Where can I go to play pickup soccer?

John McCarroll
31 March, 2016

The best place I can suggest is Macka park between Nisantasi and Taksim. It has two levels joined by stairs and a teleferek, which I recommend highly. It's one of the weirder types of public transportation in the city. On the lower level, to the left of the big fountain you'll find a lot of soccer games and the like during the summer. The other famous parks are all a bit too fancy for soccer games.

Another good bet is the courtyard in front of the Besiktas ferry. The games that go down here are a bit more serious and attract an older crowd than Macka park, but again, the location is great and there's always a game going on. Watch out for skateboarders, who also use the area to practice their grinds.

Recreation Sports Soccer Pick Up Games
John McCarroll

Irresponsible anthropologist and fiction writer. Used to be an expat in Istanbul. 

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