Aydın Esen at the Verwegenheit Exibition
On October 15 I made my way to Beyoğlu in the evening rush hour, braving the traffic on Refik Saydam Caddesi, the road between Taksim Square and Şişhane that passes below the wall of the British...
View ArticleTamerlano in Tashkent
The curtain rose to reveal an enormous sculpture of a horse’s head, equalling the height of the theatre and encased in a cube of LED-lit scaffolding. This was the opening night of Handel’s Tamerlano,...
View Article...And all that jazz
On Monday May 27 I made my way along Büyük Hendek Caddesi towards the Nardis Jazz Club, picking my through the throng of selfie-taking tourists taking advantage of the unique backdrop of a round,...
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He who kisses the joy as it flies…
On October 15 I made my way to Beyoğlu for the opening of an exhibition of paintings by the artist Rahşan Düren entitled Verwegenheit, which I believe means ‘audacity’ or ‘boldness’ in German. I had...
View ArticlePure perfection
On October 16 I made my way to the Süreyya Opera House in Kadıköy to hear the violinist Bahar Büyükgönenç and the pianist Tutu Aydınoğlu play works by Zoltán Kodály, Johannes Brahms, Manuel de Falla,...
View ArticleWhere to go for jazz in Turkey
ISTANBUL Nardis The longest-running jazz club in Turkey is Nardis, close to the Galata Tower. Opened in 2002 by guitarist and jazz mentor Önder Focan and his wife Zuhal, who runs Jazz Dergisi (‘Jazz...
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Nemrut with Don McCullin
Don, Catherine, Barnaby and I arrived in Adiyaman and were collected by Hüseyin Aydın from the Güneș Hotel. As we left the van for a quick kebab in the outskirts of town we were greeted by some...
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Nemrut with Don McCullin
Our Nemrut trip and slightly beyond. How we got there: Hüseyin Aydin, the owner of Güneş Motel came to pick us up at the Adiyaman airport in a comfortable 6 seater van, took us to a kebab restaurant...
View ArticleThe Clash of the Titans
On November 01 I went to the Cemal Reşit Rey Concert Hall in Harbiye to witness an unusual event – a jazz concert involving two orchestras playing simultaneously on the same stage. Although the event...
View ArticleExcellence in the cello department
On Sunday June 9 I went to the Atatürk Cultural Centre in Taksim Square to attend the last orchestral concert of the 52nd İKSV Istanbul Music Festival. This event featured the Tekfen Philharmonic...
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Ayda Demirci: Two
Two marks Ayda Demirci second solo exhibition at the Ambidexter Gallery (until December 28, 2024), presenting a series of abstract oil on linen and canvas works created in 2024. The title reflects the...
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Nemrut with Don McCullin
Don McCullin and his wife Catherine Fairweather take in the dramtic view at dawn as our new travelling companion and local Hüseyin Bey nonchalantly strolls, feeling very much at home on the fire altar...
View ArticleAs the trees were turning in Cats Park…
On October 21 I walked down the hill from the Kedili Park (Cats Park) by the side of the Harbiye Military Museum to Maçka, and from thence down Süleyman Seba Caddesi to Beşiktaş, where I met up with...
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An archive for your thoughts
Archive signifies the closing of a chapter for Versus Art Project as they bid farewell to their iconic white cube gallery in Istanbul—a space distinguished by its apartment-like layout, soaring...
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Children’s Rain Call with the Colours of the Rainbow
The Istanbul-born Armenian conceptual artist Sarkis’s fifth solo exhibition, Children’s Rain Call with the Colours of the Rainbow, offers a playful exploration on collective healing. Inspired by...
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An archive for your thoughts
Archive signifies the closing of a chapter for Versus Art Project as they bid farewell to their iconic white cube gallery in Istanbul—a space distinguished by its apartment-like layout, soaring...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Sine İçli’s Jittering Maps
‘making paste from rain/you may ask - how?/to dream long enough/for fermentation’ These lines, part of a poem by multidisciplinary artist Sine İçli, are positioned in the lower-left corner of the...
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A master of unease
Esra Özdoğan's solo exhibition The Ghost in the Machine, curated by Çağla Özbek, invites viewers into a world where the boundaries between life, death, and illusion are constantly shifting. The title,...
View ArticleRoll over Bartók
On December 15 I attended a jazz concert by Hungarian musicians at the Beşiktaş Naval Museum. The performers were the pianist and song-writer Peter Sárik (the group’s leader), double-bass player Tibor...
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The poetry of bathing
This tile panel was originally located in the men’s hot room. The eight rectangular tiles are adorned with Persian couplets in nasta‘līq script from a poem highlighting the hamam's significance in...
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