10 Photos of Old Istanbul: 1910s in Istanbul

Balloons were the first mechanisms used in air warfare and France was the first country who had successfully flown balloons in the last quarter of the 18th century. The Ottomans were behind developments. This photo which was taken in Talimhane in 1910 shows one of the first balloon experiments for the Turkish Air Force. It rises above the Istanbul skyline, and the curious crowd watching it.

 

Barry family was one of the Levantine families in Constantinople, with roots going back to England and Italy. The father of Albert Barry, Joseph Barry, was the court dentist during the reign of Sultan Abdulhamid II. Albert Barry also was the dentist, worked in his office at Mısır Apartment in Beyoğlu until his death in 1962. He was also interested in photography. As he is not in the photo he may be the photographer of this photo which shows the Barry family at Büyükada around 1910-12.

 

Sultanahmet Mosque or popularly known as the Blue Mosque has always been the Istanbul’s most touristic attraction along with the Hagia Sophia, Topkapı Palace, Basilica Cistern and Galata Tower. This mosque has five main domes, six point three minarets, and eight secondary domes. It is said to be the last great mosques of the classical period. This photo shows the Blue Mosque in 1919. Despite my research, I couldn’t find any information why there’s no crowd around the mosque.

Swiss brothers named Adolf and Walter Bomonti moved to Istanbul and established a brewery for a beer. It was Turkey’s first major beer factory, built in Istanbul in 1890, and later moved the factory in 1902 to the Bomonti neighbourhood. This photo shows the people enjoying their beer in the garden of Bomonti Beer Factory in the 1910s.

The “Sick Man of Europe” for over 100 years, Ottoman Empire joined the Central Powers and entered World War I on October 28, 1914. The decision of the Ottoman Empire to enter the First World War was a catastrophic mistake which resulted in the empire’s occupation by the victorious allies. This photo is proof of this horrible mistake as it shows the occupation of Constantinople. The British troops of the “Army of Occupation of Constantinople” are awaiting General Allenby on the İstiklal Street in January of 1919.

It is safe to say that there was no place such abundant in fish as the Bosporus and there was no place where there were so many taken. Once upon a time, fishing dominated life in Istanbul thanks to the fertile sea which surrounded the city on three sides. The most common fish spicy was mackerel which migrated annually between the Aegean and the Black Sea. When they were on the way, Istanbul strait was full of migrating mackerel and it was a feast for the fishermen in Istanbul. This photo is proof of this feast as fishermen are beaching the mackerels easily on the shore of Bebek neighbourhood.

A great photo shows a panoramic view of Istanbul. You can see the Kabataş neighbourhood, the ferries are crossing the Bosporus, the famous Maiden Tower is apparent, and the Üsküdar neighbourhood is in the background. It is safe to say, Istanbul was not a concrete jungle that is evident in the photo!

This is one of the most beautiful photos from the beginning years of 1910’s. Probably the photographer took the picture from a small boat on the Golden Horn. Here is Fener shore, which looks completely different than its today’s appearance, and with its wooden houses, the neighbourhood looks really amazing in the photo. However, the photo’s most striking attraction is definitely the Phanar Greek Orthodox College which is called as The Red School by the locals.

This photo shows two coolies are on the Galata Bridge. No way to know what they were carrying or for whom but their financial situation is evident if we compare their clothing with the man on the left, who was wearing shoes of high quality, black long coat and fez, a truncated cone made of red felt.

This photo is witness of the Sultanahmet Demonstrations which was a milestone for the national awakening for Turks to give a start to Turkish Independence War.  It was series of rallies in 1919 at Sultanahmet to protest the occupation of İzmir by Greeks after the Ottomans lost the First World War. This photo was taken on 23 May 1919 and published by the newspaper Hakimiyet-i Milliye.

The Story of Turkish Hip Hop

Hip hop songs usually talk about experiences of the street life in a ghetto and portrayals of black men and women in society. It was at least like that in the 70s and 80s when hip hop was not a commercialised business. Turkish people couldn’t catch up with hip hop during the time. They had no idea about DJ Kool Herc or Grandmaster Caz or Afrika Bambaataa. That only changed during the late 1980s and early 1990s known as the “Golden age of hip hop”.

When the Turkish youth finally heard the first Turkish hip hop songs in the mid-1990s, they didn’t hear anything about ghettos, street experiences or black men. It is not because the Turkish people love going against the grain, but simply because the environment in the Turkish Hip Hop songs were not comparable to the South Bronx or other such areas. Essentially, Turkish hip hop could not relate to any of characteristics that initially gave birth to hip hop in America. In fact, Turkish hip hop was popularised not in Turkey, but in Germany. So why is this such a unique tale?

Hip hop is a street subculture, which needs a fertile environment to germinate. In the 70s when hip hop culture started to take shape in the United States, Istanbul’s new urban migrants who brought their village to the city (metaphorically speaking) developed a domestic subculture in Turkey. The urban migrants of the 70s danced to melodic and emotional arabesque songs that expressed their pain, frustration, desire, and love. Turkey clearly was not fertile for hip hop culture to evolve during that time.

Turkish Hip-Hop

The conditions of the Turks in Germany were worse than the migrating families in Istanbul. During 1960s a huge crowd of people from Anatolian villages migrated to Germany as guest-workers, but they settled in ethnic enclaves instead of returning back to Turkey, primarily because they hoped for a better future in Germany. In the 1980s, the teenagers of the migrants ran into many social, cultural and political problems in Germany.

The conditions of Turkish youth in Germany became the backdrop to the Turkish hip hop culture, which emerged in the ethnic enclaves of Germany instead of the streets in Istanbul. It is no surprise that the first Turkish hip-hop songs used folk beats, made use of the arabesque style, and contained lyrics revealing the problems faced by Turks in Germany.

Alper Ağa’s “Bir Yabancının Hikayesi” (“The life of the stranger”) was said to be the first recorded Turkish hip-hop song. The first Turkish hip hop album was released by Dj Mahmud, Volkan T, Murad G and KMR in 1994. However, it was Cartel, the first Turkish hip-hop band, who crossed the borders of Germany and introduced hip hop to the Turkish youth.  Initially Turkish youth found their music odd, but soon it was accepted and popularised in Turkey. Cartel even gave a concert at Beşiktaş’s İnönü Stadium; the show was the first and last hip-hop stadium concert in Turkey, which is said to be the second most crowded concert following Michael Jackson’s legendary appearance. Unfortunately, Cartel faded away in the twinkling of an eye, yet still inspired and influenced the manifestation of the hip hop culture in Turkey.

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Cartel – “Cartel” (1995)

The last years of the 1990s, Turkish hip-hop became more popular in the country. Cartel’s two members Erci-E and Karakan released their first solo albums in 1997. Following them, Islamic Force released their first album which was a milestone for Killa Hakan as he drew all the attention, owing to his lyrical content and rap style. Rapor 2, one of Turkey’s first hip-hop artists, also made a comeback and broke new ground with his new song, “Çiz” (Draw), featured with popular rock band Radical Noise that is considered as the best Turkish hip-hop rock crossover ever.

In 1999, a Turkish hip-hop collection album “Yeraltı Operasyonu” (Turkish Hip Hop Movement) was released and it was very notable success as the most popular rappers of the decade took part of this music project.

From the beginning of millennium onwards Turkish hip-hop grew in popularity. A new generation of artists emerged. Names like Basemood Records, Kadıköy Acil, Sansar, Pit10, Şehinşah, Saian, Karaçalı, Allame, Jontürk, and Da Poet pioneered the creation of underground hip-hop in Turkey. They also promoted hip-hop culture; break-dance, beat box, graffiti and clothing quickly seeped into Turkey.

Meanwhile, a few hip hop artists were enjoying fame in the country. When Sultana’s first music video “Kuşu Kalkmaz” (His Bird Can’t Fly) was forbade by government, where a few TV channels banned her music from airing, the female hip hop artist Sultana suddenly became the trending topic in the country.

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Sultana – “Kuşu Kalkmaz” (2000)

However, The Istanbul rap group Nefret (Hate), consists of two rappers in their twenties, Ceza (Punishment) and Dr. Fuchs, who were the most popular and respected hip hop artists in Turkey. They released such an album that went beyond the hip-hop fans. One of their most famous songs was “Istanbul.”  Despite the success, the friendship between duo was damaged after Dr. Fuchs went away for mandatory military service.

Ceza continued his solo career, released his “Rapstar” album, which paved the way for him. At the pinnacle of his career Ceza performed at Rock’n Coke festival and took part of a lollipop TV commercial. Not only did hip-hop fans criticise him, but Sagopa Kajmer said that he wouldn’t have licked a lollipop for money. Since then, the fight between these two most popular hip hop artists has continued.

Sagopa Kajmer’s lyrical and rap style was completely different compared to Ceza’s. His song “Al Bir de Burdan Yak” was the soundtrack of the most popular movie in the country – Cem Yılmaz’s GORA – the legendary comedy movie in Turkish cinema. GORA helped create awareness for hip hop among an audience that had not been exposed to it before, which is his greatest contribution to the hip hop community.

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Ceza & Sagopa Kajmer – “Neyim Var ki?” (2004)

By mid 2000s Turkish youth were wearing baggy hip-hop clothes and having freestyle battles on the streets. You could walk in the streets of Kadıköy and Bakırköy and sense the hip hop culture; finally, it found an environment to grow in.

From the mid-2000’s onwards the Turkish hip hop artist also started to find place in the music market as well as on television. Hip hop was at its highest peak. It had reached so far, but also a milestone which affected highly the future of hip hop in Turkey. The worst problem was that hip hop media didn’t exist; mainstream media had no interest with Turkish hip hop, popular radio stations advertised only a few hits from the same names, and journalists didn’t report or write about Turkish hip hop.

The real deathblow to Turkish hip hop came from a few pop failures and a few famous names such as Ümit Davala, Aziza A and Dezz Deniz who emerged on stage and faded away after they defaced Turkish hip-hop. It is yet to be understood why football player Ümit Davala came forward as MC. Yes, Ümit Davala! But why, is beside the point, they both did more harm than good the genre.

All these new developments worried important hip hop names who thought Turkish hip-hop was going downhill. However, time proved them wrong. A great number of upscale works on hip-hop continued to come in view. The Istanbul rapper Jonturk’s cooperation with legendary leftist souls such as Leman Sam, Cezmi Ersöz and Nejat Yavaşoğulları for a hip-hop album was definitely a feast. Ceza’s “Yerli Plaka” album is also worth mentioning as it was great result of cooperation with famous names such as Tech N9ne, Sammy Deluxe, Eko Fresh, Killa Hakan and Turkish pop queen Sezen Aksu. Meanwhile, Turkish underground rap started to gain fame off of great works by Cashflow, Modo XL, Pit10, Sansar, Saian, Norm, MT, to mention a few.

