Fare #1 Istanbul

Fare aspires to follow connecting stories at the heart of a city's culture.

Each issue of Fare revolves around a single city wherein readers are guided through town by locals: down backstreets, and through forgotten histories, to local institutions and diverse neighborhoods—meeting amazing individuals, and learning more about the local food than just its taste. Our magazine is meant to excite and inspire, but also to introduce the reader to a richly complex city. Instead of a directory or guide to “it” or trendy places, our magazine concludes with a glossary of locally important terms, histories, and figures mentioned throughout the issue.

Fare Magazine Issue 1 (Istanbul) is out now. Fare Magazine boldly begins in Istanbul, a stunning metropolis of melancholic beauty; uniquely poised across two continents, it played imperial capital to three sprawling empires, and thus shaped by a wholly unique mix of cultures and influences spanning from Eastern Europe, into North Africa and the Middle East. Istanbul wears its past on its sleeve, and continues to change amidst a challenging political climate. The city’s vibrant food culture is a mirror into its many pasts and the peoples who’ve called it home—not just now, but over the last two millennia.

The locals who guide the inaugural issue of Fare Magazine are some of Istanbul's finest chefs, writers, artists, musicians, and historians. With them, you'll reach into the city's near and distant pasts, explore rich forgotten desserts, ancient shadow-arts, a centuries-old network of urban gardens, vibrant workmans' eateries, the city's most controversial coffeehouses, and the groove of traditional Turkish melodies.

Each issue of Fare also includes a glossary of local terms, a helpful reference point for readers as they delve into the exoticism of a new culture and city.

Contributors
The vast majority of Fare’s contributors are locals to the city. They are chefs, craftsmen, historians, photographers, writers, and artists—but above all this is the city they know and love. Contributors to the first issue include: Cemre Narin, food editor for Conde Nast Turkey, multi-instrumentalist Alican Tezer, novelist Sait Faik Abasıyanık, food historian Nazli Piskin, chefs of the renowned restaurant Mikla, the pre-eminent practitioner of Turkey’s traditional shadow art Emin Senyer, and several leading local and visiting writers and photographers.