The royal we were in Istanbul last week, visiting museums and heritage sites. And by chance, this is where the mother of the Ottoman Sultan would carry out her ablutions in private, in her own loo …
As I wondered what to pack on a trip to Istanbul, instead of looking at my own wardrobe, I could have been taking inspiration from this 1790s album of Turkish costume. This clown or harlequin with jerkin, breeches and tall cap …
Google-search a image of the Süleymaniye Mosque and you generally get a picture taken from the Golden Horn side, with the huge dome dominating and the four huge minarets to the right. Or head on, with the dome between the minarets. Galloway has chosen to go round the ‘back’ …
Have you ever kept a keepsake from an old relationship? Maybe a photo, maybe a jumper you just couldn’t face giving back. Or perhaps 4,213 cigarette butts that your partner has smoked? That’s what the main character in the novel The Museum of Innocence did when he hoarded the remains …
When I saw these objects on the wall in a naval museum in Istanbul, a while back, I was intrigued as to what they were. Closer inspection reveals they are, in fact …