In the first years of 2010s a new generation of artists emerged while the old veterans such as Ceza and Fuat stayed silent. Ceza made a pause until 2015 and then he released his “Suspus” album. This year also witnessed Turkey’s biggest Hip Hop festival “HipHop Jam Istanbul 2015”. From the new generation of artists, with the help of his lyrics, style of rap and video-clips, Fate Fat proved that he is the future star of Turkish hip hop. Another golden rapper is from the capital Ankara – Ais Ezhel – his great mixture of hip hop and reggae makes him unique. Istanbul has also great names that are carrying hip hop music in Turkey. Among them Sansar aka Salvo, cannot be counted as new generation of artists, but no Istanbul rapper now can drop him from the Constantine Walls.

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Fate Fat – “Bizik 3” (2011)

Apparently, the future of hip hop in Turkey is linked with the underground hip hop scene. Not only Fate Fat, Ais Ezhel and Sansar but there are many greater artists who carry hip hop music in Turkey. The political and social situation in Turkey is becoming increasingly worrying which opens doors for Turkish hip hop artists. But, if they follow the trend and produce commercialised hip hop songs, they probably won’t gain much recognition and respect. For now, it can be said that hip hop in Turkey is not full of optimism but it’s rich and turbulent history suggests otherwise.

Kuştepe: The Nest of Crime or Not

The neighbourhood of the back of Trump Towers is Kuştepe. It is generally defined as a demolished ”gecekondu (shanty house)” area. The stereotype about that neighbourhood is that it’s “the nest of crime”. We conducted a research about Kuştepe to find out its current life. Our main target is to answer the question, “Is this stereotype true?”

To find the true information about this neighbourhood we passed through the “first” village headmen (that which we call “muhtar” in Turkish), as well as the small grocer in the neighbourhood (“bakkal” in Turkish). Our first interview started with “the tea” that the muhtar treated us to. He is not the most pleasure with Kuştepe unfortunately. He complained about the crime rates and the safety problem of the neighbourhood. He said: “most of “low middle class” in Kuştepe just surround their places by wire because of the thieves, they not only steal stuff, money etc. from houses but also destroy the gardens”. Also he remarks the case about the diversity of ethnic groups living in Kuştepe. He said:” Most of the settlers belong to the same origin, they are generally Romani. But the cultural habits are different in a one sense so they generally don’t like each other.” The interesting point is that although they are all from same origin and they have nearly same cultural behaviour, items etc. they don’t get along together.

The old culture of the neighbourhood is generally safe in Kuştepe. The Romani settlers are very welcoming, when we enter the streets they define us as “strange” and tried to help us. They welcomed us in their houses. Most of women were washing carpet on streets, the children were running around. The joy of neighbourhood is still there in comparison to most of other İstanbul neighbourhoods.

However, we encounter the phobia of other as the muhtar mentioned above. “Other” in that case means someone does not belong directly one’s own group. It is xenophobe. For instance, one can be Romani who come from Kayseri however the other for someone who is also Romani but from different region let say Trabzon. One of the residents, let’s call her Ayşe Yenge, welcomed us to her home and she talked about the “other”; Kuştepe got a lot of migrants. The original neighbourhood settlers generally moved from there because of the corruption of the migrants. The street of X and Y (I hid the original name of street to avert the possible discrimination), are not safe. Most settlers of these streets are thieves and they are dirty people. As you see we are not in contrast to general stereotypes against Romani’s. The dirty one is others.” So, you can see the point of “the other” in Ayşe Yenge’s speech. She is Romani but the people who are also Romani but live in X and Y streets make them other. The settlers not from these street create “we” for Ayşe Yenge, and she also in that “we”.

Kuştepe was not originally settled as a “gecekondu” neighbourhood. Before 1950’s in Kuştepe, the settlement was sparse. During the demolishment of gecekondu neighbourhoods in 1950, hundreds of people had to leave their houses, they were faced with severe life- threatening and the only solution to their problems was to come together and form associations. In 1951 the association called “Şişli Gecekondularını İhya ve Güzelleştirme Derneği” was formed, the head of the association, Naim Tanyeri, explained their purpose as reconstructing the “gecekondu” buildings which were substandard and illegal, with the help of municipalities and related authorities. That would help the settlers to live in proper environment and standards as every citizen deserves.

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The efforts of this association could be considered as a struggle. Every step they took were peaceful and legal and yet they were shut down several times but they did not stop. They wrote letters to authorities, they organized legal demonstrations and finally, in 1953 law No. 6188 passed, municipality owned lands were going to be allocated to needy families. They discussed specifications of the law with authorities, and tried to obtain the most beneficial outcome for the settlers. People who used to live in gecekondu districts in Zincirlikuyu, Vefa and Esentepe settled in Kuştepe and this is how Kuştepe was created. During the first years of settlement after the law passed, the situation in Kuştepe was unpleasant. The region lacked the necessary infrastructure, some families had to live in tents for months because the construction period was taking a long time. With the efforts of the association, living conditions got better and in several years the infrastructure investments were completed.

When we look at the demographic structure in Kuştepe, we see that it is a mixture of different ethnic groups. Romani people, “Kayserililer”, and “Karadenizliler”, constitute the majorities in the area. According to the settlers, there is tension between the groups due to several reasons, each ethnic group has its own “kahvehane”. Even though the bonds within the groups are strong, it is hard to talk about solidarity of all settlers in Kuştepe.

In 1997, Bilgi University settled in Kuştepe. The university conducted several researches in the area with the purpose of understanding the needs of people and finding ways to improve the living standards in Kuştepe, volunteers from the organizes many educative seminars and workshops for the settlers. Also scholarship opportunities were offered to students from Kuştepe. In 2006, however, due to financial issues, Bilgi Education and Culture Foundation sold 50% of the University to an American firm which doesn’t share the same social philosophy with the foundation.  Most of the faculties in Kuştepe have moved to Santral Campus, since then Bilgi University became less active in Kuştepe.

Kustepe Ederlezi

Kuştepe is a product of a non-governmental organization and the head of the association “Şişli Gecekondularını İhya ve Güzelleştirme Derneği”, Naim Tanyeri, was actively involved in eight different non-governmental organizations, he worked very hard to turn Kuştepe into a pleasant place for its settlers.

This was the situation in 1950’s and 1960’s. Today, however, we don’t see any evidence of such unified organizations. There is one association, Kuştepe Romani Art House, which could be considered as “active”. Unfortunately, there is no proper website of this association, we gathered the information from the head of the association, M.S.Ş, and from the settlers in Kuştepe.

The art house was opened in 2014, it provides classrooms for activities organized by volunteers outside of Kuştepe. However, the art house itself doesn’t have an organized structure, volunteer groups have to prepare their own schedule and work accordingly.  The association doesn’t provide any information about the needs of the settlers to the volunteer groups– the actually learned that no one has knocked on the settlers’ doors and inquired about their needs and problems.

There is an ongoing project in Kuştepe run by Boğaziçi Social Service Club, volunteer students organize the workshops themselves for children with Romani culture. What is more problematic here is that as mentioned above, Kuştepe has a mixed demographic structure and there is tension between the ethnic groups. So a “Kayserili” family, for example, claim that they do not want to send their children to the “Romani” Art House. M.Ş.E., the head of the association, claims that there is no ethnic discrimination within the association, all children living in Kuştepe are welcomed to participate in the workshops. However, according to the short interviews we conducted with the settlers, we have reason to believe that other ethnicities living in Kuştepe does not share his opinion, they say: “The name of the association is Romani Art House, of course we feel discriminated.”

Kuştepe Kids

We observed a similar structure of the patron client relationship in the case of urban renewal plans regarding Kuştepe. From our interviews with the settlers and with the Şişli Municipality, we learned that the municipality plans an urban renewal project in some parts of the Kuştepe district which are the regions with highest crime rates and worst economic conditions. The fact is that most settlers in those areas actually want an urban renewal project with the condition of not being left without a house. They rely on the associations to defend their rights and the municipality is trying to make a deal with the associations. What is questionable here is that whether the outcomes will be to the settlers’ best interest or not, since this particular chain of patron- client bonds is very open to corruption.

At the end of this article, I would like to answer the question above: “Is this stereotype true?” … Actually, to figure out that, there is no necessary to check the crime list of the police officer. Find someone who lives there for a while is enough. Most of settlers normalize “the voice of siren that belongs to police cars… However, we could not define as a place that attracted by police is as a “nest of crime”. Shortly, Kuştepe is not a “nest of crime”; It is a poverty-torn area that fosters space and reason for crime; there is little opportunity for education and a different way of life. The interventions that have tried have failed, thus it remains forgotten. There is no job opportunity as most settlers say for their children, youths, and others so they push to sell drugs, or stealing to survive. This is my view. What about yours?

In colloboration with Remziye Aslan and Sueda Evirgen.

Top 10 Inspiring Women of Istanbul

Over the last few centuries the history of Istanbul, formerly named Constantinople during the Byzantine and Ottoman Empire eras, was marked by key feminine figures. These women succeeded to overcome prejudgements from the societal level, from men’s stereotypes that were totally against any feminist manifestation, be it public or private, and most importantly, from the limitations produced by a social fabric immersed in conservatism. Their achievements are even more significant than their correspondents from Europe and the United States. So much so that two strong forces were against their endeavours in almost any domain of life:  the Islamic ideology and the overall women’s lack of credibility as capable agents of social change.

After making this synthetic preamble, it is worth mentioning that our Top 10 List will be completed in accordance with a reversed chronology, starting from contemporary feminine personalities and going back in time to remarkable figures of the second millennium. Having incredible self-confidence, mental force, open-mindedness and a desire to produce major changes, these women have inspired entire generations through their unquestionable accomplishments and determinations in both Middle Eastern countries and all over the world.

 

10 – Anna Komnene (1083-1153)

[su_quote]The stream of Time, irresistible, ever moving, carries off and bears away all things that come to birth and plunges them into utter darkness, both deeds of no account and deeds which are mighty and worthy of commemoration. Nevertheless, the science of History is a great bulwark against this stream of time; in a way it checks this irresistible flood, it holds in a tight grasp whatever it can seize floating on the surface and will not allow it to slip away into the depths of Oblivion.[/su_quote]

Anna Komnene was a Byzantine princess, scholar, physician, hospital administrator and historian. She was the daughter of the Byzantine emperor Alexios I and his wife Irene Doukaina. Her masterpiece is called Alexiad, an account of her father’s reign, which is unique in that it was written by a princess about her father.

 

9 – Fatma Aliye Topuz (1862-1936)

[su_quote]The whole life is about Dream and Truth.[/su_quote]

Fatma Aliye Topuz had interests in different domains of science and cognition, but she is widely known as an essayist, columnist, a women’s rights activist and a humanitarian. Her accomplishments in writing five novels, has credited her in the literary circles of Istanbul as the first female novelist in the Islamic world and in Turkish literature.

 

8 – Halide Edib Adıvar (1884-1964)

[su_quote cite=”Ellison Grace Mary, An English Woman in a Turkish Harem, 1915″]… she has opinions on most subjects and discusses the problems of the day in a manner which charms one not so much on account of what she says, but because it is so different from what one expected.[/su_quote]

Halide Edib Adıvar was a Turkish nationalist, novelist and political leader for women’s rights. She is recognized all over the world for her novels criticizing the low social status of Muslim women. She has identified the low social status of women as a consequence due to the lack of interest from most women in changing their situations.

