Istanbul | Food | Turkey | Ra | Big Island | singer

The best place is called Babylon. It's very good for jazz. They play jazz and funk from all over the world. The owner even brought Sun Ra, who was a singer, to Istanbul. All of these places I've mentioned are in a district called Beyoglu. The food is just great. This is everywhere in Istanbul. You drink this alcohol called raki. It's kind of a liquor. Delicious. You eat fish. The thing they eat is called meze - the Greeks have this, too - and it means "mixed appetizers." So they bring a little plate of olives and sardines and cheese. Kind of their version of tapas.

What are the people like?
Very, very, very hospitable. Yeah. Incredibly hospitable. Hospitality is a really important part of their culture. If you go in someone's home, they give you tea and food. We met an American who lives there, Paxton, and he's a director and a screenplay writer. He's lived there for 10 years. He was the person who showed us around and introduced us to Turkish people, because he's lived there for so long and speaks fluent Turkish. The thing that really struck me was their hospitality. They're so generous and warm.

Did you get outside of Istanbul and explore Turkey?
Yes, and there's a lovely little village on the Asian side called Kuzguncuk. I know that there are some really old Greek churches and Armenian churches, and there's an old synagogue. It's great to visit there. It's a little fishing village, and it has great fish restaurants nearby. Oh! And there's another place, Buyukada, which is called the Big Island, and it's about an hour-and-a-half ferry­ ride from Istanbul. I spent the day there. They have old mansions there, and Greek and Armenian monasteries and churches and synagogues. And there are no cars on the island, and that's what makes it really romantic. You take a horse-drawn carriage around the island, or you can rent a bicycle. Very, very romantic. There's a great hotel on the island called the Splendid. It's over 100 years old. The beaches and the islands of Turkey [offer] some of the greatest beach holidays that you can have in Europe. It's a pretty first-world country. It's not difficult to navigate. Very cheap local taxis. You can hail a cab in the street. And they're metered taxis.