Inside Folia: an enchanted, unsettling garden

Welcome to Al-Monitor Istanbul.

November is when Istanbul drops its Indian-summer disguise and slips into its favorite mood: brooding, dark and a little damp around the edges. Perfect weather to wander through the mossy decay of Abdulmecid Efendi Mansion’s garden on the Asian side, then warm up with Turkish comfort food. Or cross the Bosphorus for a stroll through a repurposed tobacco depot and hammams. Better yet, stay in, pour a drink and lose yourself in the adventures of Gertrude Bell, archaeologist, linguist and, depending on whom you ask, spy extraordinaire.

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Thanks for reading,

Nazlan (@NazlanEr on X)

P.S. Have tips on Istanbul’s culture scene? Send them my way at nertan@al-monitor.com.

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1. Leading the week: Abdulmecid’s Folly

Rebecca Louise Law’s “Suspended Fern,” site-specific installation made of natural materials wrapped in copper wire mesh (Hadiye Cangokce /courtesy of artist)

Step into Abdulmecid Efendi Mansion, where “Folia,” curated by the amazing duo, Selen Ansen and Eda Berkman, under the patronage of enigmatic collector Omer Koc, explores the concept of an enchanted garden. The title plays on the double meanings of "folia" (both "leaf" and "madness") and the show leans into both: a layered outdoors-and-indoors garden where the 19th-century elegance of the mansion turns quietly haunting.

The exhibition’s scale is immense: nearly 100 artists and more than 300 works gathered from Japan to South Africa, across media and centuries. The enchanted garden thrives on unlikely neighbors: Rebecca Louise Law’s “Suspended fern,” a field of copper-wired botanicals, turns the main salon into a hovering understory; Camila Rocha’s giant metal fern greets you like a staged garden from a dystopian future; Mehtap Baydu’s porcelain powder-and-brass “Rose Garden” looks surprisingly peaceful until the petals reveal skin impressions.

The show’s “curiosity cabinets” in both the Night Room and the Day Room carry the Ansen-Koc signature: oddities, juxtapositions and an eerie sense that a cruel death lurks beneath delicate aesthetics.

Curators Eda Berkman and Selen Ansel stand in front of Canan’s enchanted garden titled “Sehrettun’nur” (Hadiye Cangokce)

On the second floor, the biggest crowds are in front of Turkish artist Canan’s high-voltage spell: The all-seeing Sahmeran and her shimmering creatures transport you to a world that feels equal parts angel, jinn and mirror ball. Fatos Irwen’s scorched cotton stems create an elegy that drags Mesopotamia’s grief into the light. Around the bend, Anne Wenzel’s hyperrealist statue of a dead stag lies open as yet another reflection on the brutality in nature and in us.

If this feels like a cousin of Arter’s notorious expo “Suppose You Are Not,” you’re not imagining it: Both shows bear Ansen’s choreography and the collector’s complicated mind. If you prefer art that pricks rather than soothes, just head here.

📍 Where: Kusbakisi Cd. No:18, Kuzguncuk

🗓️ When: Until March 2026

2. Word on the street: Nazende Cadde

Chef Uluc Sakarya at work (Nazende Cadde)

We love the popular as much as the posh. So make for Bagdat Avenue and slide into Nazende Cadde, where the city’s appetite meets its streetwise soul. This eatery stays refreshingly human: generous tables, smoky air and the easy warmth of people who love to share good food. Try the grilled calamari, the lamb liver and potatoes in rich sauce.

📍 Where: Caddebostan Plajyolu Sok. Sembol apt. No:13/A

3. Istanbul diary

Eymen Aktel’s “A family, No City,” in ArtSumer (ArtSumer)

• After Folia’s lush dreamscapes, environmental angst continues at artSumer, which hosts Eymen Aktel’s first solo show, “The Joy of Rainless Lands,” from Nov. 1 to Dec. 5. Centered on labor, coexistence and the porous borders between humans and nature, the exhibition conjures scenes of collective work, birth, endurance and mythic continuity.

• Take a look at what unfolds inside the city’s hammams. At Zeyrek Cinili Hammam, French artist Juliette Minchin’s “Where the River Burns” glimmers amid centuries-old tiles, while at Ortakoy’s Husrev Kethuda Hammam, sculptor Ozan Unal — yes, the artist behind the striking piece at Ankara’s Mothers Museum — presents his whimsical metal statues against warm stone. Throughout November.

• Palestine is very much on our agenda this month. Start with the “Gaza Biennale – Istanbul Pavilion: A Cloud in My Hand,” a moving and necessary show weaving art, loss, resilience and solidarity. Then head to “Palestine from Above” at ANAMED, which reframes the land through aerial photographs and archival maps. Beyond Istanbul, “Palestine, I Still Survive” at Izmir’s Culture Factory displays a modest but touching show of Palestinian artists on themes of exile and belonging.