 

7 – Nezihe Muhiddin (1889-1958)

[su_quote]It’s time for the Turkish women to receive their rights and political equality.[/su_quote]

Nezihe Muhiddin was an Ottoman and Turkish women’s rights activist, journalist and writer. As a political leader, her status allowed her to become the founder of the first party of the Republic of Turkey, which was suggestively called, Women’s People Party or People’s Party of Women in July 1923. Due to the political climate during that time, the party was not recognized, but that did not stop Muhiddin for she founded the Turkish Women’s Union and continued her fight for political equality. She spent all her life struggling to improve the quality of the lives of Turkish women.

 

6 – Safiye Ali (1891-1952)

[su_quote]Treating our wounded soldiers in war for me meant, healing Turkey and contributing to the greatness of our Republic.[/su_quote]

Safiye Ali was the first Turkish woman to become a medical doctor after her graduation at Robert College in Istanbul. She treated the soldiers in the Turkish War of Independence, the Balkan Wars and World War I and in 1922, she opened her own office in Istanbul.

 

5 – Nuriye Ulviye Mevlan Civelek (1893-1964)

[su_quote]One of the excuses of men who want to prevent women earning their own living is that they say women are not properly educated and have no experience. Do all tradesmen go to the trade school? Do they have higher education? The truth is that most of them are illiterate.[/su_quote]

As a women’s rights activist, journalist, suffragist and founder of the first feminist women’s magazine and Muslim women’s rights organization in Turkey, Nuriye Ulviye Mevlan Civelek, is considered one of the most important defenders of feminism in modern world history by many scholars around the world. She was the first woman to own a publication in Ottoman Turkey and her magazine was the first to publish a photograph of a Muslim woman.

 

4 – Feriha Tevfik Dağ (1910-1991)

[su_quote]Turkish women are beautiful and I have proved that.[/su_quote]

As a beauty pageant contestant and actress, Feriha Tevfik Dağ, is best known for being the first Miss Turkey in 1929. Marilyn Monroe, the famous American model and actress, was always compared with Feriha for her charm and similar beauty.

 

Halet Çambel

3 – Halet Ҫambel (1916-2014)

[su_quote]Our coach was a German girl, a swimmer. She told me: I will introduce you to Hitler. But I just told her not to.[/su_quote]

Halet Çambel was a reputed archaeologist and Olympian fencer, being the first Muslim woman to compete in the 1936 Olympic Summer Games. As professor of Archaeology at Istanbul University, Halet played a key role in the decryption of Hittite hieroglyphics, while also active in promoting the preservation of Turkey’s cultural heritage.

 

Sertab Erener

2 – Sertab Erener (1964 – …)

[su_quote]Love doesn’t die.[/su_quote]

As one of the most successful female singers in her homeland, Sertab Erener is one of the divas of the Turkish pop music scene and a cross-over soprano. On the European continent, she is best known for winning the 2003 edition of Eurovision Song Contest with her hit song “Every Way That I Can”.

A native of Istanbul, she achieved the utmost performance in her musical career after working with Turkish music icon, Sezen Aksu. In 2009, she created a band called Painted on Water and released a self-titled album in the United States, producing an unexpected impact in the US music industry.

 

Elif Şafak

1 – Elif Şafak (1971 – …)

[su_quote]In Turkey men write and women read. I want to see this change.[/su_quote]

Elif Şafak is the author of eight novels and is Turkey’s most widely read woman writer. With exceptional work that has been translated into more than 30 languages, she was awarded the honorary distinction of Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters in France, 2010. She writes fiction in both Turkish and English, dividing her time between Istanbul and London.

Blending Western and Eastern traditions of storytelling, Elif has interests in different areas such as, minorities, women rights, immigrants, youth and subcultures, cultural politics, Sufism and philosophy. She is also conscious about the literary discrimination between the East and the West, mentioning that, “A white male, middle-class American writer can experiment with form and choose any subject he wants, but a woman writer coming from Algeria or Tunisia should produce stories that fit into a certain cultural box.”

 

 

In limiting ourselves to only 10 female personalities we might have missed many other courageous and inspiring women, but we are really looking forward to your suggestions and contributions in adding to the present Top Inspiring Women of Istanbul List.

References
1- Binder, Charlotte and Richman, Natalie (2000), “Feminist Movements in Turkey”. Cambridge University Press, p. 123-205.
2- Wilkinson, Tracy (January 9, 2007), “Taking the honoUr out of our women”. Los Angeles Times.
3- Sever, Aysan (January 2, 2015), “Feminist Analysis of HonoUr Killings in Rural Turkey”. University of Toronto.
4- Questions and Answers on Women’s Rights, prepared by the Turkish government for the Human Rights Agenda Association in 2009.

Food, Spirits and Gastronomic Traditions in Byzantine Constantinople

The latest trend of living of grid, in self-sustainable houses, might not be so new after all. Going back to the Byzantine Era we see that self-sufficiency was key to households of that period in time. Families cultivated basic vegetables, and were breading their own animals (mainly poultry) to ensure their survival. The diet in those days consisted of a breakfast or prophage, the main meal; lunch or optimum, and dinner. All of this eaten with hands, or perhaps a scoop or spoon, as forks were only invented in the 10th century, and even then rarely used until later on. You can imagine that in larger cities, such as Istanbul, a sustainable lifestyle created some challenges. In the Byzantine Era, Istanbul was populated by over 500,000 inhabitants. So what were the main elements of a Byzantine meal?

BREAD

Bread has such an important role in the Byzantine diet that the guild of bakers of Constantinople was exempt from attending any public functions to avoid possible interruption of the production process. There were two categories of bread, the silignítēs and semidalitis. The first, silignítēs, was produced with extremely meticulously milled and sieved sitino flour. Silignítēs was the whitest bread and the most expensive type of bread of these years. Semidalitis on the other hand, was made by durum wheat. The types of bread were different. For example, there was the wholemeal bread, named grimy, the buns made with oat flour and wheat whole meal rye bread. Rich people usually ate silignítēs.

LEGUMES (PULSES) – VEGETABLES

The cheapest and most common foods for the majority of the population were vegetables and legumes. Given the long fasting periods laid down by the Church, with which they complied, these foods were eaten for a long time by the whole population. Large consumption of sprouts, leeks, onions, beets, lettuce, radish, carrots, peas, and rockets. Potatoes and tomatoes were not yet known, they arrived in Europe many years later. The fact that the pulses could be maintained for a long time allowed the arriving in big cities but also in remote regions of the empire. The most common pulses were the beans named “fasoulin”, the broad beans named “koukkia”, the lentils named “faki”, the “loupinaria” and chickpeas named “revithia”. Large consumption seems to have the wild grasses and bulbs.

SOUPS
After the conquest of Byzantium by the Crusaders (1204), eating habits seem to vary, both from Western influences and the economic crisis that followed. Soups and broths with a variety of vegetables, legumes, fish or corned meat seems to be formed a common choice for the Byzantine households of the 13th century.

EGGS

The chicken eggs were a common food in Byzantium Era. The eggs were eaten boiled, baked, and fried of raw. People prefer the eggs of pheasants than the eggs of goose, dusk and partridge.

FRUIT and NUTS

Fruits and nuts were the dessert of the Byzantines. The common fruits of this period were figs and grapes. As for nuts they usually preferred the chestnuts, the almonds, the peanuts and the pinecones (pine nuts).

MILK AND CHEESE

Milk products also present at the Byzantine table. They made milk by sheep’s milk, goat’s milk, cow’s milk, and buffalo’s. They also used milk in order to made yoghurt, cheese and butter. The written sources mention several varieties of cheese, such as cottage cheese, , the Cretan and the famous “Vlach cheese” and the low quality “asvestotyron”.

OLIVE AND OIL

During the Byzantine period, olives were a very popular, junk and Lenten food. The olives were preserved in brine (Almades), in vinegar or honey. Known also were the “receding” (crushed) and the “droupates” (Throumpes). Widespread was the use of oil in cooking.

SEAFOOD

In the Byzantine Era, they used to eat boiled fish, grilled fish and fried fish. They usually made a kind of seafood appetizer, called “pure” with squids, octopus, shrimps, scallops, barnacles, mussels, oysters, sea urchins etc., which were cooked with different ways or eaten raw.

MEAT AND POULTRY

Meat was not a common food for the Byzantines. Not only because it was rather rare and expensive, but also because the fasting dictated the Christian religion, for half day time. As it comes to meat, the most popular was pork, which was usually cooked in various ways. They also ate lamps, cattle, deer and hares.  The variety of the poultry was great. It was meat that they ate more than any other. They prefer to eat ducks and geese. There were especially breeding peacocks, because the fact that this bird was the pinnacle of the ruling class preferences.

SAUCES

Every meal was frequently accompanied by sauces. Most of the luxurious sauces were oil-based or butter- based. The most popular was a Byzantine sauce called “garos” which was produced from fish offal, gills, fish blood, salt, pepper and old wine.

SEASONINGS and SPICES

There were some dominant flavours in the Byzantine kitchen, amongst those were oil, fat, garlic, milk, vinegar and the various sauces. As it comes to spices the most commonly used ones were oregano, mint, pepper, celery, leek, dill, rosemary and cumin.

In addition to that some more exotic spices, such as cinnamon and nutmeg. Byzantines were specialized in a type of mustard that they would eat with fish and meat. A final addition to their pallet of spices was a saffron named crocus.

Let’s have a….desert

The basic element in a desert was fruit (apples, pears, dried and fresh figs, cherries, grapes, melons etc.) and nuts (walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts). Cakes also took a prominent position on the Byzantine desert table. As a sweetener, honey was often used. The byzantine era was known for a number of pastries, for example the sesame, the moustopita (jelly), the quartered (quince paste) various jams and a kind of pancake names Laganas, or Lallangi. Laganas is known for its layers, combined with almonds, walnuts and honey. Sounds familiar? That’s possible, because it’s known to be the ancestor of baklava.

Let’s Drink…. Wine and other drinks

Byzantines used to drink wine and they had a great variety. Names of wine were linked to the region they originated from. A famous drink was a mixture of old wine, honey and pepper. Other traditional alcoholic drinks were cider, myritis, perry and foinkitis.

 

TWO RECIPES

Starting to build up an appetite after reading about all these delicious ingredients? Cook one of these two recipes based on the Byzantine cuisine, or, if you find this too challenging, pick up some Baklava, it has Byzantine origins!

Rabbit cooked in wine or vinegar:

The Byzantines loved to cook  rabbit in red wine or vinegar with the addition of pepper, cloves and valerian. To enhance the flavour, they added a little pork fat in the process. They used to serve it with the “myttoton”, a kind of dressing which consisted of chopped garlic cloves, mixed with oil and paste of black olives.

