Dear The Guide Istanbul readers,

When we first started publishing The Guide Istanbul in November 1991, there were only 11 five-star hotels in Istanbul! Ciragan Hotel Kempinski and Swissotel, Istanbul The Bosphorus Hotels had just opened, and The Conrad Istanbul and Mövenpick were listed as "opening early 1992", and I was only 32! Some of the hotels that were around during that time have since closed, such as the Sheraton and the Mövenpick (though it has re-opened after a long absence at a new location in 2003) and the Büyük Tarabya Hotel, which has recently been brought by a large chain and renovations are to begin soon. Our first issue was only 72 pages, but full of excellent articles and information.

Today Istanbul is home to over 20 five-star hotels and there are over 200 restaurants listed in The Guide.

Istanbul has changed and continues to change and evolve. It is more then just the number of new places that continue to open and prosper in our great city, but there appears to be a decidedly more favorable attitude towards more creativity and greater emphasis is also placed on design. As the dynamic individuals of Istanbul rejuvenate the city, we (at The Guide Istanbul) are doing our best to introduce these creative people and institutions that contribute to making Istanbul the city that it is today.

Once again, we feel that we’ve prepared an issue that you will thoroughly enjoy reading. What’s New & Interesting is full of information on where to eat or to dance, what exhibits to visit and much more. Helpful Hints X gives you ideas on where to find food products from "back home". Our theme on "food" continues with our articles Sunset, Seafood and Bosphorus View and our critic of Sans Restaurant. Lokanta is our Editor’s Choice for this issue.

The neighborhood that we’ve highlighted is Anadoluhisari on the Asian side of the city. You will definitely want to visit this area after reading the article! Arts & Culture are heavily covered in this issue including articles on the 22nd International Film Festival, a general overview of Movie Theatres in Istanbul and an interview that was conducted with Zuhal Olcay and Haluk Bilginer – a couple that is well-know and appreciated on the theatrical stage in Turkey. Taking a step back in history, we’ve prepared an article titled European Artists at the Ottoman Court. Actually, this is a very long subject, but we’ve managed to narrow it down to give you a flavor of the period and the artists.

We wanted to take a look at the newest Remedies & Cures on the health front and we hope the information is useful to you. Our article titled Stabilizing the Economy gives you an in-depth "snap-shot" of what is going on inside Turkey.

No matter where you would like to go in Turkey, or where your interest lies, we want to provide with the best information and the best choices – we certainly hope that we have been successful over all these years since 1991, and of course, including the current issue. Thank you, dear readers, for your help in our success!