1 – Pano

The place is the main attraction area for wine loving students and young people who go out with their crowded group of friends. The Pano No.10 is the popular house wine and if you are also hungry, shrimp casserole and butcher meatballs are recommended. It is located in Galatasaray, Kalyoncu Kulluk Street no.4 – the street just in the opposite of Galatasaray College on the right of Istiklal Avenue from Taksim.

2 – Viktor Levi

The neighbour of Pano serving various wine, which is most famous for Viktor Levi No.59 made of Bogazkere/Okuzgozu grapes. Most people prefer this winehouse not only for drinking but also for a dinner. This winehouse has also a branch in the Anatolian side – Kadikoy Moda Damaci Street.

3 – Isis

The fourth floor of Isis which is also a cafe bar is a wine house having a variety of more than 150 wine choices with origins of more than 10 countries. The most preferred local wines are Sarafin Merlot and Antik. During the winter, you can also sip your hot wine in front of the fire place. It’s on the right end of Kadife Street (The street of bars) in Moda – Kadıköy.

4 – Şarabi

Having a great variety of wine choices, Sarabi is a well-known wine house Beyoğlu with a modern decoration. Pasaj – a white wine is a popular choice, and Sarabi steak is another recommendation from the menu. The age gap of the crowd is wide, but mostly  young people prefer this wine house. It’s on the right of Istiklal Avenue just close to the entrance of “Cicek Passage”.

1 – Ağva

Ağva is the first place that comes to the mind for those who want to get away from the chaos and the noise of Istanbul to have a break and relax. The best time for Ağva is spring and summer, but the prices of the boutique hotels are also high at this season if you’d like to have an overnight stay. You can do trekking, swimming, canoeing or nothing but enjoy the green nature. Choose the weekdays to avoid crowds. It’s about 2 hours driving on the Northeastern part of Istanbul.

2 – Sapanca

It’s a place where Istanbul people go especially on weekends for eating fish by the lake of Sapanca in the open air. It’s a quiet and peaceful place to enjoy a relaxing time. It’s less than 1,5 hours drive on the East of Istanbul.

3 – Edirne

Being a capital of Ottoman Empire till the conquest of Istanbul, Edirne is a small city where great mosques, museums, monuments and history remains. Selimiye Mosque which has the highest minarets in Turkey, Beyazid II Kulliye Health Museum, Meric Bridge Alipasa Bazaar are must-visit, famous fried liver served with onions is must-eat. Edirne is in Thrace having a border to Greece and Bulgaria 200 km from Istanbul – less than 2 hours from the highway.

4 – Abant

Abant is a natural beauty – a lake among the mountains in Bolu – 250 km from Istanbul. The place is beautiful in all times of the year, but the best in winter – with the wonderful landscape under white snow. You tour around the lake on foot or by a coach, then have a lunch in one of the restuarants by the lake or do picnic in open air. The route to Abant can be difficult on winter days with hard snow.

Istanbul is a great metropol where public transport can be a torment for people sometimes, but there are ways to enjoy Istanbul in a local way.

1 – Ferry from Haydarpaşa to Eminönü
Get on the ferry and travel from the historical Haydarpaşa Rail Station to the Old Town Peninsula – Eminönü. Simit (savory roll covered with sesame seed) and tea are indispensable meal for Istanbul locals travelling by ferry. You can share your simit during your voyage with the friendly seagulls.

2 – Tram from Tunel to Taksim
Back from the beginning of 20th century, this nostalgic tramway takes you all over the Istiklal Street. It’s one of the symbols of Beyoğlu District and Old Istanbul.

3 – Fenicular from Tunel to Karaköy
Officially built as the second metro after London in 1875, it’s the shortest (about 2 mins) but one of the most useful public transport vehicle in Istanbul connecting Beyoğlu to the coast of Karaköy.

4 – Boat from Beşiktaş to Üsküdar:
It’s one of the most useful public transport route in Istanbul helping thousands of citizens travelling between the two sides of Istanbul. You can get to the other continent in less than 10 minutes with these boats. The Bosphorus view charms the citizens in the mornings before a challenging workday.

Here in Istanbul autumn is back and we are ready to welcome the autumn film festival between October 17 -25. This year festival is extended to include two weekends because of its success last year with 33,500 viewers and a capacity of 99 %. 

Emek Movie Theater hosts the festival and if you have not bought your ticket earlier, you should be at Emek, at least half an hour before the film and wait for the “reserved tickets” to be sold at the last minute.

We tried to give some tips about this year’s program as below; you can check the whole program here.

 1 – White Ribbon / Michael Haneke

One of the hit films of this festival is White Ribbon from Michael Haneke with three awards. This dark film focuses on a rural German school in 1913, which seems to be the sight of ritual punishment. If you are a fan of Haneke you must not miss this masterpiece. Imdb note is 8,3 /10

2 -  Che Part One – Che Part Two / Steve Soderbergh

Another film with three awards and 8 nominations, produced in 7 years with partnerships of Benici Del Torro and Steven Soderbergh. Interesting life story of Che has two sessions; part one named ‘ The Argentine’ and part two is ‘ Guerrilla ‘. Imdb note is 7,4 /10.

3 – Whatever Works / Woody Allen

Latest film of Woody Allen, at last he came back to New York streets. An eccentric New Yorker played by Larry David abandons his upper class life to lead a more bohemian existence. He meets a young girl from the south and her family and no two people seem to get along in the entanglements that follow. Imdb note is 7,7 /10

4 – Don’t look back / Marina de Van

A psychodrama about a photographer whose pictures tell a different story to that of her perception from two great actresses Sophie Marceau and Monica Bellucci.

These are just the highlights; there are many other hit films in this festival. You can buy tickets from biletix on Internet or from Emek movie theater in Beyoğlu. Ticket sales had started on 3rd of October that you may not find tickets for some of the popular films, don’t worry keep in mind that if you wait at the queue, half an hour before the scheduled time of your film, you can buy a ticket.