Ornish (Hen) monthylefti:

They left a chicken for a few hours in wine or vinegar with spices (pepper, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg). After they choked with bread crumbs, almonds and other condiments. Often, they added raisins, pine nuts and chopped mushrooms. Simmer chicken in wine or baked in the oven inside a tightly sealed clay pot, after the well rubbed with butter. A common dressing for this food was a sauce made of mushrooms. They cut the mushrooms into slices, and then they put salt and pepper. They fried it with pear slices.

Love on Canvas: How A Swiss Artist Came to Istanbul in the 80s

We are sitting in the living room of the Swiss artist Ursula Katipoglu in Kuzguncuk, a calm quartier of Istanbul. There are paintings of hers and of her husband on the walls: Ursula´s paintings are showing colourful abstractions mostly of mountains and cities. Yusuf´s paintings, in contrast, are telling stories in sober colours. Ursula is originally from a rural region of south-east Switzerland, and Yusuf comes from Trabzon. They have been living and painting in Kuzguncuk for over 35 years.

Let us start from the beginning of the story: In 1978 Ursula and her friend came to the north-east province Trabzon at the Black Sea for vacation. There Ursula met one of the few artists of the city, the painter Yusuf Katipoğlu. Back in Switzerland, she organized an exposition for Yusuf with a friendly gallery owner to which Yusuf went with the slides of his works one year later. One year and many letters later, Ursula decided to move to Istanbul and continue her artistic career in Turkey.

Ursula Katipoglu
Ursula Katipoglu

Together with Yusuf she rented an apartment in Kuzguncuk and started to discover the city on the Bosporus through numerous excursions with the eyes of a curious artist. Especially her impressions about Istanbul´s architecture changed the style of her works in the course of the first years: In Switzerland she had received a classic art education and had also worked with traditional glass painting but now her art became more and more abstract. Ursula talks about market stands which were still covered with fabrics sewn together from different and varicoloured materials back then. “Such impressions were transformed to abstract paintings on the canvas.”

However, what did it mean for a Swiss artist to come to Turkey in the 80s? Ursula remembers: “Then, there was a pretty closed art community, less impact from Europe and just a few art galleries.” In contrast to Europe, painting had just a few well-known representatives in Turkey and no sweeping tradition. The Turkish appreciation of art was limited to craft-work like carpet weaving, fabrication of embroidery or the production of crockery. Even today it is an exception to put paintings on walls instead of religious messages, wedding pictures or kilims.

Although Ursula´s colourful oil paintings aroused huge interest in the art scene of the 80s among “dark, more melancholic paintings”, as she describes, she and her husband could not afford their living only through art and the money put aside was hardly enough for one year. Therefore, they exhibited their works in Switzerland now and then. In answer to the question of why she has stayed in Istanbul and not returned to Switzerland, she says promptly and clearly: “Yusuf couldn’t stand living there.”

Swiss Artist Istanbul

Has she missed anything? Yes! For a long time, she could not join discussions and participate in more serious conversations, which was because of two reasons: On the one hand, language courses were hardly in demand during the 80s, the time of the military coup in Turkey. On the other hand, she focused rather on visual aspects as an artist. Hence, it took her a long time to have command of the Turkish language. For the education of her two sons, she prioritized then the Turkish language in order to offer them, as children of a foreigner, a linguistic uniformity and therefore avoid confusion. Moreover, she did not see any necessity to teach the boys Swiss German. Standard German is a kind of foreign language for her although it is familiar to her sons

Swiss Painter Ursula KatipogluUrsula tells us that till this day money is not spent for art in Turkey, there are rarely collectors and art classes in schools are unfortunately not seen as important. The artists of Kuzguncuk draw back more and more. Touristic hypes prevail in the nostalgic quartier at the base of the Bosporus bridge. Ten years ago Ursula tried with other artists to carry art on streets; however, her opinion is that today just the newly rich buy “decorations” without any interest for art.

In the past ten years Ursula and Yusuf exhibit successfully in the gallery in Kuzguncuk often times, but in Switzerland their last organized exhibition was ten years ago. High custom stipulations turn exhibitions outside Turkey to a very expensive undertaking.  Yet, within the framework of a family organized and consciously small exposition they could again present their works there in fall 2014.

Ursula wonders sometimes: “What would I have done if I had stayed in Switzerland?” and she answers pleased: “I think that Turkey was good for me.”

We leave the final word to her. “You may also say that young art gets more in demand but old artists don’t want to face up this hustle and bustle of competition. I think you´re getting slowly older,” she says and laughs.

Text: Cornelia Belkin, Tuğba Yalçınkaya Translation: Serap Güngör

Engravings of Ottoman Istanbul

During the 18th and 19th century the westernisation in the Ottoman Empire gained momentum. The Sultans started to reside in the palaces which were built in rococo or baroque styles, the Ottoman officials started to wear trousers and jackets, the visibility of Ottoman women and men mixing together in public spaces grew. While this was the case within the empire, it was the time of exploration of the orient by occidentals. Therefore, Istanbul became a popular destination for Western travellers who often wrote travelogues centred on the Ottoman Empire. These travelogues usually contained a great amount of engravings which occupied an important position on making the westerns acquainted with eastern culture.

Here are some of the most famous engravings illustrating the Constantinople during the 18th and 19th century.

Coffee-houses were first opened in the Tahtakale neighbourhood by two merchants of Arab origin, were Hakem of Aleppo and Sems of Damascus. They became a place for socializing and remained popular within the empire for centuries. Ottoman coffee-houses were extremely important and very popular so that Amedeo Preziosi didn’t skip drawing it. However, it is obvious that he used his imagination on this painting because there was no way for a woman working in a coffee-house in the Ottoman times. Honestly, this is not an unexampled as many of Western artists used their imagination on their works, especially on their harem paintings.

Since its establishment, Grand Bazaar has always been of great interest to Western artists such that you can’t find any travelogue that doesn’t contain a text and engraving of this bazaar. This is because of the oldest and biggest covered market in the world which offered an incredible visual richness and diversity, which can also be found in the work of Maltese painter Amedeo Preziosi. The clothing of Ottoman people is evident in the painting as well.

Antoine Ignace Melling was a German artist and traveller who moved to Istanbul in 1784 and worked as an imperial architect to Sultan Selim III. In his life in Istanbul, he made many detailed drawings of the sultan’s palace, Ottoman life as well as Constantinople itself and its environs. His works on Constantinople was published as “Voyage pittoresque de Constantinople et des rives du Bosphore”. This work by him is one of the most beautiful engravings as the architectural beauty of the Fountain of Mahmud I is very evident. However, not only the architectural beauty makes this engraving unique but also Melling included several social scenes in this work.

Turkish novelist Orhan Pamuk claims in his book “Istanbul: Memories and the City” that Melling saw the city like an Istanbulian but painted it like a clear-eyed Western. Probably, no one would disagree with Orhan Pamuk. In this engraving, you see a beautiful view of Constantinople during the beginning of 19th century. At that time, Istanbul was called “the city of minarets” and Melling obviously wanted to show this to the westerns with his engraving.

You may not believe this but here is Taksim where is the most popular art, entertainment and night-life centre. In this engraving by the German artist, you see the Pera Gardens which was opened as Istanbul’s first public garden. As it is understood, this area was known for entertainment even in the 18th century. A view of Bosporus and the existence of a coffee-house where people could drink a Turkish coffee can be seen in the engraving too.

Thomas Allom was British architect and illustrator who arrived in Istanbul in 1834 and produced hundreds of drawings centred the sultan’s city. His work on Istanbul was published as “Constantinople and the Scenery of the Seven Churches of Asia Minor” in 1838. This drawing of him is one of his most popular works on Istanbul as the work shows the interior of the Hagia Sophia during the prayer time.

Kuleli Military High School was built in the 1840’s by the orders of Sultan Mahmud II after the abolishment of the Janissary corps in 1826. Unfortunately, only a few years later the towers of this beautiful building on the Asian shore of the Bosporus were destroyed because of the fire disaster. Almost 100 years the building stood without towers despite its name “Kuleli”. However, the engraving of Kuleli Military High School by Thomas Allom was so impressive that the government was convinced to rebuild towers in 1965 and the work of construction ended in 1968.

Eugene Flandin is French orientalist painter who produced many numbers of great paintings of Constantinople during the 19th century. His interest was the important monuments in the city so each of his work shows one of the Istanbul’s monuments such as Süleymaniye Mosque, Topkapı Palace, Beyazıd Mosque and Eyüp Mosque. This work which is called “Pont de Bateaux” shows the first Galata Bridge which was constructed in 1845 by the mother of Sultan Abdülmecid and used for 18 years. It was also known as the Cisr-i Cedid or New Bridge as there was another old one further up the Golden Horn.

Obviously, Eugene Flandin also visited the Asian part of the city. This work of him shows us the port of Üsküdar. In the background, there are Üsküdar’s best-known landmarks; the Mihrimah Sultan Mosque, also known as İskele Mosque or Jetty Mosque, which was designed by architect Sinan, and the fountain of Ahmet III, the 18th century public water, built in Ottoman rococo style.

In this engraving of Eugene Flandin, the focus is the Yeni Cami, meaning New Mosque in English. Originally named New Valide Sultan Mosque, New Mosque was the most popular mosque in Istanbul during the 19th century. Famous Spice Bazaar, Istanbul’s one of the most popular tourist attraction, was also built as a part of New Mosque complex. There was a busy market in the courtyard of this beautiful mosque, but however Eugene Flandin passed over this market as we can see only a few people.

Joseph Schranz is Austrian painter, the son of the painter Anton Schranz, who is known for his snapshots from everyday life in Istanbul during the 19th century. In this painting of him, you can see the traditional Ottoman cemetery, possibly at Üsküdar, and the variety of tombstones with motifs that provides information about the deceased.

This engraving of Joseph Schranz is one of his most beautiful works with great details. In this engraving, Dolmabahçe Palace was portrayed in detail. Beside the sultan’s palace and the Bosporus, you can notice the apparel of ordinary Ottoman people as well as the waterside mansions on the Asian shore.

There’s no great information about the Italian painter Jean Brindesi. What we know about him is that he produced two great albums namely “Toures de Constantinople” and “Souvenir de Constantinople” which centred the life in Constantinople and the clothing of Ottoman officials such as sultan, the Janissaries and Kapudan Pasha (admiral). The artist died in Istanbul on 7 May of 1888. In this engraving of him, you can see the court of Kılıç Ali Pasha Mosque at Tophane and in the background Nusretiye Mosque.

Jean-Baptiste Mour was a Flemish-French painter who is remembered for his portrayal of Constantinople during the Tulip Era in the Ottoman history. He was also asked to record Dutch ambassador’s audience with Sultan Ahmed III on canvas so he was in the palace during the ceremonies. In this painting, the grand vizier Nevşehirli Damat İbrahim Pasha crosses the hippodrome. The interesting thing in this painting is the appearance of the Blue Mosque.

