Michael wrote to İstanbul a poem

Istanbul you are part Paris 
Coquettish and sophisticated
You are a bit like New York 
Brash, bitchy, big and a bit overrated
How your city’s core pulses with the might of Tokyo or Berlin!
Under your hidden and secret side
There is a seedy underworld filled with mystery and sin

Like a wily woman
You conceal your most intimate treasures with the hordes of tourist-invaders
You simply refuse to reveal and share those most sublime of pleasures

Your traffic jams are hellishly notorious
Your nightclubs and vistas from all angles of the city are simply glorious
Istanbul, I have fallen for you
Do you care?

Do you even notice or bother to wink back at me
When I stare with fondness at you from the Galata tower? 
Istanbul you are my delight, my Nemesis and my muse
Istanbul you inspire and intimidate me

Istanbul you are a formidable temptress city

Michael Werbowski, 2012