Istanbul - On the Crossroads of Continents

Istanbul is a city of immense disparity, a sprawling , heaving metropolis battling the fuelling tensions between the ever-widening haves and have-nots and between those with eyes to the West and those with eyes to the East. A city splitting at the seams as it struggles to deal with a constant influx of migrants from Anatolia and beyond. The life lived by those with wealth alongside the Bosphorus, its romantic hubbub the daily rhythm of their life, could´t be further from most Istanbullus, whose homes are in airless concrete suburbs far from the coast. For them Istanbul´s jewels are forgotten for the working week, only to be reunited on Sunday when the family might picnic under the trees at the Hippodrome. These energies and tensions make Istanbul all the more vital and beguiling.

The social challenges facing Istanbul, almost a microcosmos of the world´s tensions, are played out on one of the world´s most historically rich and breathtakingly beautiful cities. There simply is no other place like this. Dive into it.