Charles Pertusier is French artillery officer and one of the suite of the French Embassy at the Ottoman Porte. He is best known for his engravings as well as the travelogue book “Promenedas Pittoresques dans Constantinople et sur les rives du Bosphore” (1815). This is one of his most famous engravings which shows the Military Barracks in Taksim. You can also see the public fountain on the right and the Muslim cemetery on the left of the Military Barracks.

Superstitions: Benchmark of Ottoman’s High Culture

Top 10 superstitious beliefs and practices of Turkey

Enjoy reading an article with a rare selection of superstitions to help you have a cultural journey through the country.

When talking about superstitions there are hundreds of them widely known in Turkey. Depending on the regions of Turkey some superstitions are used more often than others. By used I mean they are being mentioned when it suits to the context or when an action takes place, accordingly. Some of those are known internationally such as a mirror that is broken may bring bad luck.

Some are typical for Turkey such as the meaning of number 40. Turkish people believe this is a lucky number and if you say anything 40 times it will come true. The origin of this number’s belief comes from the facts that Mohammed was 40 years old when he received the Quran, Jesus wandered the desert for 40 days, Ali Baba fought 40 thieves and the Ottoman military band has 40 musicians. If somebody keeps repeating what they say, e.g. a girl denying to love the boy, her friends might joke and say if you deny it 40 times you will actually stop loving him.

Beliefs about the nazar, also known as evil’s eye or blue eye, is the most widely known superstition in Turkey. You will find accessories, jewellery, porcelain and even clothes with the design of nazar amulet anywhere in the country. Turkish people usually believe if somebody looks to you with jealousy, hatred or other negative thoughts it is evil’s eye. Wearing something with nazar amulet is meant to neutralize the negative energy sent to you by others. Although, this is not scientifically proven, to many of us it had happened that we found our nazar amulet broken. Most probably this happens after being in an uncomfortable situation. If the amulet broke it means it has protected you from a bad incident.

If you bid a goodbye to your loved ones who are travelling far away, you pour water after them which means literally “go smooth like water, come back flowing like water “. Normally, it is around 1 litre water in a cup or bowl that you poor after your guests. Nowadays people don’t hesitate adding some sense of humour into it. What they do is, pouring an entire litre of water directly on their beloved friends using the sentence mentioned above. Right after that the clever ones of course run away to avoid becoming a victim of revenge. That is when the others might say “kaçan kovalanır”. It means who runs away will be followed. Turkish people believe the psychology of humans work the way that whoever runs away makes others curious and causes them to follow him. On the other hand, who does not go away and is always there will not be appreciated much because people will take him for granted.

Evil Eye Tree

In order to not make enemies Turkish people will not hand another person a knife or a scissor. They will rather put the sharp object down and wait for the other party to pick it up. This is a way of avoiding involving into trouble with the other person in the future.

Traditional Turkish people tend to start any activity on the right side. Besides of sleeping on the right side like our prophet Mohammed used to do it, they also get up on their right side in the mornings. From washing their hands to entering a house, they always start with the right hand, foot or simply the right side. This legacy comes from the Roman times of Ottoman Empire. In Latin, right means ’dexter’ and left is ’sinister’.

This is also why if your right hand is itching it means you will receive money and if the left one is itching you might lose money.

The ’kitchen community’ has also invented quite an amount of Superstitions. Until date it is a habit amongst the elderly that when many are getting together at somebody’s house the ladies switch to the kitchen for a gossip and to not make the living room too crowded. For example, if you put a knife down and by coincidence it lands with the sharp side looking up it means you will soon receive a visitor.

Another belief probably invented by the kitchen community is, after you take a pot with boiling water inside from the stove and put it on a trivet it should stop boiling immediately. If the water continues boiling on the trivet it is a sign of bad luck and one’s enemies might increase in the near future.

There are also plenty of creative superstitious practices related to wedding ceremonies. Depending on the cultural background of the bride’s and groom’s family the practices differentiate from one and another more than one would imagine. Some break Turkish tea glasses before the bride and groom enter their new home in order to keep bad people away and scare evil thoughts off. Actually, every region in Turkey has their own unique way of practising so called nazar in weddings which is meant to keep evil thoughts away and help the couple live happily ever after.

One common wedding pursuance is that when the bride is brought to her new home, someone from the crowd will put a child on the lap of the bride or just hand her one if she is standing. The superstitious belief here is that if the kid she is holding is a girl her first child will also be a girl or vice versa.

Everlasting Taste from Generation to Generation: Turkish Coffee

Turkish coffee is a well-known hot beverage usually enjoyed after the meal especially after the dessert. It is served in unique small cups such as espresso cups called “fincan” traditionally in copper though. Turkish coffee is prepared in unique small pots used only for this purpose, also preferably in copper. You add for each person one cup of water, one tea spoon coffee and sugar as of taste.

Turkish Coffee Pot
Turkish Coffee Pot

The taste of Turkish coffee remains best when drunk without sugar some say. Although for some tastes sugar is necessary. This is why you may order a Turkish coffee without sugar, with medium amount of sugar or with a lot of sugar.

There are several explanations as to why Turkish coffee is served in such small cups. The main reason remains that it used to be a good that was not affordable due to financial deficiency. On the other hand, Turkish coffee is a strong drink with caffeine which can keep you awake by drinking it only in this small cups and more could harm your health especially the ones with heart, blood pressure or kidney diseases.

Since this coffee is very strong you are supposed to drink a small amount of it and enjoy it slowly. Wherever you order a Turkish coffee it is barely possible you will get just a cup of coffee. Usually, it comes with a small cup of still water and a Turkish delight called lokum. Lokum is a sweet in form of a little cube covered with powder sugar. There are many varieties of flavours in lokum like different kinds of fruits, nuts and even roses.

Turkish Coffee and Turkish Delight

You are supposed to drink the water before enjoying the coffee. That helps you taste the essence of the coffee fully some say. The other intention for drinking water in advance is that especially Turkish coffee is hard to digest for the kidneys. By drinking water in advance you help the digestion process. While enjoying the coffee with small sips many read something, enjoy some time off or one can also have a “fiskos”.

So called fiskos is just an old description for ladies’ gossips. Traditional fiskos takes places around a table decorated with handmade laces, delicious Turkish coffee and even sweets. In a fiskos there will be someone who can predict the future by reading the coffee left on the bottom of the cup. For that after the coffee is drunk the cup is supposed to be turned by attaching the cup backwards on the plate. To be sure it is time for the prediction the bottom of the cup needs to be touched. When it is cooled it means your coffee is ready to be fortune-telling. So the conversation gets intense after the bottom of the cup is cold. Firstly, the fortune-teller reads the cup. At last she pours the coffee left on the plate inside the cup and reads the plate.

Turkish Coffee and Fortune-telling
Turkish Coffee and Fortune-telling

Another tradition Turkish coffee is known for its marriage proposals. Whenever a boy and a girl like each other or the parents arrange it, the boys side (i.e. elderly of the boy’s family with the potential groom) visits the girls side. Amongst others the conversation is usually about the boys and girls educational or professional status and the families’ backgrounds as well. Meanwhile the girl will be preparing Turkish coffee in the kitchen. She serves the beverage in a tablet starting from the oldest of the guests. When serving the boy an eye contact is common.

The grooms’ family will get an impression about the girls cooking skills while drinking the coffee. Even by looking at it some can say if it is well prepared or not. If the top of the coffee is very foamy the coffee usually will have a better taste.

In addition, If the girl likes the boy she may add salt into his coffee in advance. Some even add spices. This is a playful tradition to give the boy the message she likes him. If the boy drinks it without complaining, she takes it as a positive message that the boy will endure her no matter what.

From Russia with Love: A Movie in 1960’s Istanbul

After the great success of “Dr.No”, the movie that introduced the James Bond character to the silver screen, Terence Young’s “From Russia with Love”, the second in the James Bond series, came into the screen in 1963. Filled with a heavy dose of non-stop action scenes with good-looking photography and pure spy story, From Russia with Love” is considered by many to be the best Bond movie. There’s intelligent plot, great pace, exotic locations, young Connery, and we are given Daniela Bianchi – the best Bond girl ever!

What’s more? Istanbul looks so beautiful on screen; the cinematography is too wonderful to show vistas of Istanbul in the 1960s. The great fight scene in the Orient Express train is the strawberries on the cake!

We have checked out and here are some photos of Istanbul from the legendary movie!

Sean Connery and Daniela Bianchi are standing on the ferry and the Hagia Sophia is in the background

Sean Connery and Daniela Bianchi are standing on the ferry and the Hagia Sophia is in the background.

Sean Connery is taking photos of Daniela Bianchi on the Istanbul ferry on the Bosporus and iconic Maiden’s Tower in the background on the Bosporus.

Sean Connery is taking photos of Daniela Bianchi on the Istanbul ferry on the Bosporus and iconic Maiden’s Tower in the background on the Bosporus.

Daniela Bianchi is on the Itfaiye Street and Şepsefa Mosque is in the background at the Atatürk Boulevard

Daniela Bianchi is on the İtfaiye Street and Şepsefa Mosque is in the background at the Atatürk Boulevard.

Sean Connery and Pedro Armendáriz (Ali Kerim Bey) are in the famous Basilica Cistern

Sean Connery and Pedro Armendáriz (Ali Kerim Bey) are in the famous Basilica Cistern.

Daniella Bianchi is crossing the Golden Horn by walking on the Galata Bridge

Daniella Bianchi is crossing the Golden Horn by walking on the Galata Bridge.

The Conflicted City: The Sound of Sulukule’s Drums

Sulukule was one of the first Romani settlements in Istanbul; communities believed to have arrived from India settled here, next to the city walls of Istanbul. Since then, Sulukule continued to be a Romani neighbourhood until urban renewal projects forced their relocation.

If we look at the time when the Democrat Party was in charge, we see that the destruction starts then. Solidarity between romani settlers started with the first destruction because the settlers had to be relocated.To renew and construct their solidarity they used the support of the Tourism Ministry. They set up the first NGO in Sulukule, calling it ‘Sulukule Turizm Yaşatma ve Koruma Derneği”. However their attempts did not bring a successful outcome and they had to cancel the association.

Mandira Destruction Site

In 2005, when the new law (5366) passed, TOKI that is housing development administration of Turkey started the process of regenerating these historic areas, Sulukule being the first. The regeneration consist of the legislation that  dismiss the settlers from their neighbourhood and re-build these areas with more valuable places .The aim can be defined basically as “gentrification” and “enrichment”. The settlers were generally from the lower income people so they were pushed to leave the places where they live. “Police officers and real estate agencies forced the settlers to leave their houses. However, with the declaration of urban renewal in Sulukule, lots of academicians, intellectuals, architects, journalists and activists decided to do their bests to save Sulukule and created the “Sulukule Platform” in which they declared their support for the local people of Sulukule; they were met with support from all around the world. They told the settlers to not sell their houses. They proposed an alternative plan of STOP (autonomous planners without borders) that is a group of people who try to plan alternative and humanitarian urban project in 2008. However, the destructions had already started by 2007. In 2012, the local court finally dropped the case and decide that the project was not in the public interest. Yet, in 2012 the TOKI project was nearly completed.

