A cultural project exploring acts of ‘Istanbuliteness’

‘Istanbuliteness’ is a way of communicating with the world around us; in the street, at work, out shopping or chilling with friends or family. It’s a way of being, a style that ebbs and flows with the tides of The Bosphorous or wherever an Istanbullite finds themselves; taking raki in a bar in Berlin, in fragments of music heard on a street in London, or on the dockside of New York when a seagull flies overhead.

#ActofIstanbuliteness

Act of Istanbuliteness

Istanbuliteness is a way of interacting with the world in which Istanbulites shape their city of exile into the image of Istanbul.

Istanbulite must have:
Raki and Bluefish

In this mini-documentary, Istanbulite fishermen set off in their boats from Anadolu Hisarı in the early hours of the morning.

There’s always an excuse for raki when you’re an Istanbulite; One moment you’re sitting on your balcony, reading a magazine. You glance up from your reading and see some unripe grapes hanging over your neighbour’s wall, you turn towards the Bosphorus and in a flash an urge for a glass of rakı springs up. And your plan for the day changes …

  • Wherever they are, Istanbulite searches for a small trader. 

  • An Istanbulite treats any water -an ocean, a river even a stream- as if it were the Boshphorous and imagines they are drinking raki looking at this timeless view

  • Being an Istabulite is all about being obsessed with the weather, while always getting it wrong.

  • An Istanbulite searches for a neighbourhood market every week.

  • Being an Istabulite is all about being obsessed with the weather, while always getting it wrong.

  • Istanbulites look for a second-hand bookseller wherever they go.

  • Being an Istanbulite is a poetry.