Istanbul Stories is not just a collection of tales. It is a gateway to a city that lives and breathes beneath layers of marble, mosaics, and forgotten footsteps.
A Journey through Time, Told by Wing, Whisker, and Whisper
As a local tour guide with years of experience exploring the city’s iconic sites — Hagia Sophia, the Hippodrome, Topkapi Palace — I realized something was missing from the way we tell Istanbul’s story.
Most visitors capture the surface — a photo, a date, a monument. But what about the soul of the city? What about the stories that echo behind stone walls or drift across the Bosphorus on the wings of seabirds?
This is where Istanbul Stories begins — with a question:
What if animals could speak of the things we can no longer see?
Meet Alek, Misi, and Rubi
Our stories are told not by historians, but by Istanbul’s silent companions:
- Alek, the sharp-eyed seagull, circles the sky with a timeless gaze. From above, he witnesses emperors rise and fall, fires rage, domes rise like prayers.
- Misi, the melancholic cat, curls beneath fountains and along rooftops, sensing the city’s emotional memory — its loneliness, longing, and change.
- Rubi, the observant mouse, scurries through the cracks in palaces and cisterns, gathering forgotten whispers and hidden truths.
Together, they narrate an alternative history of Constantinople and Istanbul — one shaped not only by emperors and wars, but by shadows, scents, silences, and secrets.
A Fable for the Modern Traveler
Here, history is not taught. It is felt.
Each story is a fable — poetic, timeless, and alive with metaphor. Inspired by the traditions of Calvino, La Fontaine, and Neil Gaiman, Istanbul Stories invites you to rediscover the city through the lens of imagination.
These are not fairy tales.
They are memories dressed in feathers, fur, and whiskers.
They are the city’s dreams, waiting for someone to listen.
Follow Alek, Misi, and Rubi.
And let Istanbul tell you its secrets — one story at a time.
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Who Am I?
My name is Serhat Engul. I’ve been working as a licensed tour guide in Istanbul for nearly 20 years. Over the years, I’ve walked through every corner of this city, telling its stories to travelers from around the world.
Eventually, I realized that Istanbul leaves a deeper mark not just through facts, but through storytelling. That’s how Alek, Misi, and Rubi were born.
Through these symbolic characters, I aim to reflect both the spirit of today and the memory of the past in a more poetic and whimsical way. This site brings together the insights of a guide and the imagination of a storyteller.
If you would like to read my previous travel articles about Istanbul from the perspective of a tourist guide, you can find a very extensive archive at this address, istanbulclues.com.