Salvaging Istanbul’s remaining treasures
Enough is enough. This Sunday December 22 the people of Istanbul will ‘reclaim their city’. The brainchild of a number of organisations, movements and forums (some notable ones include Istanbul Urban...
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Pierre Loti’s Istanbul
Naval officer, traveller, poet, painter, photographer and the ultimate French Orientalist, Pierre Loti, was, like many others before and after him, absolutely beguiled by Istanbul. He lived in the...
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Gallery walkabout: Beyoğlu
For our final gallery walk for 2013, we find ourselves once more in the buzzing hub of the European Quarter: Beyoğlu. There’s so much to do in the area that it warrants more than just one visit. The...
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Gearing up for an icy winter
After weeks of preparations and permissions sought (and granted) from local municipalities, the day of the solidarity march was finally upon us. Yesterday (December 22) thousands of people came...
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A gratifying trifecta
The three winter exhibitions at ARTER are all very different but somehow work harmoniously over the gallery’s three floors. ARTER has a knack for turning each of its floors into a completely unique...
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The year that was…
With just a few days left of 2013, it’s time to look back on the year that was. The year 2013 will be etched in history as the year of the Gezi protests. It all started with a tree, so to speak, in...
View ArticleMiddle Eastern Studies under the spotlight
The Fourth World Congress for Middle Eastern Studies (WOCMES), touted as ‘the most important global event in Middle Eastern studies in 2014’ will take place at the Middle East Technical University...
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Anish Kapoor in 5 works
Since September, 30 of Anish Kapoor’s abstract sculptures have taken up residence over the vast grounds of Sakıp Sabancı Museum. Not content with just the indoor museum space, Kapoor has placed two of...
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Anish Kapoor in five works
Since September last year, 30 of Anish Kapoor’s abstract sculptures have taken up residence around the vast spaces of the Sakıp Sabancı Museum. Not content with the museum's indoor space, Kapoor has...
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Gallery walkabout: Karaköy/Tophane
For our first gallery walk of 2014, we find ourselves back in the city’s cultural hub, Karaköy/Tophane (above). Last year was a huge year for contemporary art in Istanbul. There was a biennial, two...
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Robertson of Constantinople
Though he was the chief engraver at the Ottoman Imperial Mint for over 40 years in the mid-19th century, James Robertson (1813–1888) is remembered in the history books by a different title: Robertson...
View ArticleDavid Winfield
A month or two before her death in the autumn of 1958, the novelist Rose Macaulay paid a final visit to Trabzon (the ancient Trebizond), the setting of her most famous novel. In it Macaulay had...
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Secret Gardens
David Wheeler, editor of the beautifully written gardening quarterly Hortus, is writing a book about the private and public gardens of Istanbul and the Bosphorus. Some of his recent exploits in the...
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‘The Impeccables’
Ramin Matin has a lot to be proud of in his sophomore feature. On the surface, The Impeccables (Kusursuzlar in Turkish) is a quiet but powerful study of sibling relationships. But there is something...
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Gallery walkabout: Beşiktaş
If you haven’t visited the newly restored Naval Museum (above) yet, this should be your first stop in Beşiktaş. You can’t miss it – it is housed in a large building to the right of the Beşiktaş square...
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An Ottoman arrangement
With so much awesomely grubby news of greed and dishonesty to cheer the year on its way, here is a little nugget of beauty to dwell on. A single dish in the right place can make a feast. This...
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The eyes have it
The cushioned seats of the Cafe Liseliler, next to the Sadberk Hanım Museum, are cheap and cheerful, but the çay and menemen are particularly excellent, and the broad sweep of the Bosphorous in front...
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Photographs cast light on Sinan’s masterpieces
Back in December, I attended a photography exhibition at the Millî Reasürans Art Gallery in Maçka of Aykut Köksal’s black-and-white photographs capturing Mimar Sinan’s (1489–1588) architectural...
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Gallery walkabout: Nişantaşı
Nişantaşı is having a leisurely start to the year – a number of the neighbourhood’s galleries have not yet exhibited their first show of 2014. Merkur Gallery has spent the first weeks of January at...
View ArticleSerâ Tokay at Carnegie Hall
Tomorrow (January 28), French–Turkish conductor Serâ Tokay will conduct the Lutèce Philharmonia, a chamber orchestra composed of a string quintet and a range of brass and woodwind instruments that she...
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