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The neighbourhood has changed
When it comes to recent developments in Turkey, sometimes you have to laugh to keep from crying. One of the best at finding the humour in what would otherwise make you weep is Cem Dinlenmiş, the...
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The story behind the scaffolding
Keeping track of Istanbul’s ever-changing cityscape is a full-time job, especially as skyscrapers and mixed-use developments have mushroomed in the past decade. Accompanying the construction boom are...
View ArticleSpotlight on Istanbul’s street dogs
‘Hundreds of dogs were laying in the streets and enjoying the sun from Pera all the way to Şişli! It is not exactly an attractive sight. These mangy dogs who often exhibit wounds inflicted by their...
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All the world’s a stage
The clowns are coming to town, ready to shuffle off this mortal coil. Not that Istanbul is an especially dangerous place for clowns. But when the 20th Theatre Festival takes over the city in May,...
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Past, present, future
Delving into Turkey’s past, present and future is on the docket this month as we explore three exhibitions in Istanbul – truth be told, we like our art with a dash of history. The first stop is at The...
View ArticleSummer study in Istanbul: 2016 edition
Once summer rolls around, the make-up of Istanbul’s population shifts ever so slightly. While many residents decamp to summer houses and small villages to escape the heat and humidity, the city...
View ArticleEarning accolades abroad
Ara Güler has found himself in the spotlight yet again. Last week it was announced that The Eye of Istanbul, a documentary film about the legendary Armenian-Turkish photographer and the culmination of...
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Stiff competition
The IKSV Film Festival is, in one word, immense. Over the course of 11 days, 221 films from 62 countries will be screened. Yet while the size of the event is noteworthy, what separates this film...
View ArticleQueen Elizabeth and the Islamic World
This unattributed portrait of Abd el-Ouahed ben Messaoud, Moroccan Ambassador to the Court of Elizabeth I in London, was painted in 1600. Excommunicated by the Pope and at war with Catholic Spain, the...
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Calling young and old alike to apply for the 10th Ancient & Modern...
Have an idea for a research project related to things Turkish or textiles? Now is the time to put pen to paper and apply for the Ancient & Modern Prize, an award of £1,000 given to a candidate...
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Cataloguing a century-old natural science collection
When Istanbul is abloom with tulips each April, it is often the sheer quantity of flowers – the cascade of colour in Emirgan Park comes to mind – that dazzles visitors. But for budding botanists,...
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Inside story: Borçka
In this blog series, the photographer Lynn Gilbert takes us on a journey through Turkish homes. Travelling to the town of Borçka, located in Artvin Province in Turkey’s Black Sea region, is an...
View ArticleThe London Book Fair 2016
The sun shone through the great glass roofs of the London Book Fair on its opening day today, when publishers from around the world brought their books to market. Sometimes it seemed more like a...
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Jazz standards and standouts
Each year the Istanbul Jazz Festival, sponsored by the Istanbul Arts and Culture Foundation (IKSV), manages to push the envelope in terms of either artists or venues. In 2016, they are doing both. The...
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Exotic exile in Antalya
It may not look like Turkey, but the WOW Kremlin Palace in Antalya was the sole Turkish connection at this year’s Alchemy Film and Moving Image Festival, held from April 14–17 in Hawick, Scottish...
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All eyes on olives
‘Turkey is not really an olive oil country.’ It seemed a strange thing to say at an event hosted in Turkey and dedicated to the world of olives. ‘So why are we meeting here?’ one international...
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Turkish homes, memorable scents and novel topographies
Over the next few months Istanbul’s galleries and museums are pulling out all the stops before the summer exodus. The following exhibitions in Beyoğlu are particularly exciting, and, as a bonus, they...
View ArticleStirring sound installations
Turn almost anywhere in the Turkish art world – whether biennials, group exhibitions at major art institutions or small collaborative projects – and you’ll find Cevdet Erek and his stirring...
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Turkish art in the city that never sleeps
As one of the world’s art meccas, New York is always teeming with exhibitions, fairs and public art installations. This month, a good number of the thousands of works on display are made by artists...
View ArticleJewellery and textiles of Central Asia
Turkestan Journey, the current, free exhibition at Asia House, recalls a time a hundred years or more ago when women of Central Asia were adorned with an armoury of jewellery. The 60 pieces in a dozen...
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