About Me.
Growing up, I considered my native Turkey a temporary nest I would fly out of one day. After finishing my BA in Sociology, I lived in Canada and Japan. Homesickness pulled me back to Istanbul in 2020. I found myself obsessed with the history and anthropology of the lands where I grew up.
I am a trained social scientist, and a local, but I discovered Turkey like a newcomer in 2020. I know what it means to be utterly curious about another culture: I've lived in 5 countries and traveled to many more.
I have two Masters degrees, one in Tourism (2021) and one in Cultural Studies (2025).
I've been a full time cultural communicator in my roles as a teaching assistant at Sabancı University, as a YouTuber, and as a tour guide.
What I do
2023-Present
Cultural and Culinary Guiding
I got my official guiding license in 2023. Guiding is my beloved full time job. I've told the stories of Istanbul to hundreds of guests.
I do culinary guiding with Culinary Backstreets Istanbul. Contact them if you would like to do a food tour with me. I guide with Vines and Pearls on wine routes. I lead tours in Japan and Vietnam through Keşfet101.
If you want me as your cultural guide, please contact me below.
2016-Present
Fork Borders Web Series
aka. MishaDefne
Since 2016, I've created bilingual content that communicates complex topics to diverse audiences, in video essays, travelogues, comedy skits, and vlogs.
I've done sponsored content for Sony Xbox, Cambly, and Udemy. Contact me for collaborations!
1995-Present
Academics
I'm a lifelong student.
2018 BA, Sociology at Middle East Technical University in Ankara, Turkey.
2025 MA, Cultural Studies at Sabancı University in Istanbul, full scholarship.
I've studied and lived abroad: Chuo University in Tokyo on ICM+ scholarship in 2016, SciencesPo in Paris on Erasmus in 2017, Waseda University in Tokyo on MEXT in 2019, and National Taiwan University in Taipei on ICM+ in 2023. All of these were fully funded on merit scholarships.
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