I rang in 2013 in quite a unique way – on a boat between two continents! A small group of Turkish and expat friends got together and purchased tickets to a special New Year’s Eve cruise on the Bosporus, the strait splitting the city of Istanbul in two and separating Europe from Asia. It started and finished at the docks in Kabataş.
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.
When you’re woken up in the middle of the night by the sound of someone walking through your neighborhood banging on a drum, you know it’s Ramadan in Istanbul.
If you’ve visited Chios in the summer and didn’t go to a panigiri, you haven’t visited Chios. A panigiri is a traditional festival that is usually held to honor the patron saint of a village or church.