Rumeli Feneri Castle

Rumeli Feneri Genoese castle, Istanbul

In the North end of Istanbul, near a village near the Bosphorus‘s Black Sea end named “Rumeli Feneri”, there’s a Medieval Genoese castle: the Rumeli Feneri Castle. Rumeli Feneri literally means “Greekland Lighthouse” in the Turkish language. The village is…

Does it Snow in Istanbul?

Istiklal Avenue under snow

Some Europeans and Americans think that Istanbul is an Arabic city in the desert. Simply, it’s not. It’s cold, humid, rainy, and even snowy in winter. Snow is common between December and March. Rain is also common, especially in autumn,…

Maiden’s Tower

Maiden's Tower

Since the medieval Byzantine period, 200 meters off the shore of the Salacak district in Üsküdar, at the southern entrance of the Bosphorus, a tower lyes on a small islet: The Maiden’s Tower (Turkish: Kız Kulesi). It is also (mistakenly)…