The ceiling of the newly renovated Pera Palace Hotel in Beyoğlu, Istanbul. The hotel was originally built in 1892 to host upscale guests from the Orient Express such as Agatha Christie (she apparently wrote Murder on the Orient Express in her room on the 4th floor), Zsa Zsa Gabor, Greta Garbo, Ernest Hemingway, Rita Hayworth, and Mata Hari. Photo Caroline Gaimari
A surreal element of the original architecture of the Pera Palace Hotel were these domes, which opened up to circulate fresh air into the hotel,Beyoğlu, Istanbul. Photo Caroline Gaimari
Extraordinary moonrise over the Asian side of Istanbul, Turkey. Photo Caroline Gaimari
A small village at the foot of the Biokovo mountains, Makarska Riviera, Croatia. Photo Caroline Gaimari
Istanbul at night, Dice Kayek dinner at Mikla restaurant, The Marmara Pera, Istanbul. Photo Olivier Zahm
My favorite activity in Istanbul is to relax in mosques. It’s a spiritual democratic luxury for the mind (the empty space, the abstract decorative pattenrs on the walls, the soft carpet, the voluptuous architecture, the temperature, the light…). Photo Olivier Zahm
