Fall In Love With Istanbul

Writer Elif Shafak on her love affair with Istanbul

- Elif Shafak

Her. For Istanbul is, and always has been, a she-city. This might be difficult to discern at first glance. The serpentine streets, the sidewalks, the public squares, the coffeehouses, the entire urban space visibly belongs to men, after all. Especially after dark, once the sun descends. And yet it is worth remembering that throughout the centuries, from the Byzantines to the Ottomans, countless poets and artists have imagined and addressed the ancient metropolis as a woman. A strong, resilient, impressive, stubborn, and beautiful woman. But reviving a long-forgotten literary and artistic tradition is not the only reason I call Istanbul a shecity. I want women to reclaim the public spaces and connect with the core of the city, feel its female power, and hear the heart beating with a quiet determination underneath all those construction sites, traffic jams, and endless noise.

I was born far away from Istanbul in Strasbourg, France. After my parents separated, my father stayed in France and my mother brought me to Ankara, Turkey, where I was raised by my grandmother. Grandma's house was full of superstitions, folklore, and food. By the time I was 18, I knew with a certainty two things about myself: that I wanted to become a writer and that I urgently had to move to Istanbul to fulfill this dream.