<a fr-original-style="" href="https://instagram.com/billuryapici?igshid=YTY2NzY3YTc=" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: rgb(9, 9, 9); text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent; outline: none; cursor: pointer; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; touch-action: manipulation; user-select: auto; box-sizing: border-box;" target="_blank">Billur</a> (Yapıcı), a singer-songwriter-producer who lives in Istanbul and London. We met her at Aposto London <a fr-original-style="" href="https://aposto.com/i/let-it-snow-let-it-snow-let-it-snow" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: rgb(9, 9, 9); text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent; outline: none; cursor: pointer; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; touch-action: manipulation; user-select: auto; box-sizing: border-box;" target="_blank">last Tuesday</a>, and discovered and loved her habits about city life. Now we are here with a small chat about Istanbul.&nbsp;We wanted to make you feel nostalgic. We asked some 'fill in the blanks' questions to Billur just like in the old days. This time, for us, the gaps are filled with what we cannot give up in Istanbul.Attention please: How would you fill in the blanks? Think about it, because at any moment you may have to.<h2 fr-original-style="" style="margin: 0px; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.85); font-weight: 500; padding: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;">Chit-Chat</h2><img src="https://s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/images.aposto.com/2022/11/6/1671275044242.jpeg" style="display: block; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto; text-align: center; width: 100%; max-width: 550px; border-style: none; position: relative; cursor: pointer; padding: 0px 1px; box-sizing: border-box;" width="550" ratio="0.56" fr-original-style="display: block; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto; text-align: center; width: 100%; max-width: 550px;" fr-original-class="fr-draggable">*&nbsp;<a fr-original-style="" href="https://goo.gl/maps/cBXakKHSWcCB2cN7A" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: rgb(9, 9, 9); text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent; outline: none; cursor: pointer; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; touch-action: manipulation; user-select: auto; box-sizing: border-box;" target="_blank">Cihangir Çay Bahçesi</a>*&nbsp;<a fr-original-style="" href="https://goo.gl/maps/CbFbR77PScK75sBJ9" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: rgb(9, 9, 9); text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent; outline: none; cursor: pointer; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; touch-action: manipulation; user-select: auto; box-sizing: border-box;" target="_blank">Van Breakfast House</a>

We live, work, create, and spend our leisure time in cities. We don't only inhabit them but we design them in every aspect. There is an interrelation. They are the immediate venue for our cultural, social, and political lives. So, the challenges cities face are multilayered and they should be addressed from the top to the bottom.&nbsp;Why am I telling you, actually, to call upon this? Because as Istanbulites, we mostly forget the fact that we can be the solution or at least we can be a part of a solution to our problems. Frequently, we grumble when we don’t find a parking spot or enough space to walk on the sidewalk. We complain about not having enough green fields, public areas, authentic restaurants, cycling paths, free cultural centers, and all that. Very few of us deal with the issues of becoming a participant as well as an inhabitant.&nbsp;Before discussing ‘a better city idea’ or problems of the city, we need to zoom in and evaluate our acts or should I say our passivity in civil life? At least, today, I choose to notice and invite you all.&nbsp;TO DO LIST (It’s just a recommendation)<ul fr-original-style="padding-inline-start: 20px;" style="padding-inline-start: 20px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; list-style-position: inside; box-sizing: border-box;"><li dir="ltr" fr-original-style="" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Read the latest issue below (to enjoy the last weeks of the year in the city)</li><li dir="ltr" fr-original-style="" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Attend a party to let it go (for example, celebrate Loft’s birthday, you know we all need to listen to Afro beats nowadays)</li><li dir="ltr" fr-original-style="" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Read and follow the <a fr-original-style="" href="https://mekandaadalet.org/en/" style="color: rgb(9, 9, 9); text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent; outline: none; cursor: pointer; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; touch-action: manipulation; user-select: auto; box-sizing: border-box;" target="_blank">Center of Spatial Justice</a> (to learn how to become a participant inhabitant)</li><li dir="ltr" fr-original-style="" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Walk around your neighbourhood (to know it and your city better)</li></ul><a fr-original-style="" href="https://open.spotify.com/show/5ZgljXf1jBuoT7FnZSPu4W?si=20d7d3d392564df1" style="color: rgb(9, 9, 9); text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent; outline: none; cursor: pointer; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; touch-action: manipulation; user-select: auto; box-sizing: border-box;" target="_blank">This time, unromantically,</a>Elif

While getting ready for Christmas step by step this week, we plan to visit Wonder Village to get into the spirit of the holiday. Of course, we still have much to go. 

📌 This you must remember

A weekly, practical guide to Istanbul for those who want to make this city their neighborhood. Every Sunday. 

Fill in the ____

Chit-Chat

Hikâyeyi beğendiniz mi?

📌 This you must remember