTANBULBEAT
Rhythms of the city: Fransiz Sokagi
Sunlight, camera, (but not too much) actionSunlight, camera, (but not too much) action...So, ever been curious about how our months were named? No? Well, humour me anyway. For instance, mil...
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ISTANBULBEAT
Rhythms of the city
Istanbul, eh? There ain’t half been some historyIstanbul, eh? There ain’t half been some history...It’s an open secret, and one I’m happy to perpetuate, that we live in the greatest city ...
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CULTURE
A life in the day of Istiklal Caddesi
Istiklal Caddesi is the pedestrianised Beyoglu street that runs from Taksim Square to the Tünel with the nostalgic tram (see p.8 ) creaking and rattling down the middle of it. In the 19th century this was the heart of Pera, the most westernised part of ‹sIstiklal Caddesi is the pedestrianised Beyoglu street that runs from Taksim Square to the Tünel wit...8am
Where else could you start a stroll along İstiklal Caddesi other than Taksim Square, home to...
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CULTURE
A life in the day of Divanyolu
Divan Yolu is the stretch of road that runs between Sultanahmet Meydanı and the Grand Bazaar with the tram trundling down the middle of it. As such, it is transited by thousands upon thousands of tourists every year, but how many of them ever pause to coDivan Yolu is the stretch of road that runs between Sultanahmet Meydanı and the Grand Bazaar with t... 8 am
This being such a touristy part of town, there's not much stirring so early...
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CULTURE
What's with the 'Stache?
Rob MacGregor delves into the mustache issue in Turkey, and comes out with one of his ownRob MacGregor delves into the mustache issue in Turkey, and comes out with one of his own...I maintain that there are only three people in all of existence that can pull off a moustache: Tom S...
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