Nicholas Andriani Rankin

Tag: Istanbul

  • On Arabic Sweets and the Middle East: Kunafa – NICHOLAS ANDRIANI

    All of these things are true… I had been in Jordan for several weeks and my love affair with Arabian sweets had reached a lofty peak. In fact, I would begin and end each day with a platter of pastries, smothered in honeys and syrups that would flood through heaps of pistachios on my plate. Then it happened… I……

  • On the Revolutionary Power of Diverse Thought: Elif Shafak

    On the Revolutionary Power of Diverse Thought: Elif Shafak

    “So from populist demagogues, we will learn the indispensability of democracy. And from isolationists, we will learn the need for global solidarity. And from tribalists, we will learn the beauty of cosmopolitanism and the beauty of diversity.”

  • Sketching Sights: Istanbul, City on the Edge (Art. Travel. Writing. Islam. Architecture)

    The Bosphorus splits Istanbul in two parts. A rift in the madness of Europe and Asia, drifting between bodies of fresh and salt water cooling the heated passion of a most ancient urban jungle. The hot, hot, heat of human movement generates organized chaos as this great strait, this rift, cushions the blow, keeping this…

  • NaNoWriMo : Into the Wild

    Earlier this year, I set a goal to finish a solid draft of my memoir and to achieve this mission i’m going into the wild, er, offline… A MONTHLONG period away from social media, the internet, ethernet and all those nets, in an archaic approach to finish this labor of love that i’m damn excited…

  • Sketching Sights: Galata Tower (Istanbul, Turkey)

    Like a great minaret, the Galata Tower represents so much more than meets the eye. Built in 1348 as the re-imagining of an earlier structure the tower has gone from hosting inmates, as a prison, to holding great secrets as an observatory for the astrologer Takıyeddin Efendi. What’s more, Hezarfen Ahmet Çelebi the 17th century aviator… if you…

  • Sketching Sights: Hagia Sophia

    Istanbul, Turkey Stay tuned for next weeks post on my visit to the Hagia Sophia. A little history, modern romanticism, photos… all that good stuff. Yallah, bye!