A Day Exploring Cihangir

When I decided to move to Istanbul, I knew exactly which neighborhood I was going to live in: Cihangir.

Cihangir is the Williamsburg of Istanbul (though it’s really nothing like Williamsburg)– full of young hip artists, cafes, brightly-colored walls, and galleries, and only a stones-throw away from the center of nightlife in Taksim. Yep, it would have to be Cihangir.

Things didn’t work out that way. Instead, I chose to live in Kadikoy, on the Asian shore– it’s cheaper, friendlier; still full of artists and bars and studios but with more seaside. I love my neighborhood and have no regrets. But I was curious, anyway, to delve deeper into the neighborhood that could have been; so one chilly Saturday, my friend Lucy and I decided to explore the colorful, hilly, funky world of Cihangir.

Here are some pictures from our wanderings that day:

We found cafes spilling over with expats drinking tea, junk shops full of framed pictures of Ataturk and gas masks, steep streets hiding galleries and greengrocers. It’s easy to imagine myself careening through this neighborhood, living in Istanbul’s “Expat-istan.” But the sense of discovery is maintained by living elsewhere—now I can still get lost in the alleys and curves of Cihangir. It’s a neighborhood I enjoy visiting and exploring, untangling and photographing in all its energetic glory.

But I’m always happy to get back to my sweet Kadikoy by the sea.