Istanbul: Memories and the City (2003) | By Orhan Pamuk
On the one hand, this is a mosaic of many possible views of the city: from Theophile Gautier and Melling to the popular Turkish journalists of Atatürk’s era at its height. On the other hand, Istanbul is above all an autobiography. At the end of the day, that is the city in which Orhan Pamuk has always lived and which he has described in all of his works – from The Black Book to The New Life.
Even though Istanbul is not written in the fictional form Orhan Pamuk usually employs, it stays true to the logic of his remaining works, by presenting a mixture of philosophical considerations, fantasies, love, sadness and melancholic political and social reflections.
The book’s autobiographical elements offer an interesting insight into the life of the Europeanised Turkish elite in the second half of the twentieth century, and its attitude toward the religiosity that rushed into the city from the country’s interior. In this book, Orhan Pamuk describes the same problem he addressed in his novel Snow, but supports it with more factual and documentary evidence.
Balkan Cuisine
Turkey
Balkan Culinary Wars III: Other People’s Meatballs
Ćevapčići from Leskovac, köfte from İzmir or Bulgarian kebapche? Greek keftedes too, please!
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Curiosity Chest
Balkans
The Mystic Muslim Sects of the Mevlevi, the Alevi and Alians in Turkey and Bulgaria
Jalal al-Din Muhammad Rumi, also known as Mevlana, was a Medieval Persian poet and philosopher and the spiritual founder of the whirling dervishes. He delivered his sermons and wrote his religious poetry in literary Persian, capturing the imagination of the intellectual elite amongst the peoples of Central Asia and Asia Minor.
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Photogalleries
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A Perfect Shot
360 degrees Bulgaria, an exhibition by photographer Alexandar Ivanov, is on display at the Sea Garden in Varna until August 28. It will be shown at Plovdiv’s Central Square from Sept 5.
The exhibition Photographs of a Trip Through Bulgaria by Hungarian photographer András Balla can be seen in Sofia's Hungarian Cultural Institute, at Aksakov 16 Street, until August 22
Instant Spring in Sofia | Photographs by Lode Desmet
Off-the-season Beauty of Bulgaria's Black Sea Coast | Photographs by Adelina Iliev
Bulgaria's Northern Black Sea Coast
Photographs by Albena Shkodrova
excellent smugs
Annoyances in the Balkans
Balkans
Relentless Homophobia Rages in the Balkans
Be IN-tolerant! Be normal!, appeals a poster (pictured above) that recently flooded the streets of the Bulgarian capital, Sofia.
As the first gay pride parade in Bulgaria is about to take place, amid strong opposition by nationalistic organisations and a large part of society, the high levels of persistent homophobia in the country and the Full Story
Insiders' Advice
If the relentless homophobia is already that bad, what's the attitude in general towards HIV/AIDS, given the rather worrying HIV-prevalence in Eastern Europe and Russia?
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Is it easy to drive in the Balkans? Depends. If you are looking for adrenalin, this is a cheap way to get it. Expats say the best tactics is not to get annoyed.
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How to pick the right time to go? Winter is beautiful in the high mountains, the problem is, it can be so cold! Then again, who cares how cold it is - the locals have a cheap cure: heavy red wine. Sometimes warmed up.
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You can't trust local maps. Nor some international travel guides. One of them, for instance, says, that Neretva River in Bosnia and Herzegovina flows FROM the Adriatic towards the inland of the Balkans, never reaching the sea. OK, how about the Neretva delta and channel in Croatia?
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The Big Book of Travelling
United States
The Rise of Burlesque in New York: Tassels and the City
Burlesque – the more audacious relative of commedia dell'arte, is in revival. A reality in “upside down style”, this creative, witty and softer version of striptease is back on stage, following an absence of nearly 80 years. In New York, Anjeza Bojku scoped out several burlesqee venues for BalkanTravellers.com. Full Story
Thailand
A Short Guide to the Peculiarities of Thai Food
Travel News
3 September 2008 | The number of tourists from Russia, Poland, Romania and Bulgaria to visit Greece in 2008 will reach over 1 million, Greek media reported today.
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