This underrated Istanbul neighbourhood buzzes with creativity – here’s why I keep going back

I arrived in Istanbul in early winter, when the Bosphorus has that metallic stillness before the winds from the Black Sea pick up and the water turns choppy. The smell of chestnuts and sweetcorn grilling over charcoal from the street stalls; the dusk call to prayer lifting across the water; ferries carrying commuters home to Asia.

To understand Istanbul in today’s world, Beşiktaş is the place to visit. This is where the energy moves differently: youthful, lived-in, local. It’s where I…