Expat Spotlight, the monthly talk series that showcases the freshest, most inspiring contributions being made by Istanbul's diverse international community to the city's cultural, sporting, humanitarian and business spheres, resumes today with "Architecture" at ATÖLYE, located in bomontiada.

Yabangee, an extremely active and useful website devoted to informing Istanbul's foreign residents of events and doling out advice and reviews, has since branched out to hosting a variety of events for the expat community. This will be the 12th edition of Expat Spotlight. Every Expat Spotlight is centered on a different theme with tonight's event being "Architecture." Previous themes have included writing, food, performance and digital nomads to name a few. Each event has six or so speakers who are closely involved with the theme at hand and Istanbul and is an opportunity for them to share moving stories, reflect on personal experiences and participate in resourceful dialogue.

The master of ceremonies at tonight's event will be Lesia Petrovska, a Ukrainian expat and interior architect. The guest speakers include Spanish expat architect and writer Santiago Brusadin, who is a senior project manager at the prestigious London-based architecture and design firm RMJM. Santiago is also a regular contributor to Yabangee, where he has dozens of articles on a wide variety of captivating topics including architecture, expat advice, restaurant and book reviews, and general musings of his experience living in Istanbul.Rania Hosni, a Tunisian expat, architect and coordinator at the Istanbul-based architecture firm Via Mimarlik, will also be a guest speaker. As the token local speaker, there will be Nesile Yalçın, architectural design lead at ATÖLYE itself, and

Tijana Veljkovic, who hails from Bosnia-Herzegovina and is a graduate student in the Architectural Restoration Department at Mimar Sinan University.

This event, which takes place in English, will begin at 7:30 p.m. with doors opening at 7 p.m. Attendance is free and there is no need to R.S.V.P. It is held at ATÖLYE, a multicultural innovative platform and performance space housed in what was once a historical beer factory, which is now bomontiada one of the most impressive cultural centers in town. Located in the Bomonti neighborhood of Şişli, just checking out this inspirational venue is reason enough to get out there and mingle with the expat crowd.

More about Yabangee

Turkey's expat community is lucky to have the website and more that is Yabangee, especially as they have now begun to host a series of entertaining events as well as branched out into İzmir, which is another popular hub for Turkey's foreign residents.

Founded in 2012, yabangee.com is run by a talented team of contributors from all over the world with the intention of keeping expats living in Istanbul informed about events going on in the city. Since then, the website has branched out to include music and exhibition reviews, travel and history literature, practical advice, competitions and Yabangee-sponsored events of which Expat Spotlight is one of their most popular.

Yabangee also holds a "Trivia Night," which takes place in English and is held in a happening venue making for a fun environment to test your skills while mingling with the expat crowd. Taking place this Wednesday, April 25 will be the 12th edition of Yabangee Trivia Night, which will be held at Sanat Nevizade, a spacious and terraced venue in the heart of Beyoğlu.

There are a maximum of six members to a team and players are welcome to come alone and be teamed up with others to take part. Participants must be 18 or over and no cell phones will be allowed during the game. The top three teams win a prize and entrance is TL 10 ($2.50) per person. Doors open at 7 p.m. and the quiz will start at 8 p.m.

Then on Friday, April 27, Yabangee will be organizing a "Get-Together Night" at Society Lounge Bar located in Reasürans Pasajı Nişantaşı. There will be a number of curated icebreaker games to get people mingling followed by grooving DJ music. Doors open at 8:30 p.m. and entrance is free.

Raising the bar to a whole new level will be "Rock On!" a brand-new event series by Yabangee focused on the beloved music genre. The first in the event series will take place next Tuesday, May 1 at Eski Beirut Kadıköy, starting at 10 p.m.

InterNations Spring Party

InterNations, the world's largest member-based expat community centered on networking, will be hosting an Exclusive Spring Party at Ruby Bar & Club on Wednesday, April 25 starting at 7 p.m. This will be a great opportunity to mingle with other global minds in the spectacular setting of Ruby Bar & Club, what was formerly more popularly known as Anjelique, one of the most glamorous venues in Istanbul. A unique opportunity to take part in an InterNations event, which are usually members only, general entrance will be TL 60 and discounted for members.