What I’ve Learned in Istanbul: My Experiences

Wherever you are in Istanbul, you always see the sea. No matter which street you walk down, you always end up by the water. And everywhere you go, there’s a fresh sea breeze in your nose. Istanbul awakes my sensory perceptions – with images, smells, sounds. There are seagulls everywhere, I can smell the salty air and hear the tinkling of tea glasses, the honking of ships, and the calls of the muezzins. For me, the city is both a place of longing and home. I’m there as often as I can be, but I don’t live there – and I’m often homesick for Istanbul.

Like most of my family, my father lives in Istanbul. He was born there after his parents fled the Balkan War from Macedonia to the Bosporus. Many people have found refuge in Istanbul in the past. That’s why the city is so diverse and its culture so rich. People don’t sit at home much; especially in the evening, when it’s not so hot, life takes place on the street. And cats are sacred to the inhabitants of Istanbul – whether they are pets or strays.

People cook differently in Istanbul than in the rest of Turkey: There is more fish than meat, more potatoes than rice, and more yogurt sauces than spicy tomato sauces. Cooking for and with each other is my family’s love language, my father is a really great cook. My favorite dish is sulu köfte, a warm yogurt soup with meatballs – the best soup in the world!

The city is full of history, which gives it something magical. The administration has been trying to expand the metro network for years, but there are always delays because you can’t dig a meter into the ground here without coming across an archaeological find. Greeks, Byzantium, Ottoman Empire – history is piled up here, epoch by epoch, layer upon layer. To understand the past and Istanbul’s attitude to life, you should read books by Orhan Pamuk, such as “My Name Is Red” or “The Red-Haired Woman.”

Despite its size, Istanbul is the ideal city for me to relax in. After filming the first season of “The Empress,” I spent two months there to come down. I would always recommend looking for accommodation on the Asian side. Even though most of the sights are on the European side, the East feels more authentic. A great thing to do is to sit in a tea garden at the harbor in Kadıköy, drink black tea, and look out over the water. A special attraction is the Maiden’s Tower on a small island in the Bosporus. Legend has it that a king locked his daughter there for protection because the girl was prophesied to die of poison – hence the name. I can also recommend a trip to the Princes’ Islands. The ferry crossing only takes 90 minutes; there are beautiful beaches and you can swim in the sea.

Devrim Lingnau comes from Mannheim. The daughter of a Turkish father and a German mother, she appeared in numerous German television productions before becoming internationally known as Elisabeth in the Netflix series "The Empress." The second season of the International Emmy Award-winning series starts on November 22 on Netflix.