After many months of trying I finally got an offer of employment in Istanbul and they even arranged the working permit for me. From 1st June on, I am living in Istanbul, on the Asian side of the city.

I was wondering if anyone knows good places to meet interesting people, make some friends etc.

I was thinking of
1) regular bars (= mainly Turks as visitors) playing live music and playing records from both authentic Turkish music and more 'western' rock and indie. Preferably visited by an audience of Turkish people familiar with English, so that I could socialise a bit.
2) gothic events (though I realise this may be hard to find)
3) travellers meeting points where other expats living in Turkey meet up


Does anyone know any good places? I'll be having the weekends off so it does not need to be near my workplace, anywhere in Istanbul would do.

Also, and I realise this may be close to impossible to find... football fans touring the country to watch games everywhere may also get in touch with me, as I'm a groundhopper myself as well. Realising though that this is probably not very well practiced in Turkey but you never know there's a few of them who do carpoolings...

Gerrit- sorry to be the harbinger of doom but the chances of anyone having a work permit ready for you that quickly are extremely slim unless of course you are replacing the embassy consul. Double check you know what you are doing!!!!

[quote user="ch" post="91114"]Gerrit- sorry to be the harbinger of doom but the chances of anyone having a work permit ready for you that quickly are extremely slim unless of course you are replacing the embassy consul. Double check you know what you are doing!!!![/quote]

I talked that over with the employer, they organised these permits rather quickly, I was pleasantly surprised myself. I am not sure of the exact details how it went, however I did ask verify to be sure it was all legal and such. Only accepted the offer once I was sure it was legal and okay.

Hmmmm, as a first timer you need to apply in London before coming out. That's what I had to do. As Ch said, double check that they make you do that. The last thing you want is disappointment, especially as you seem so keen and enthusiastic about it all.

Again, not wanting to dampen your spirits, but....

[quote user="Gilly" post="91130"]Hmmmm, as a first timer you need to apply in London before coming out. That's what I had to do. As Ch said, double check that they make you do that. The last thing you want is disappointment, especially as you seem so keen and enthusiastic about it all.

Again, not wanting to dampen your spirits, but....[/quote]

I have Belgian citizenship, although I lived in the UK. I already dealt with the Belgian embassy in Ankara and with the Turkish authorities in Belgium.

Okay, the Turkish consulate in Belgium is good.

This all sounds incredibly Dutch.
Istanbul is a place for socializing, just look at me and do the exact opposite.

[quote user="Gilly" post="91138"]Okay, the Turkish consulate in Belgium is good.[/quote]

The embassy in Brussels was not very helpful but the consulate was. It took quite a lot of phone calls with both the consul there and then a few with the Belgian authorities in Ankara, but it got finalised in the end and quite rapidly even... So won't complain there.

Hi Gerrit,

if you wanna hang out at the asian side there is first the Bagdad Caddessi, where you can find a lot of nice spots
and at Kadiköy (or Moda) there are some nice spots

My favorite are the nice restaurants at Sahil Yolu especially opposite of Migros if you need detailed description jsut let me know.

have fun and good luck with your working permitt
Nadja

did you actually visit the Turkish consulate yourself and submit your papers? Also after a while you need to go back there to pick up your visa, do you have this?

hi and welcome
nadja is correct - if you are into hanging out in rock bars and meeting some other goths - kadikoy is the place for you - its on the asian side and there is a street called "bar sokak" - and there is a couple of places where metal heads, goths, and rockers hang out... as well as some other nice chilled out pubs
i like kadikoy and hang out there alot since i also live on the asian side - so if you have qus you can drop me line
good luck with the work visa.. it will all come together in the end

[quote user="banana" post="91162"]hi and welcome
nadja is correct - if you are into hanging out in rock bars and meeting some other goths - kadikoy is the place for you - its on the asian side and there is a street called "bar sokak" - and there is a couple of places where metal heads, goths, and rockers hang out... as well as some other nice chilled out pubs
i like kadikoy and hang out there alot since i also live on the asian side - so if you have qus you can drop me line
good luck with the work visa.. it will all come together in the end
[/quote]
I am mainly into gothic, although some indie (eg The Smiths, Muse, Manics, ...) are also high on my list. If you have a few names of pubs where goths and 'indie' rock fans hang out, please do let me know

The Rock Pub in Moda sounds right up your street - actually so do a lot of other places in Moda. I'd suggest heading for Bar Sokak (not sure of the actual name but that's what it's known as) and you'll have no problems finding a suitable place. Karga would probably be a good starting point.

karga is a good start... in all honesty, its always a great start for the evening!
zincir is a heavy metal/rock place... not really my thing but i go there for cheap beer and entertainment value sometimes
hera plays great indie rock alot of the time and the atmosphere is chilledout
shaft has rock bands play live alot of the time.
i have never been to the rock pub in moda.. hmmm... perhaps i should check it out soon