Blog

In a city like Istanbul, where squares are few and often controlled, to gather is to claim space, to appear is to insist on recognition. The act of standing in a square transforms private individuals into a public — making them visible, political, and impossible to ignore. In this way, the square embodies the tension between control and freedom, absence and visibility.

Istanbul once fed itself—through truck gardens woven into the very fabric of the city. From Yedikule to Kuzguncuk, these plots are more than fields: they are neighbourhood commons, seasonal rhythms, and living archives of multicultural labour.

The arcades of Istanbul are more than historic architecture—they are ledgers of a plural city. Most were built by Greek, Armenian, and Jewish communities who once shaped the everyday life of Beyoğlu. These corridors once linked not only shops, but languages, beliefs, and generations.

To be seen is to resist. To gather is to remember. Being queer in Istanbul is a form of urban authorship.

In a city that rushes, Istanbul ferries invite us to slow down — to share stories, memories, and a sense of belonging across Istanbul’s waters. We must reclaim our right to experience the city at our own pace — to embrace the shores as places where the sea meets us all equally.

As we mark five years of this living, breathing, digital table, one thing remains clear: You can take the meyhane out of the city, but you can’t take the spirit of the city out of the meyhane.

We are rebuilding from scratch, even when we’re too tired to begin — because we believe spring will come, no matter how long the winter lasts.

This isn’t just about a mayor — it’s about the people standing up for their rights, for democracy, and for justice for all!

It’s no surprise, then, to find Portugal’s tasca culture mirroring the spirit of the meyhane. Great tasca tips from our Lisbon barba, Defne!

Open call by @gunbugundur.la for protests photos exhibition in LA

Upcoming Protests Elsewhere!

You cannot stop breathing because the air is dirty, because hope never forgets the paths it has travelled and never returns to its starting point. It is always much further ahead than where it started.

Not only is pickle a great companion to rakı but brine is a great hangover cure, as Istanbulites learned from the Russian emigres who fled the 1917 Revolution.

London now has its first ever Istanbul meyhane!