As of today you can enjoy the state-of-the-art Istanbul Trails picture gallery. In my quest to provide my readers with the best Istanbul experience on the web, I decided that simply embedding a handful of pictures in an additional post was under par. Instead I created Istanbul Trails Photos, a place dedicated to photographs of Istanbul and an integral part of Istanbul Trails.

Aesthetic Intervention Required

It goes without saying that I take a lot of pictures while wandering around Istanbul and conducting research for my posts. But ever since I started this blog, I struggled to find an adequate way to present you these photographs. During the first year I embedded six to ten of them in a post, and used the Lightbox script to present you the bigger version of the thumbnails. But this little workaround started to generate errors. So since the New Year, bigger versions just showed up in a blank page. Not aesthetic, and annoying for my readers.

All Istanbul Pictures In One Place

There had to be a better way, so I searched, and searched … and found. I decided to give my pictures their own spot, embedded in a nice and easy to navigate design thanks to the Reflection theme. And you my dear reader, will benefit from it most! You no longer have to select a certain topic, you can see all the pictures at once by using the gallery page of Istanbul Trails Photos. Of course you can still browse by topic, by year or at random – it’s up to you. I suggest you read the Istanbul Trails Photos about page first, so you know how to make most out of this gallery.

But whichever option you chose, you will get even better informed than before. Every image comes with shot notes, exif information and a possibility to leave a comment. And last but not least, bookmark Istanbul Trails Photo, because I will add a new picture on a daily basis.

I hope you appreciate the effort and look forward to read your comments, here on in the photo gallery!

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As of today you can consult Istanbul Trails on your cellular phone via a tailor made interface (by BraveNewCode) for mobile devices. With the holiday season just around the corner and a growing amount of people possessing mobile phones capable of browsing the web, I thought the time had come to provide this extra service to my readers. Certainly since Türk Telekom is implementing more and more (against a fee) hotspots in Istanbul, enabling you to quickly recheck some info while onthego.

Mobile vs Classic

Post excerpts of a post on the mobile version of Istanbul Trails.

Istanbul Trails was of course already available on mobile devices in its original classic version. But the new mobile version has plenty of advantages for 3G visitors. The mobile version is stripped from complex java scripts, has no flash animation nor advertising, and pictures are reduced in size. This all improves the load speed, without compromising most of the websites features.

By default, the new mobile version will load when you browse to Istanbul Trails on your mobile device. But for those among you who still prefer the classic version, just scroll to the bottom and switch back.

Stripped Yet Powerful

Pictures are still visible inside the posts.

Navigation within the mobile version is plain, easy and quick. The homepage shows the title, publish date, amount of comments, categories and tags of the last 10 posts. Although I try to make the post titles as descriptive as possible, you can see an excerpt of the post by clicking on the arrow on the right of the title. To read the entire post, as usual click on the post title.

To find older posts you have two options, both located at the top right of the screen of your mobile device. You can either look in the menu or browse in the category overview.

Another feature that still exists is the possibility to read and post comments. So, for those among you with web enabled mobile devices, surf to Istanbul Trails, bookmark it and leave a comment about your findings of the mobile version.

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He who breaks a resolution is a weakling; He who makes one is a fool.
~ F. M. Knowles

The New Year also marks the first anniversary of Istanbul Trails. A year in which 133 articles were written about this marvelous city. Thank you all very much for your attention, comments and compliments!

Despite the quote above, I’m foolish enough to make a resolution for 2009. This year, Istanbul Trails will:

• undergo a design change to serve you better and make navigation even easier
• see the launch of a monthly newsletter so you are always up-to-date about what’s hot in the city
• will continue to have at least 3 new post per week about your favorite destination, if not more…
• will start-up the expat category for those among you who can’t say farewell to the city – and honestly, who’s to blame?

I wish you and your loved ones a Happy New Year

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In the old days, it was not called the Holiday Season; the Christians called it ‘Christmas’ and went to church; the Jews called it ‘Hanukkah’ and went to synagogue; the atheists went to parties and drank. People passing each other on the street would say ‘Merry Christmas!’ or ‘Happy Hanukkah!’ or (to the atheists) ‘Look out for the wall!
~ Dave Barry

We wish you and your loved ones a Merry Christmas!

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Let’s get a few things straight right from the start: I wasn’t born in Istanbul (nor Turkey for that matter) neither am I the offspring of Turkish parents. On top of that, I can barely make myself understandable in the Turkish language. Yet, I felt the need to start this weblog about Istanbul. Why, one may wonder?

Welcome to Istanbul Trails. I’m the main author of this blog. I was born and raised in a European country significantly smaller in size than Turkey. I’m thirty-something, just like my wife, who is of Turkish origin. I’ve been living in Istanbul for exactly three years now.

It goes without saying that events like our marriage, in-laws from different countries/cultures, house hunting, job hunting, etc., together with previous ‘tourist’ experiences resulted in an invaluable amount of information. A treasure I want to share with the world to make the life of future tourists, expats or immigrants easier.

Welcome to Istanbul Trails!

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