Walking from Kadıköy or Moda towards Fenerbahçe, you’ll pass Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium. It’s the home of the Fenerbahçe football club and contains a museum and gift shop.
Moda is a pleasant neighborhood in the Kadıköy district of Istanbul. It’s located just south of the center of Kadıköy.
Selimiye is a neighborhood in the Üsküdar district of Istanbul. It’s full of military buildings, universities and schools, and hospitals.
Bağlarbaşı is one of the busiest areas of the district of Üsküdar in Istanbul, Turkey. It’s easily accessible via a stop the M5 metro line.
Beşiktaş Stadium (Beşiktaş Stadyumu), currently known as Tüpraş Stadium for sponsorship purposes, is the home ground of the Beşiktaş football club. It’s located in the Dolmabahçe area of Istanbul, Turkey,
Gümüşsuyu is a neighborhood in the Beyoğlu district of Istanbul. It’s located on the hill descending from Taksim Square to the Dolmabahçe neighborhood of the Beşiktaş district.
Çukurcuma is the place to go for antiques in Istanbul. Through the narrow streets, you’ll be able to find all kinds of interesting treasures.
Bağdat Avenue (Bağdat Caddesi) is one of the most important streets in not only the Kadıköy district of Istanbul, but the entire Asian side. It runs from east to west from Maltepe to Kadıköy for about 14 kilometers (8.7 miles).
This is a short poem I wrote in Turkish about homesickness the night before I left Istanbul. I had lived there for over three years and was overcome with sadness about leaving such an amazing city behind:
Homesickness…
İstanbul şehrim, evim, kalbim. İstanbul hastalığım aynı zamanda çarem. Mutluluğum, üzgünlüğüm. Hapishanem, özgürlüğüm. İstanbul – bazen beni sevdin, sık sıkı senden nefret ettim. Fakat sensiz asla nefes alamayacağım. Nereye giderim ki, hep benimle seni tutacağım. Hayatım İstanbul. Ruhum İstanbul.
This poem is important to me for two reasons:
Firstly, it showed my grasp of the Turkish language after living in the city for so long. I may not have been fluent but I was finally able to express myself and carry an everyday conversation by the time I left. In the beginning, it was quite difficult to put sentences together but I was able to complete basic tasks, such as shopping, asking for directions, and ordering at a restaurant.
Secondly, it accurately expressed my feelings about Istanbul and life in Istanbul at the time I was leaving. The city became a very important part of my life, and although it could be a difficult place to live, it could also be the most incredible place in the world at the same time.