Internet is losing its collective mind a little more
this week in Istanbul, ruthless palpitations, hammams, life lately
Tonight’s dispatch ✈︎ arrives at:
20:00 Istanbul | 18:00 London | 15:00 New York | 05:00 Sydney
Istanbul seems to be entering its annual phase of collective delusion where everyone suddenly believes they can become a runner, ceramic artist, DJ, or matcha expert before summer actually arrives. And there is nothing wrong with that. Meanwhile, I’m trying to keep up with everyone by having my one and only Turkish coffee every morning while operating at a daily deficit of three more espressos.
Because heart palpitations are real and ruthless. And sometimes, you have to give up even the things you love most.
True story — about a month ago, my smartwatch sent me a warning saying: “Your heart rate is higher than normal despite being inactive for the last 10 minutes,” and I immediately thought I was having a heart attack. To be fair, it was a legitimate warning because I was already on my fifth coffee of the day or something equally unreasonable. Thanks to the news and the internet, my mind instantly jumped to the story about an Apple Watch saving someone’s life during a heart attack.
Read more here
Unfortunately for me, my smartwatch was a Huawei Watch and apparently its main contribution to the situation was simply: “Good luck.”
Anyway, nothing bad happened. Other than the horrifying reduction of coffee in my life — which, quite frankly, is a personal tragedy for me.
Speaking of Istanbul this week, I made a little list of what’s happening around the city lately.
Rooftop Festival İstanbul 2026 returns on May 16, which basically means half of Istanbul will spend the weekend pretending they casually live on terraces with skyline views and DJ sets.
Tickets & details: Rooftop Festival İstanbulZorlu PSM continues its spring concert season with performances, free outdoor events, stand-up shows, and “I somehow ended up buying tickets at 1 a.m.” behavior.
Program: Zorlu PSM EtkinliklerHarbiye Cemil Topuzlu Açıkhava Tiyatrosu officially entered open-air concert season again. Edis and Hayko Cepkin are among this week’s names, meaning Istanbul summer has spiritually begun already.
May event guide: İstanbul Etkinlik Rehberi Mayıs 2026And honestly, beyond the official events, Istanbul itself becomes the main event in May. Everybody is outside, every café is full, and people suddenly start acting like they have infinite energy, infinite money, and no responsibilities whatsoever. Definitely not me.
What I’d actually need instead of all this is a session at Zeyrek Çinili Hamam (because I’m old) — arguably one of the most beautiful places Istanbul has gained in recent years.
Built in the 1530s by Mimar Sinan for the Ottoman admiral Hayreddin Barbarossa, the hammam reopened after a massive 13-year restoration project and somehow manages to feel both incredibly historical and suspiciously luxurious at the same time.
The place is not just a hammam anymore either. There’s also a museum space, archaeological discoveries from the Byzantine and Ottoman periods, contemporary art installations, and even an underground cistern with ship graffiti hidden beneath the structure. Which sounds less like a bathhouse and more like Istanbul showing off again.
And visually, it’s unbelievable. Marble interiors, soft light coming through star-shaped domes, restored details everywhere, people whispering like they’re inside a cathedral dedicated to exfoliation. TIME even included it in its “World’s Greatest Places” list after the reopening, (time.com), written by Jennifer Hattam.
The official site:
Zeyrek Çinili Hamam
Museum info:
Zeyrek Çinili Hamam Museum
Dispatches from you
In the meantime, earlier today I asked you to share your thoughts with me on hammams, and here’s what I received from two of you:
Elsewhere on the internet
Meanwhile, on the other side of the internet — and the world — things seem to happen much faster than they do in Istanbul. Especially trends on social media, which now appear, peak, and disappear within the lifespan of a ripe avocado.
Which brings me to one of the most disturbing things I’ve recently witnessed online: the melted chocolate Pringles trend. Please tell me I’m not the only person who came across this.
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For those lucky enough to have avoided it, people are now pouring alarming amounts of melted chocolate — sometimes five or six different kinds at once — directly into Pringles cans, adding random toppings, freezing the whole thing, and then eating it like some kind of sugar-based architectural project.
I don’t know when snacks stopped being snacks and became content performance art.
And this might be making me sound 84 years old, but every time I see one of these videos, I feel like the internet is losing its collective mind a little more. Not because melted chocolate is evil, obviously. But because every trend now has to be bigger, messier, sweeter, more excessive, more visually aggressive than the previous one just to survive the algorithm for eight hours.
Nothing can simply exist anymore. A normal dessert is no longer enough. Someone has to pour six chocolates into a Pringles can while dramatic music plays in the background and commenters scream “NEED THIS NOW.”
No, my friend. You do not need to try every absurd trend for views. Not everything has to become content. Not every craving has to escalate into a performance. Sometimes a snack can simply remain a snack and your dignity can stay intact. Just saying.
Things I am obsessed with lately
Lussistanbul bags that make every outfit feel a little more unique. They are made only on demand.
An embroidered jacket from ZARA that I keep wearing far more than I should
Scarves collected from various places
This playlist made for me that I keep returning to every single day
Tell me what you’ve been up to lately on your side of the world, guys!
Thank you for being here, for reading, for replying, for accompanying me from different corners of the world.
Dispatched from Istanbul,
xx
I really enjoyed all of the pictures. Thanks for sharing!
One day, maybe in May, I will visit Istanbul.