As we mentioned above, the Sulukule Platform was formed to stop the urban renewal project. By 2010 they realized two things: First, they accepted that they lost the battle, there was nothing they could do for the houses demolished. However, they did not lose at every point. From 2007 to 2010, the people from platform managed to show their goodwill to Sulukuleners. In our interview, F.E. pointed out:

[su_quote]Romani people are introverted and it is too hard to gain their trust, we had to work very hard to accomplish that. We went to every house in the neighbourhood and tried to convince them not to sell their houses by informing them about the laws and their rights. While we were visiting houses, we realized the actual needs of the people living in the neighbourhood, we needed a renewal project for sure– but not an urban one. Most of them did not have health insurance; most of the children were not continuing in school, and more importantly most of the people were not even aware of their rights as humans. By using media channels, Platform made Sulukuleners visible even to EU. With the help of the Platform, the whole world became aware of the situation in Sulukule, this is why the people in Sulukule believe in us.[/su_quote]

The second thing is that most of the Sulukuleners relocated during the project, now moved to Karagümrük and are living with worsened life standards. Because the Romani people were used to work in daily paid jobs, and the solidarity among them plays a significant role in their work live, the economic costs of their relocation were severe. When they moved back to Karagümrük, because of the rents they had to pay since they had to sell their houses, sustaining their lives became almost impossible. Besides, new TOKI housings are separated from the area by walls which creates pressure on Sulukuleners psychologically because the message here is that “you’re not welcomed in your streets anymore.” Because families are incapable of taking care of their children there are many abandoned children wandering around those streets, who have a higher chance of turning into potential criminals in the future.

Sulukule New Houses
Sulukule New Houses

When the people working at Sulukule Platform realized the situation of abandoned children, they decided to change their focus from the urban renewal project to children and human rights. The Head of the Sulukule Platform, F.E. explained this process with the words:

“In 2010, we rented a small room for ateliers and formed the association Sulukule Children Art Atelier. After the renewal project, most of the children had to change their schools and sadly some of them had to drop out, their education was in danger. We talked to the families of children who dropped out of school, we tried to help those children to continue their educations. We knew that these children were extremely talented at art and with the atelier we gave them the opportunity to improve themselves and become successful in life despite all the destruction that has been made.”

Despite the fact that Sulukule Children Atelier started off with limited resources, it obtained very significant outcomes. Sulukule Romani Orchestra and Sulukule Youth Orchestra for example are products of this association and they are quite successful today. They went abroad for concerts, won awards, and many of the children who took place in these orchestras are today playing with famous musicians.

The hopeful things about the Sulukule is that despite the fact that the government intervention pushing a lot of Sulukule-Romani people out of their neighbourhood , you can find still Romani people who did not leave or come back again to Sulukule, and the spirit of old neighbourhood, Sulukule, started to reconstruct . They love their homes eternally. Lastly, to better understand recent situation of Sulukule I recommend the group: Tahribad-ı İsyan. Specifically, their song Wonderland… It tells their story.

[su_vimeo url=”https://vimeo.com/78545350″ width=”640″]

 

In colloboration with Remziye Aslan and Sueda Evirgen.

Elites’ Food in Europe, Pigswill in Turkey

In Turkey, almost no one is aware of what truffle is! Being known as “black diamond” worldwide, truffle has a $ 6 Billion volume of trade and is valued about € 1000 per kg. Elites in Europe consume it, whereas in Turkey pigs consume it generally as it is not widely known.

The Ministry of Forestry and Water Affairs has taken action to create truffle mushroom forest in the amount of 400 decares. A committee has been sent to Spain in order to train about truffle mushroom .

In Muğla and Denizli, 1200 truffle grafted saplings have been planted. According to the action plan which will be completed in 2018, 400 decares truffle forests will be created as being used truffle grafted saplings in 17 regional forest directorates.

France has 45%, Spain has 35%, and Italy has 20% of the truffle reserve in the World. Among all the truffle types, black truffle called as black diamond is the most valuable one. Black truffle is one of the most difficult type in order to be grown is one of the most important ingredients of Italian cuisines.

Documentary “Istanbul – Changing Perspectives”

Why does a young person decide to pack their bags for six months, to move from home and to make a new start in a completely unfamiliar milieu? Which expectations, hopes, wishes and fears do these people bring along when they set off to start a new life in one of the most exciting and vibrant cities in the world? And why especially Istanbul, why this city at the Bosphorus with its special mix of cultures?

The documentary short film “Istanbul – Changing Perspectives” by Carolin Winterholler and Marie Hartlieb deals with these questions. The film was produced in 2013 and had its premier at the Europe Day of the Kadir Has University in Istanbul.

Three young students from Germany were accompanied by the filmmakers over six months during their studies in Istanbul. All three protagonists shone a light on different facets of their study abroad in this intercontinental metropolis.

Özgür tells how it was to go back to his old home town, to spent time with its relatives and to receive an impression about the Turkish job market besides his studies. Joanna rapidly dives into the creative scene of Istanbul and hikes through the city in search of the ambivalence of modernity and tradition. Janina talks about how she has overcome first time experiences and shocking moments and how long she has taken time to get used to her new life.

The documentation allows the students to talk about their expectations and their first moments in this country which is foreign for them, to reflect on their experiences over time, to overcome the cultural shock and to become a part of the city at the end. How do they develop and change under the impression of the unfamiliar city, unaccustomed culture and (mostly) unknown environment? How do they broaden their knowledge?

And what was the intrinsic aim of the producers, what was their motivation behind this project and which experiences did they gain from it?

We get in touch with the filmmaker Carolin Winterholler, who also came to Istanbul as an Erasmus student at first, and discuss with her about the background of the production.

A Scene of Istanbul With Different Eyes

Carolin about…

…the motivation behind the project:

[su_quote]Our motivation was that we both are interested in documentary films. In Turkey there are many issues that we would be really interested in, have a political background and are difficult to see through also because of the linguistic barrier. Due to this reason we wanted to deal with an issue that we know from our own experiences and in which we do not deal with language barriers.[/su_quote]

…the initial question:

[su_quote]How do people change if they are dealing with a totally new environment? We also underwent changes and noticed ourselves that there is something like a common thread regarding cultural shock.[/su_quote]

…the realization of the film project:

[su_quote]We contacted several universities which have an Erasmus cooperation with Istanbul and asked for assistance. We received positive feedback and we found some interested people within a short time, who offered to share their experience as Erasmus students in Istanbul.[/su_quote]

…own learning effects:

[su_quote]It was impressive for me that I have discovered really many parallels between me and the Erasmus students. It was almost terrifying how similar we Germans are just due to the fact that we have grown up in the same country. This was incredibly fascinating for me and a kind of journey to my inner self.[/su_quote]

…difficulties of the project:

[su_quote]The most difficult thing for me was definitely the technical aspect. It is incredibly difficult to make a documentary film without financial and technical support. There are many things that you need and that cost so much money: from the camera to the memory card and tripod to the computer which you use for the editing of the bulk of files. Likewise the cut, the coordination of different date formats (audio and video) and the smoothing out of small greenhorn mistakes (like shaky pictures) was a real challenge for us laypeople.[/su_quote]

…positive insights:

[su_quote]You learn many incredible things, gain a vision and understanding for other people. It is a great feeling if people you do not know let you in on their lives and feelings, and place their trust in you.[/su_quote]

Istanbul – Changing Perspectives is a fondly made documentary film about the hopes, wishes, expectations, forces and (self-) awareness of three young students in their semester abroad in Istanbul. A city, experienced not by the eyes of tourists but by ones who embark in the rhythm of the metropolis, offers a differently shaped intensive perspective to the life in the metropol between two continents.

The documentation was shown in the Europe Day of Kadir Has University in 2013, which was the opening movie of the International Changing Perspectives Short Film Festival 2013 and was streamed in the framework of Turkey Encounters in Oldenburg in 2015. You can watch it below.

 

[su_youtube_advanced url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XEp4YBAiNg” width=”640″ showinfo=”no” rel=”no”]

 

Text: Jonas Wronna Translation: Serap Güngör

How To Make Tavukgöğsü At Home

When talking about Turkish classic desserts, most of them consist of milk, cream, and nuts, but did you ever imagine a dessert would be made out of chicken? At first when my friend told me about it, I thought he is probably joking. The day he took me to make me try what he always talked about, oh my! This desserts is something unique. As soon as it hits your plate, its smooth creamy filling took me to another world. While eating it, I realised it had this shredded texture which is very different, and in my opinion gives this dessert its own class. When we hear the word “chicken” it does not make sense to us, but to a person who does not know it has chicken, they will never be able to tell what is inside. It feels like the boiled Sheire (small pasta) that have been added inside. However, to give you all your own experience, I would like to give you guys a recipe which I always make when I have locals coming over for a sweet end to a heavy meal.

 

Chickens

 

What you will need:

1 Medium sized chicken breast

1 ¼ cups of heavy cream

3 ½ cups of full milk

¼ teaspoon salt

¾ cup of sugar

4-5 Tablespoons of rice flour

Cinnamon powder (Optional)

Roasted almond flakes (Optional)

3-4 Tablespoons Butter

Method: Let’s start by cooking the chicken. Take a medium sized pot and fill it with enough water to cover the chicken completely. Keep the flame of the stove on high at first so that the water boils quickly. Once the water has boiled, place your chicken in the pot, then reduce the heat to medium. It will take the chicken approximately 20-25 minutes to cook. Once the chicken is cooked: pat dry and shred into fine shreds with your hands or with the help of a fork. Once shredded, let it cool down. (Optional Step) If you are worried the dessert might have the taste or smell of chicken, you can take the shredded chicken in a bowl, add cold water, and swirl the chicken around. Once the water gets cloudy, change the water, and repeat the process another 2 to 3 times. Once you are satisfied, take the chicken out on a paper towel to dry it completely.

Moving on to the filling! In a small bowl take the rice flour and add about 5-6 tablespoons of milk from the measured quantity. Set the runny paste aside. Now you will need a deep pot. In that pot, add your leftover milk, cream, salt, and sugar. Put the pot on medium heat, then wait for it to boil. After the first boil, reduce the heat. Take a few spoon-fuls of the milk mixture, and add it to the rice- flour mixture we made earlier. This process is known as tempering as it brings the starchy mixture up to the same temperature as the other so when the milk is added it does not create lumps. For this process a whisk will be needed because once you temper the rice mixture, you need to add it to the simmering milk, then start whisking the mixture vigorously. Do not let the milk stand as it will create lumps, and stick to the pan. As you start to whisk, you will soon see the mixture thicken. Continue whisking until very thick. Add the shredded chicken to the mixture. Then, give it the final few stirs and turn off the stove.

Tavukgöğsü At Home

At this point, your dessert is ready; we just need to cool it down to be eaten. To give this recipe an added edge, what I do is take another large pan, add 3-4 tablespoons of butter to its base, and let it melt. Once the butter melts, add the mixture and let it cook for about 5-8 minutes until the base gets a good golden caramelisation. Keep giving the pan a little swirl every now and then so that the base caramelizes evenly.

