My friend Canan invited me to the Yenikapı Mevlevi Lodge one night to witness a Sufi Sema ceremony. It’s located in the Zeytinburnu district of Istanbul.
Kurtuluş was home to the popular Baklahorani, which is a carnival celebrated by the Greek Orthodox residents of Istanbul on the last Monday before Lent. It began as early as the 19th century and was celebrated annually until it was banned by the Turkish government in 1943.
Kurtuluş is a neighborhood in the district of Şişli in Istanbul, Turkey. I lived there for nearly a year and enjoyed my time there.