Local Expert
Jessica Tamtürk
Welcome to PlanetEye's Istanbul City Guide! My name is Jessica Tamtürk and I'll share with you insider's tips on how you can make the most of your trip to this intercontinental city.
Originally from…
Welcome to PlanetEye's Istanbul City Guide! My name is Jessica Tamtürk and I'll share with you insider's tips on how you can make the most of your trip to this intercontinental city.
Originally from Belgium, I now call Istanbul one of my home bases; the other being Los Angeles, California, the place where I grew up.
Whether you hail from the European or American continent, my roots – biological and experiential – makes me the virtual guide with the most to help you conquer this metropolis of over 15 million.
What you'll get through these pages is my unbiased opinion of destinations, hotels, and restaurants. You may even learn a little Turkish in the process through my STRICTLY SPEAKING segments at the end of each post. I'm a stickler for responsible tourism; that means that I firmly believe that the industry should integrate with a country rather than the destination complying itself to the whims of its yearly visitors. I hope you'll agree and use the language tool to mingle with the natives. You'll be glad you did!
Aside from keeping you updated on the ins and outs of the greatest city in the world (at least I think so), I'm hard at work developing a first edition, 500-page travel guide to Turkey for Avalon Travel Publishing.
If you like what you're reading, have a question or just need general info on Istanbul, then by all means drop me a line by visiting my website....
STRICTLY SPEAKING
Hos Geldiniz = Welcome!!!! (pron. Hosh Geldiniz) –
More
A LITTLE AEGEAN DANCE, ANYONE?
So we covered glass classes and cooking lesson, how about learning Aegean dance?
Murphy's in Kalamis--a ritzy strip covered with cafés and restaurants on the Asian side of town--has just launched Sirtaki and Zeybetiko dance classes every Thursday from 7.30 p.m. to 9.30 p.m.
Don't know what these are? Zeybetiko is a flolkloric dance that features an all-man dancing team. The hoofers are called "efe" and symbolize courage and heroism. Sirtáki is danced in a line or circle with hands held on neighbours' shoulders. Think the opa!-inducing Zorba the Greek!
While the classes will only be instructed for six weeks, I'm sure the series will prove popular enough to be an ongoing attraction. Plus, every other week the club allow students to strutt their newly-learned steps to the tunes of a live Buzuki starting at 10 p.m. The class costs 20TL per and includes one drink.
Located in the posh Setur Yacht Marina in Kalamis, Murphy's a nightclub set along the tip of the pier at the end a breakwater, overlooking the Princes' Inlands peppering the Marmara Sea.
ESSENTIALS
Address: Setur Yat Limani B ISkelesi Uçu Kalamis
Phone: +90.216.349.7363
To get here, take a ferry to either Kadikoy and either hop on a dolmus (1.50TL) or taxi (8TL) from the embarcadero.
STRICTLY SPEAKING
Water = Su (pron. soo like in too)