There are very few cities in the world as astonishing as Istanbul. And doubtless to say Paris is one of them. Hong Kong is also a surprising town when wandering around. These cities are amazing where concepts such as poorness and richness, humor and grief, present and absent are all mixed up.

I wanted to squeeze European Istanbul - the back streets of Beyoðlu - on a late summer afternoon. When walking down the street I paused as soon as I saw the stunning image of the Genoese (Galata) Tower. Afterwards I went to Konak Patisserie, which is located on the roof of an old building and has a view of the historic peninsula. Galata Tower, with its history of thousands of years, rises at my back. If you are in Istanbul you will be challenged as to which panorama to admire next - even for a period of drinking coffee.

I followed the music coming from the foot of the Tower. Dozens of people filling the small square were listening to the tunes of a young Jewish group. The tourists were surprised and the local people had this-place-is-ours excitement in their eyes. Everybody was in a different mood.

New shops have been opened in the back streets, cheering up Galata. These streets in Galata, Tünel and Beyoðlu are now trendy. Youngsters, people looking for an alternative life style, fill these streets and convert the area to a festival site.

I was left open-mouthed in front of a shop. Many Masonic insignia from all over the world were on display among dresses, "evil-eye" beads, (nazar boncuðu), flashy rings and necklaces. Another radiant festival! Who would not be surprised ?

As I continued my walk I stopped at some marble stairs that were trying to tell me their history. The stairs told me that they were witness to the kissing of Maria and an Ottoman soldier, and to Eleni´s hitting the head of a Tophane boy with her umbrella who had pinched her, and much, much more.

I was just turning the corner when I saw two big black eyes staring at me... The eyes of a seahorse. Seahorses are notable for being the only species in the world in which males become pregnant.

When I strolled towards Tünel, I heard a pleasant melody and headed to the first floor of the apartment from where the music was coming. I entered from a high front door and immediately dived into the world of paintings, calligraphies and postcards. Ali Bey, the owner of Galeri Sefa - literally ´delight´ - was enjoying himself. "To tell the truth I repair old furniture. The customers usually call before visiting. The doors are not open always and the visitors are a few French people" says the owner of this gallery on Ilk Belediye Avenue.

When I was heading home, I thought about the years when we published the Konstantiniye News newspaper. We encountered many surprises and presented them to our readers with great enthusiasm.

We paid frequent visits to the Mayors in order to preserve the values of Istanbul that were about to be lost; however, we didn´t succeed with that very much. The wall pictures of S�reyya Beach at Küçükyalý were among these values, but now those walls that we exhibited at TUF Camera corner of Tufan Aksoy are a group of photographs in the archives.

In 2010 Istanbul will be the European Capital of Culture. How many people are aware of this and how many know the meaning and importance of this event?

Now, I believe everybody should say "Istanbulites! Two more years and the world will be watching us. Therefore let´s protect our treasure and look after this festival of our city and the historical heritage of the world" and we should talk about Istanbul every chance we get.

by Cüneyt AYRAL

www.mymerhaba.com

There is definitely something special about Istanbul... I am not completely sure what it is! Maybe it´s the culture and social life, friendly people.. relaxed atmosphere, along with the ´different-ness´, for a european eye... the mosque minarets are definitely making an impression, different looking people, along with enoug of familiarity... relatively clean streets (the main ones at least )...

 thank you for your passion and love of your country. I envie you, for not being able to visit Turkey yet. But I will one day. This is my dream!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I love your country and culture and most importantly, the People.... great reading.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wonderful read!!! It brngs back so many memories!! I too love Istanbul! I think it is the history, people and the water. I love seeing on the ships on the Bosphorous!! And I love taking the ferry back and forth between the Asian and European sides.

Wonderful, thanks again 

OK, I don´t normally post links to my own reviews, but not only is this the same subject as my review this Sunday, the "Ah Ýstanbul" title is reminiscent of my first line: "Ýstanbul, ah Ýstanbul"

http://www.sundayszaman.com/sunday/detaylar.do?load=detay&link=158851&bolum=111

Wow Marion..

It is wonderful..

Marion,  I totally enjoyed your article on Istanbul!

Thanks so much for sharing!!

Istanbul is definately going to be my first trip of 2009.......fantastic

Thank you marion. Great article, I enjoyed reading it.

I tried following your advice and get "bebek of the bosphorus" illustration book for my 4 year old daughter as a christmas gift,but unfortunately the book is not on amazon.fr yet it wont be until april 2009.

I think am falling in love with Istanbul eventhough I havent visited it yet.

Thanks again.

Try www.greenhousekitap.info we can send anywhere in the world! 

Wonderful Marion. As I stated before, that is my most favorite thing to do in Istanbul, take a Ferry ride!!!

Ah Istanbul 

After so many forums where people shout insults at one another, it was nice to read one that reminds me what I love about the people and language of Turkey.

Thank you.

It is very nice, I agree.  However, if these forums soley comprised of such threads, I doubt very much whether this site would be so popular (or fun)

It is better to have a balance of threads, in my opinion.  Despite what you think are huge insulting arguments, most of the close friends I made here are from the people I argued with most

You know what they say - ´if you can´t insult your friends.........´  (actually not too sure who ´they´ are but I think this is true).  Conversely, I find I am always most polite to the people I don´t like - in fact the less I like them the politer I am!

 Oh this is so true Baddy.

(By the way, you have been a little too polite with me lately )

 Are you mad, nuts, crazy, deluded, paranoid or what???  

Awwwwwwww thank you Beddy

 masochist brits

Unfortunately, we have a few contributors whose only concern seems to be peeking fun at others´ posts. There are also those users who do their best to show their hatred of this country.

Unfortunately again, we do have a number overly patriotic members who think they can defend the country´s image through gutter fight.

Luckily, Turkey is an old and culturally diversified country where anyone wishing could find something interesting and worth loving.  It is beyond doubt that there are so many problems in this country too. In the end, it all depends on your intention.

So true vineyards. I can only say Istanbul is an amazing city; so filled with history, you feel the thousands of years of civilizations that have been there. It´s like a multidimensional city.

 Ouch..... you are always so polite to me on MSN....

When people ask me which city in Turkey I like most, my answer is never Istanbul. Why? Because it is incompareble, all others would loose that ´contest´ at once. Istanbul is Istanbul, above all others (at least in Turkey).

You could spend a lifetime in Istanbul and still not see every aspect of it.  The whole city is such a wonder.  I got married in Istanbul and we took a big boat trip at night since it was Ramaddan and we tried to get around the eating time.  Istanbul is absolutely breathtaking at night.  Everyone wanted to tell me things, even though I did not understand Turkish and all I could do is stare outside.  I am not a very emotional person, but it was so beautiful, so beautiful I wanted to cry.  I guess in a sense Istabul was the bride that evening.