Istanbul’s mild climate, abundant food waste, and endless dense, low-rise neighborhoods with leafy courtyards, shops, and waterfronts makes a perfect habitat for cats. The more I think about this, this would be the IDEAL setting for a Pixar movie about cats. Can we make that happen please? The writers wouldn’t even need to start from scratch, because cats here are already being actively personified, with some real instances of cats becoming famous throughout the city and beyond!

The first time I came to Istanbul—which was 10 years ago now!—I spent most of my time in Kadiköy. In the crisp autumn air, fresh off months spent backpacking through the sweat and humidity of South Asia, I was absolutely charmed by this place! It caught me completely by surprise; I didn’t want to leave! The streets were bustling with cool-looking young people, there was an amazing coffee shop on every corner, and the steep, narrow streets provided a treasure-trove of urban ocean views, similar to those of San Francisco or Stockholm.

This time around, I visited during the summer months, and Kadiköy felt different. I think both of us had changed a bit over the past decade; I’d be lying if I told you it felt familiar. Nevertheless, I retained some conceptual familiarity with this place. Far from the touristy bustle of Galata, Karaköy, and Taksim over on the “European Side,” decidedly more humble than the Westernized glamor of Bebek and Nisantası, and much softer than its hardline conservative neighbor, Üsküdar, Kadiköy managed to feel at once both comfortable and local. It’s likely still too Western to truly be considered representative of Türkiye or even Istanbul as whole… but this is where a more local and authentic version of Istanbul feels accessible to me.

So let’s breakdown both Kadiköy and Moda; they aren’t exactly the same place.

In positioning Üsküdar right after Bebek in this series, I’m hoping to give you a bit of whiplash. If you’re not reading these in chronological order, I’ll fill you in: Bebek is an affluent, socially progressive community on the northern (European) banks of the Bosphorus. There’s a gorgeous promenade where you can walk along the banks of the Bosphorus amongst fashionable people who seem—at first glance—to be quite Western! But make no mistake: Türkiye is not the West. Places like Istanbul can be confusing, because they often present as very European, but if you dive just a bit below the surface, you’ll discover a world that is quite unfamiliar to Westerners. This is a complicated place, because it contains both realities in parallel. We’re going to use Üsküdar as a vehicle to explore the more culturally conservative side of Istanbul.

Today we’ll explore few key areas from what is locally known simply as “The European Side”. Istanbul straddles a natural strait called the Bosphorus, which is the official boundary between Europe and Asia. The “European Side” of Istanbul—which is divided into two parts by an offshoot waterway of the Bosphorus called the “Golden Horn”—is decidedly more touristy than its Asian neighbor. The two pieces of the European Side that sit on either side of the Golden Horn are the Historic Peninsula (also call the “Fatih” or Old City) to the south, and Galata–Beyoglu to the north.

Turkish Millennials. This is a demographic that I really admire. They are living through a turbulent time in history. On October 10th of this year 2 bombs exploded in Turkey’s capital, Ankara, killing 102 and injuring another 400. Even though Turkey sits just on the precipice of the West, so close yet so far from getting the same kind of international attention that Paris does for these sorts of tragedies, this event was nothing more than a blip on the radar of western media. Alas, we watch this sort of bloodshed happen in the Muslim world and complacently think “well… I guess that’s just how it is over there.” I’m guilty of thinking like this as much as any of us. But you know who doesn’t think this way? Young people in Turkey.

Istanbul, formerly Constantinople, formerly Byzantium, is arguably one of the most historically important cities in the world. As such, it is a city with some serious history, to say the least. Over the course of the last 2 millennia, Istanbul served as the capital city for the Byzantine, Latin, Roman, and Ottoman Empires. Indeed, the city has always been of extreme strategic importance for the politics of the region. It has been a major hub of the ancient Silk Road, Eurasian rail networks, and sea trade between the Mediterranean and Black Seas.

It should come as no surprise then that Istanbul is also one of the largest cities in the world. Istanbul’s metro area houses about 14 million people, making it one of the world’s most populous cities. Istanbul proper ranks 5th in the world and 1st in Europe, although the jury is still out on weather or not Istanbul really is part of Europe at all.