The name Gülsuyu means “rosewater” in Turkish, but there is nothing particularly rosy about the view up from the bottom of the hills on which this suddenly newsworthy shantytown of Istanbul’s Asian side stands. Nor are the reasons for the place’s newfound fame a cause for celebration.
But a steep climb through mostly four- and five-story apartment buildings that all look either prematurely aged in their graying façades or somewhat naked in plain brick and mortar takes you to a rather special neighborhood.