Let the pudding cool down, cut squares (or rectangles, depending on how you like it). Take them out with the help of a spatula or fork so that you do not spoil its shape. Serve with lightly dusted cinnamon powder and toasted almond flakes. Afiyet olsun!

The 6th District: An Example of Accelerated Westernization

Until the 19th century from Şişhane to Elmadağ today’s Beyoğlu was basically laced with Christian and Muslim graves. Its sparsely populated area was called Pera named after the Greek word “across” simply due to the fact that it was lying across from the city centre on the Golden Horn. The residents were mainly non-Muslims and Levantines[1], European Christians living in the Ottoman Empire. Whereas Pera functioned like a residential backyard for wealthy people, Galata with its tower and city walls had been a high populated harbour since the Byzantine era[2].

The entry into the Tanzimat Period for the approaching of the Ottoman state to the European way of modernization was the step for Pera, Galata and the slowly growing Tophane to develop in today’s Beyoğlu. These following events directly affected the district: The British-Turkish Treaty of Balta Limanı of 1838 which introduced the Ottoman state into the world market and opened the Ottoman doors to Europeans; the Tanzimat Fermanı of 1839 and the Islahat Fermanı of 1856 which introduced legally the equal position of all Ottoman subjects before the state and consequently nullified restriction pertaining to rights of freedom and private property with the result of the contribution to the enlargement of Pera through private investments[3]; the Crimean War between 1853 and 1856 that caused a flush of allied European soldiers quartered in Istanbul and the outbreak of several fires which eased the remodelling of the area into a modern quarter by both the state and private people[4].

 

Continue reading “The 6th District: An Example of Accelerated Westernization”

Atatürk and Modern Turkey

A famous unwritten rule of history states that only the greatest personalities stand the test of time in order to remain in the memory of humankind. One of these notable men who continues to be present in the hearts of the Turkish people is Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the ”Father of Turks”, as his surname specifies. Not only in the Middle East, but even in the most developed Western societies, he is remembered as a rare innovative mind who wholeheartedly assumed the laborious mission of modernizing his country.

 

Atatürk is with his mother and sister

 

His life began in 1881 in a small neighbourhood in Salonica, Ottoman Empire (Thessaloniki in present-day Greece). He grew up in a middle class family. Biographers up to our days are unsure about his religious beliefs. Some of them contest his Muslim origins, others claim that he was indeed born in a Muslim-Turkish family. However, he was not perceived as a particularly active religious person throughout his life. Born Mustafa, he received his second name Kemal, from his mathematics teacher ”in admiration of his maturity and capability”. This shows that from an early age, he was seen as an exceptional child in comparison with his peers.

 

Atatürk in the military

 

After graduating from the Military Academy in Istanbul in 1905, he became a member of the Young Turks, a revolutionary movement of intellectuals. In a period of almost two decades he participates in the Turk Revolution in 1908, holds a number of relevant posts in the Ottoman army, fights in the first two Balkan Wars and World War I. After the Treaty of Sèvres was signed, stipulating the division of the Ottoman Empire, Mustafa Kemal demanded complete independence for Turkey. But this demand was not fulfilled until the end of the battles with the Greek and Armenian forces, which led to the signing of the Lausanne Treaty at the end of 1923.

 

Atatürk in the Parliament

 

1923 remains a memorable year for the recently formed nation-state. In this year the Republic of Turkey was established with Atatürk as its first president. The country was originally conservative, and the population started being more sceptical to some of the suggested changes from Mustafa Kemal. This initially lead to a number of revolts, and assassination attempts of Atatürk. However, the new-born mentality prevailed and the ideology of Kemalism developed into a powerful force in Turkey.

 

Atatürk’s Doctrine

 

The ideology was in part based on a transition towards democracy and the building of a nation-state which resembled the Western models. However, these changes were not easily implemented, which was in part due to the rigid attitude of the population. Atatürk’s doctrine focused on the “Six Arrows” which embedded the concepts of realism and pragmatism along with: republicanism, populism, nationalism, secularism, statism and reformism. This meant that the influence of Islam on state affairs (law and schooling) was to be reduced. At the same time, much emphasis was put on the national education in the perspective of ‘civilizing’ the country, according to Western standards.

 

Atatürk and Modern Turkish Alphabet

 

In the summer of 1924, Mustafa Kemal invited the American educational reformer John Dewey to Ankara, to advise him on how to reform the Turkish education system. One of his objectives was an increase in the public literacy. However, his goals stretched further than this. He argued that: ”In the face of knowledge, science, and of the whole extent of radiant civilization, I cannot accept the presence in Turkey’s civilized community of people primitive enough to seek material and spiritual benefits in the guidance of sheiks. […] The best, the truest order is the order of civilization. To be a man is enough to carry out the requirements of civilization.” Thus, it was evident that his supreme ideal was to separate the new state from the heritage of the former Ottoman Empire in the most important domains of life: social, economic, political and cultural.

 

Atatürk and Western Dressing Codes

 

His motivation to remodel society was persistent, and Atatürk clearly mentioned numerous future reforms which were to be implemented: civil and political equality for women, state support for arts and free education, the replacement of Arabic alphabet with the Latin one, a multi-party system, religious and ethnic tolerance, human rights, laicism and the imposition of Western dressing codes. This was to be accomplished by direct action, every encountered obstacle being immediately dislodged. Atatürk was of the opinion that the independence of a country could only be achieved by making great sacrifices.

 

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk

 

Despite his controversial position in his early years, Atatürk remained popular under a wide range of people, and was seen as a unique leader. He initiated a variety of processes of democratization and positive change in the Republic of Turkey which are still lived by today. He was the founder of a totally different country in the Middle East, the creator of an unequalled spirit in a context dominated by Islam, a personality that emanated innovation through all his endeavours. On the day of his death, on November 10, 1938, at 09.05 the time stopped in Dolmabahçe Palace, so as the whole Muslim world could understand the dreadful suffering produced by the disappearance of its ”modern father”.

 

[su_quote cite=”Mustafa Kemal Atatürk”]Peace at home. Peace in the world.[/su_quote]

 

References:
1- www.biography.com/people/mustafa-kemal-ataturk-20968109
2- Wolf-Gazo, Ernest (1996), ”John Dewey in Turkey: An Educational Mission”. Journal of American Studies of Turkey (Ankara, Turkey: American Studies Association of Turkey), p. 15-42.
3- Stone, Norman (2000), ”Talking Turkey”. The National Interest (New York: National Affairs), p. 61-66.
4- Eastham, J.K. (March 1964), ” The Turkish Development Plan: The First Five Years”. The Economic Journal (New York: Macmillan), p. 132-136.

The Sultan’s Italian Architect Raimondo D’Aronco

The sultan’s Italian architect, Raimondo D’Aronco (1857-1932), was invited to Istanbul in 1893 to organize a national exhibition that would celebrate the 20th anniversary of Abdülhamid II’s accession to the throne three years later. This project could not be realized because of a terrible earthquake in the following year. Nevertheless, D’Aronco stayed on to restore a considerable number of buildings in Istanbul, binding his name inextricably with the city.

 

D’Aronco was given the task of restoring all kinds of structures, including mosques, fountains, government buildings, the Grand Bazaar and parts of Ayasofya. D’Aronco went on to design and construct many new buildings in Istanbul, from commercial premises to private houses and government offices. He worked with various Ottoman ministries and became chief palace architect to Abdülhamid II, helping to realize the Sultan’s concept of a modern Ottoman identity for the city. D’Aronco was the first foreigner to occupy the post of palace architect. In this role he initially worked with Sarkis Balyan, a member of the family of Armenian builders who had built Dolmabahçe Palace and most of the mosques of the 19th century.

Continue reading “The Sultan’s Italian Architect Raimondo D’Aronco”

The 35th İstanbul Film Festival is On The Horizon

Good news for film-lovers! The 35th İstanbul Film Festival is on the horizon.

Initiated by the Foundation for Culture and Arts (IKSV) as a cinema week in 1982, this is the oldest film festival in İstanbul, and now will feature 221 films by 223 directors from 62 countries. The festival will run from April 7 through April 17, and the films will be shown in different theatres of İstanbul.

Tickets are sale starting on the following website: www.biletix.com

We checked out most of the films and made a considerably interesting watch list.

 

#1 – Akounak Tedalat Taha Tazoughai (Rain the Color of Blue with a Little Blue in It) [ 2015 ] – NIGER

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Storyline: A revolutionary story of guitars, motorcycles, cell phones, and the music of a new generation.
Director: Christopher Kirkley
Screenwriter: Mdou Moctar, Christopher Kirkley, Jerome Fino
Cinematographer: Jerome Fino
Editor: Sara El Rhazoui, Jerome Fino, Christopher Kirkley
Cast: Mdou Moctar, Rhaicha Ibrahim, Fatimata Falo, Ahmoudou Madassane, Abdoulaye Souleymane, Kader Tanoutanoute
Producer: Christopher Kirkley
Showtimes:
April 9th 16:00 Fitaş Theatre 6
April 10th 19:00 Rexx Theatre 5
April 14th 16:00 Aksanat

 

#2 – Mediterranea [2015] – ITALY

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Storyline: Two men make the dangerous journey from Africa to Italy for a better life, but then face hostility and violence in this shocking look at the life-and-death struggle of refugees.
Director: Jonas Carpignano
Screenwriter: Jonas Carpignano
Cinematographer: Wyatt Garfield
Editor: Nico Leunen, Affonso Gonbalves, Sanabel Chiraqoui / Özgün Müzik: Benh Zeitlin, Dan Romer
Cast: Koudous Seihon, Alassane Sy
Producer: Jon Coplon, Gwyn Sannia, Jason Michael Berman, Chris Columbus, Christoph Daniel, Andrew Kortschak, John Lesher, Ryan Lough, Justin Nappi, Alain Peyrollaz, Marc Schmidheiny, Victor Shapiro, Ryan Zacarias
Showtimes:
April 7th 16:00 Rexx Theatre 1
April 11th 11:00 Fitaş Theatre 4

 

#3 – High-Rise [ 2015 ] – UK

[su_youtube_advanced url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKPghZ5cc_E” width=”640″ showinfo=”no” rel=”no”]

Storyline: Life for the residents of a tower block begins to run out of control.
Director: Ben Wheatley
Screenwriter: Amy Jump
Cinematographer: Laurie Rose / Özgün Müzik: Clint Mansell
Cast: Tom Hiddleston, Jeremy İrons, Sienna Miller, Elizabeth Moss, Luke Evans, Stacy Martin
Producer: Thorsten Schumacher, Jeremy Thomas, Anna Higgs, Alainée Kent, Sam Lavender
Showtimes:
April 13th 21:30 Rexx Theatre 1
April 14th 19:00 Atlas
April 17th 21:30 Ortaköy Feriye

 

