In three months in Istanbul, I’ve found myself doing a lot of what, I think, a lot of people do: replicating a little of their old life into their new one. Switching mindset into a new routine, particularly with a lot more time on your hands, takes some bedding in. A semblance of home comforts has really helped me with the transition.

Along with Turkish brunch, which I feel deserves another post entirely before I wax lyrical at the joy of eating clotted cream and honey for breakfast, a huge comfort to me has been the Bosphorus that runs from top to bottom through this city. In central Istanbul, you never seem to be very far from it at all. Rather than reminding me of the Thames, it reminds me of the green, open spaces of London, where I used to walk to work, go for a run or meet friends with coffees and prosecco picnics. This was a huge part of my routine in London, and despite the lack of much green space in Istanbul, the Bosphorus is helping me feel as though, sometimes, I’ve not moved very far at all.

I wrote about this recently and, last week, it won The Telegraph’s “Just Back” Travel Writing competition! If you would like to read about how beautiful the Bosphorus is, and also about how unfit I have become since not having Tooting Common on my doorstep any more, then here is the link.

And here is the picture of my article in my Mum’s very well-read paper, which I’m sure I will stop gazing at in disbelief one day, but not quite yet.