
Seeing Young Artists at Taksim Sanat
Taksim Sanat is an exhibition space run by IBB Kultur AS, right beside Taksim Square.
Culture and arts guides, event recommendations and stories from the city.

Taksim Sanat is an exhibition space run by IBB Kultur AS, right beside Taksim Square.

Miniaturk is a park on the shore of the Golden Horn displaying scaled models of buildings from across Turkey in the open air; in summer the same grounds turn into an open-air cinema in the evenings.

In Istanbul the ferry is an everyday means of transport; Istanbul Arasi turns that familiar journey into a culture and arts programme.

The Serefiye Cistern is far less known because it stands in the shadow of the Basilica Cistern, yet architecturally it is one of the most striking Byzantine cisterns.

Summer days in Istanbul are hot and the programme shifts to the evening. Between June and September almost everything moves outdoors, with stage, cinema and concerts starting after sunset.

Spring is the most balanced season in Istanbul as far as programming goes; the indoor season is still running while outdoor events begin, and the two overlap through April. The city also looks its best in these months.

Winter is when the programme in Istanbul moves entirely indoors, and that is in fact an advantage; the season's most ambitious productions are staged in January and February, the museums empty out and tickets are easy to.

Autumn is when the cultural season opens in Istanbul.

To understand Giresun you first have to look at its slopes.

The highlands of Giresun are not reachable for much of the year, and even in the open months their character changes week by week. Knowing when to go matters as much as knowing where. June is the opening month.

Giresun is a small province on the Black Sea coast, yet it fits three separate geographies inside: a coastal strip, forested valleys and highlands above two thousand metres.

The bird sanctuary on the northeastern shore of Lake Manyas hosts more than two hundred species, but what matters most here is not their number; it is that the place changes completely by season.

For most people Kocaeli is road passed between İstanbul and Ankara. Yet the province holds a Marmara coast, a Black Sea coast, a mountain of sixteen hundred metres and a five hundred year old Ottoman complex.

Most complaints about Pamukkale come from the same two mistakes: arriving at the wrong hour and entering by the wrong gate. Both can be settled in advance. The hour. The site opens early and closes late.

Almost everyone who comes to Denizli comes for Pamukkale, and most leave the same day. Yet within the province there are three ancient cities, the highest mountain in the Aegean and towns where hand looms still work.

Ottoman architecture brings the great domes of İstanbul to mind, yet the language was formed in Bursa.

Bursa was the first capital of the Ottoman Empire, and many of the buildings from that era still stand today, conveniently located within walking distance of each other. The city's other defining feature is the mountain that rises behind it, stretching over two and a half kilometers.

Muğla is where three ancient regions meet. Caria to the west, Lycia to the east and a transitional belt between them to the north.

Muğla is not a city, but a coastal region. It boasts Turkey's longest coastline, stretching over 1,200 kilometers, and its towns and districts are often located hours apart.

Within the borders of Antalya, there are dozens of ancient cities, and it's impossible to see them all in a single vacation. Which ones are right for you depends on what you enjoy; the following suggestions offer different options for different interests.

When you think of Antalya, hotels and beaches come to mind, but within the province's borders, there are also three ancient sites, a mountain city located at an altitude of a thousand meters, and one of the best-preserved Roman theaters in the world.

The Grand Bazaar has been open since the 15th century and remains a genuine market: both tourists and Istanbul residents come here to buy gold, carpets, and leather goods.

Traveling around Istanbul with a child means shortening your museum itinerary and extending your list of places to visit by ferry. The city almost feels like it was designed for children: there are cats everywhere, the sea is always present, and you can find a "simitci" (sesame bread vendor) on every corner.

From November to March, Istanbul is gray, windy, and occasionally snowy; but it's also a city without crowds, more affordable, and more authentically itself.