#4 – Boi Neon (Neon Bull) [ 2015 ] – BRAZIL

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Storyline: Iremar works at the “Vaquejadas”, a rodeo in the North East of Brazil where two men on horseback try bring down a bull by grabbing its tail. It’s dusty and back-breaking work, but Iremar is a natural vaqueiro feeding, prepping and taking care of the bulls. Home is the truck used to transport the animals from show to show which he shares with his coworkers; Galega, an exotic dancer, truck driver and mother to her spirited and cheeky daughter Cacá, and Zé, his rotund compadre in the bull pen. Together they form a makeshift but close-knit family. But Brazil and the Northeast are changing and the region’s booming clothing industry has stirred new ambitions in Iremar. Swinging in his hammock in the back of the truck, his head is filled with dreams of pattern cutting, sequins and exquisite fabrics as he mentally assembles his latest sexy fashion designs.
Director: Gabriel Mascaro
Screenwriter: Gabriel Mascaro
Cinematographer: Diego Garcia
Editor: Fernando Epstein, Eduardo Serrano / Özgün Müzik: Otávio Santos, Cláudio N, Carlos Montenegro
Cast: Juliano Cazarré, Maeve Jinkings, Aline Santana, Carlos Pessoa, Vinicíus De Oliveira
Producer: Rachel Ellis
Showtimes:
April 7th 13:30 Fitaş Theatre 4
April 10th 13:30 Ortaköy Feriye

 

#5 – Brooklyn [ 2015 ] – USA / IRELAND

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Storyline: An Irish immigrant lands in 1950s Brooklyn, where she quickly falls into a romance with a local. When her past catches up with her, however, she must choose between two countries and the lives that exist within.
Director: John Crowley
Screenwriter: Nick Hornby, Colm Tóibín / Özgün Yapıt: Colm Tóibín
Cinematographer: Yves Bélanger
Editor: Jake Roberts / Özgün Müzik: Michael Brook
Cast: Saoirse Ronan, Domhnall Gleeson, Emory Cohen, Jim Broadbent, Julie Walters, Fiona Glascott, Jessica Paré
Producers: Finola Dwyer, Amanda Posey
Showtimes:
April 8th 21:30 Fitaş Theatre 4 / 21:30 Rexx Theatre 1
April 9th 19:00 Atlas
April 16th 19:00 H. Ahmet Yesevi KM
April 17th 16:00 Ortaköy Feriye / 19:00 Türkan Saylan KM

 

#6 – Belgica [2016] – BELGIUM

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Storyline: The drama follows two brothers who start a bar and get swept up in its success in the midst of Belgium’s nightlife scene.
Director: Felix Van Groeningen
Screenwriter: Felix Van Groeningen, Arne Sierens
Cinematographer: Ruben İmpens
Editor: Nico Leunen / Özgün Müzik: Soulwax
Cast: Stef Aerts, Tom Vermeir, Hélène Devos, Charlotte Vandermeersch
Producer: Dirk Impens
Showtimes:
April 7th 19:00 Atlas
April 8th 13:30 Fitaş Theatre 4
April 9th 13:30 Rexx Theatre 1

 

#7 – La Tierra y La Sombra (Land and Shade) [ 2015 ] – BRAZIL

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Storyline: After having left a long time ago, a humble country sugar cane worker returns home to meet his grandson and deal with the hardships his family has been put into.
Director: César Augusto Acevedo
Screenwriter: César Augusto Acevedo
Cinematographer: Mateo Guzmán
Editor: Miguel Schverdfinger
Cast: Haimer Leal, Hilda Ruiz, Edison Raigosa, Marleyda Soto, José Felipe Cárdenas
Producer: Jorge Forero
Showtimes:
April 7th 16:00 Fitaş Theatre 6
April 8th 21:30 Rexx Theatre 5
April 12th 11:00 Ortaköy Feriye

 

#8 – Killer of Sheep [ 1978 ] – USA

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Storyline: Stan works in drudgery at a slaughterhouse. His personal life is drab. Dissatisfaction and ennui keep him unresponsive to the needs of his adoring wife, and he must struggle against influences which would dishonor and endanger him and his family.
Director: Charles Burnett
Screenwriter: Charles Burnett
Cinematographer: Charles Burnett
Editor: Charles Burnett
Cast: Henry G. Sanders, Kaycee Moore, Charles Bracy, Angela Burnett
Producer: Charles Burnett
Showtimes:
April 9th 21:30 Fitaş Theatre 6
April 10th 13:30 Rexx Theatre 5
April 15th 16:00 Beyoğlu

 

#9 – Zjednoczone Stany Miłości (United States of Love) [ 2016 ] – POLAND

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Storyline: Poland, 1990. The first euphoric year of freedom, but also of uncertainty for the future. Four apparently happy women of different ages decide it’s time to change their lives, and fulfill their desires.
Director: Tomasz Wasilewski
Screenwriter: Tomasz Wasilewski
Cinematographer: Oleg Mutu
Editor: Beata Walentowska
Cast: Julia Kijowska, Magdalena Cielecka, Dorota Kolak, Marta Nieradkiewicz, Lukasz Simlat
Showtimes:
April 10th 21:30 Atlas
April 11th 13:30 Fitaş Theatre 4
April 12th 21:30 Ortaköy Feriye

 

#10 – The Lady in the Van [ 2015 ] – UK

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Storyline: A man forms an unexpected bond with a transient woman living in her van that’s parked in his driveway.
Director: Nicholas Hytner
Screenwriter: Alan Bennett / Özgün Yapıt: “The Lady in the Van”, Alan Bennett
Cinematographer: Andrew Dunn
Editor: Tariq Anwar / Özgün Müzik: George Fenton
Cast: Maggie Smith, Alex Jennings, Frances De La Tour, Roger Allam
Producers: Kevin Loader, Nicholas Hytner, Damian Jones
Showtimes:
April 11th 21:30 Fitaş Theatre 4 / 21:30 Rexx Theatre 1
April 12th 19:00 Atlas

 

#11 – Michael Jackson´S Journey From Motown To Off The Wall [ 2016 ] – USA

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Storyline: A look at the life of the late pop star Michael Jackson from his early days at Motown Records to the release of his hit 1979 album, Off the Wall.
Director: Spike Lee
Cinematographer: Kerwin Devonish
Editor: Ryan Denmark, Barry Alexander Brown
Producer: Spike Lee, John Branca, John Mcclain
Showtimes:
April 8th 13:30 Fitaş Theatre 6
April 16th 19:00 Ortaköy Feriye
April 17th 19:00 Rexx Theatre 1

 

#12 – Reminiscences Of A Journey To Lithuania [ 1972 ] – USA

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Storyline: It records the return visit of brothers Jonas and Adolfas Mekas to their homeland of Lithuania. They apparently left the country near the end of World War II, and suffered various hardships on their way to America. Until the time of this film (1972), they had never been back to Lithuania.
Director: Jonas Mekas
Cinematographer : Jonas Mekas
Editor: Jonas Mekas
Cast: Peter Kubelka, Annette Michelson, Daniel Rogosin
Showtimes:
April 7th 19:00 İstanbul Modern
April 9th 13:30 İstanbul Modern

 

#13 – Hail, Caesar! [ 2016 ] – USA, UK

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Storyline: Hail Caesar! Follows a day in the life of Eddie Mannix, a Hollywood fixer for Capitol Pictures in the 1950s, who cleans up and solves problems for big names and stars in the industry. But when studio star Baird Whitlock disappears, Mannix has to deal with more than just the fix.
Director: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
Screenwriter: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
Cinematographer: Roger Deakins
Editor: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
Cast: Josh Brolin, George Clooney, Alden Ehrenreich, Ralph Fiennes, Jonah Hill, Scarlett Johansson, Tilda Swinton, Channing Tatum
Showtimes:
April 10th 21:30 Rexx Theatre 1 / 21:30 Fitaş Theatre 4
April 11th 19:00 Atlas
April 17th 19:00 Ortaköy Feriye

 

#14 – El Clan (The Clan) [ 2015 ] – ARGENTINA, SPAIN

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Storyline: The true story of the Puccio Clan, a family who kidnapped and killed people in the 80s. 
Director: Pablo Trapero
Screenwriter: Pablo Trapero
Cinematographer: Julian Apezteguía
Editor: Pablo Trapero, Alejandro Carrillo Penovi
Cast: Guillermo Francella, Peter Lanzani, Lili Popovich
Showtimes:
April 9th 21:30 Rexx Theatre 1 / 21:30 Fitaş Theatre 4
April 10th 19:00 Atlas
April 16th 21:30 Türkan Saylan KM
April 17th 21:30 H. Ahmet Yesevi KM / 21:30 Fitaş Theatre 6

 

#15 – Kötü Kedi Şerafettin (Bad Cat Şerafettin) [ 2016 ] – TURKEY

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Storyline: The Bad Cat is an animated epic for young adults featuring the unforgettably bad cat, Shero and his foul mouthed gang in action. As animals inhabiting streets Shero and his friends are after what anyone else in their notoriously sleazy İstanbul neighborhood wants: debauchery with girls, food and the occasional drinking binge. This ordinary looking day will prove otherwise as their paths cross with humans, things get a little out of hand in hilarious, harsh and unexpected ways.
Director: Mehmet Kurtuluş, Ayşe Ünal
Screenwriter: Levent Kazak, Bülent Üstün
Cinematographer: Barış Ulus
Editor: Aylin Zoi Tinel Canlandırma/Animator: Ahmet Tabak, Alp Gürsoy, Bora Şahin / Özgün Müzik: Oğuz Kaplangı, Sabri Tuluğ Tırpan, Serkan Çeliköz
Cast: Uğur Yücel, Demet Evgar, Okan Yalabık, Güven Kıraç, Ahmet Mümtaz Taylan, Yekta Kopan, Cezmi Baskın, Ayşen Gruda, Gökçe Özyol
Producer: Mehmet Kurtuluş, Vehbi Berksoy, Can Deniz Şahin
Showtimes:
April 11th 19:00 Fitaş Theatre 6

 

 

LOCATIONS OF THEATRES

Ahmet Yesevi KM: Esentepe Mah. Hoca Ahmet Yesevi Cad. 2367.Sk. Sultangazi

Aksanat: İstiklal Cad. No:8 Taksim, Beyoğlu

Atlas: İstiklal Cad. No:131 Atlas Pasajı, Taksim, Beyoğlu

Beyoğlu: İstiklal Cad. No:62 Halep Pasajı D:62 Taksim, Beyoğlu

Fitaş Theatre: İstiklal Cad. Fitaş Pasajı No: 12 Beyoğlu

İstanbul Modern: Liman İşletmeleri Sahası Antrepo Meclisi Mebusan Cad. No:4 Karaköy, Beyoğlu

Ortaköy Feriye: Çırağan Cad. No: 40 Ortaköy, Beşiktaş

Rexx Theatre: Caferağa Mh. Bahariye Cad. Sakızgülü Sok. No:20 Caferağa, Kadıköy

Türkan Saylan KM:  Gülsuyu Mh. Nar Sk. E-5 Yanyol (D-100 Karayolu) Gülsuyu, Maltepe

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