Annika Sehn Globalization, relationships with western countries and the increasing migration are big issues in the political arena in Turkey nowadays. A term which comes along with it is the marriage migration. On the one hand the world grows closer, which means more people who work or travel abroad, get in contact with the inhabitants […]
Ferhat Jak Icoz On a rainy fall day, with a friend we decided to spend our two-hour break at the Contemporary Arts Museum of SantralIstanbul, without knowing what was expecting us. My friend commented to persuade me that ‘the exhibition is quite striking, interesting, and even mind-blowing’. As we approached to the end of our […]
Manon Loisel At first glance, it’s easy to see that Richard Reid is passionate by the energy and promise that dealing with children gives him. Before I could ask any questions, he said “Can I ask you a few questions lady? What are you studying? Why do you want to be journalist? … Ah, that’s […]
Annika Sehn From 19 July 2009, one of the most stringent smoking bans of all Europe became fully effective in Turkey. Since then it is much harder for stressed workaholics in the office, for the depressed unemployed in the “kahvehane” and for the nonchalant party animal at the favourite bar to have a good smoke. […]
News, etc. Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak’s visit to Ankara over the weekend somewhat relaxed the confrontation between the two countries that flared up last week when the Turkish ambassador to Jerusalem was snubbed by Israeli officials who summoned him to protest a television serial aired in Turkey. Although President Abdullah Gul, Prime Minister Tayyip […]
Karen Schewina “The greatest heritage we would transfer to 2010 proudly is gone forever”, states Halim Bulutoglu, member of the History Foundation of Turkey, in his resignation letter on 16th of November. He has his reasons to leave the Advisory Board (AB) of the European Capital of Culture (ECOC) Agency. One of them is the […]
İsrail Dışişleri Bakan Yardımcısı Danny Ayalon’un Türkiye büyükelçisi Oğuz Çelikkol’u kendinden daha alçak koltuğa oturtmasıyla doruğa tırmanın Türkiye-İsrail gerginliğinin ayak sesleri, aslında geçtiğimiz yıl yaşanan “one mnute” olayından beri duyuluyordu.‘One minute krizi‘nin ardından bir türlü normalleşemeyen iki ülke ilişkileri arasındaki gerginliğin özellikle Ekim ayından beri tırmandığı görülüyor. Kurtlar Vadisidizisinde İsrail Gizli Servisi Mossad’ın kötü gösterilmesi […]
News, Etc. It was again a television serial aired almost a year after the Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan’s televised row with the Israeli President Shimon Peres in Davos that poured more oil on the fire intensifying the “war of words” between Ankara and Jerusalem. This time the setting of the scene in the serial […]
Lara Özlen Dört buçuk yıllık özlemin ardından “Hoşçakal”la kapattığı ruh muhasebesinin kapağını “Merhaba”yla açıyor Şebnem Ferah. Özletmişti kendini, bekleniyordu heyecanla, herhalde herkes hemfikir bu konuda. 2007’de piyasaya sürülen “rock senfonisi” sayılmazsa yıllardır biriken bir “stüdyo albümüne özlem” söz konusu. Daha pek taze olan Benim Adım Orman albümünün kapağını, beklentilerimi büyüttükçe büyüterek açıyorum. Sonuç: Az biraz […]
HaberVs Dile kolay, 20 yıl… Bir gazetenin üstelik de yalnız Doğan Grubu’nun değil neredeyse Türkiye basınının “amiral gemisi” sayılan Hürriyet’in yayın yönetmenliğinden ayrıldığını açıklayan Ertuğrul Özkök’ün ardından beklendiği gibi bir fırtına koptu. Hürriyet’in daha Simavi ailesi’nin olduğu dönemde Çetin Emeç’in bir suikaste kurban gitmesini ardından “daha ılımlı” bir isim olarak gazetenin başına getirilen Özkök şimdi […]
Niyazi Dalyancı “Yes, I do,” replied His All Holiness Bartholomeos, the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Fener, to the U.S. television network CBS’s Bob Simon who asked him, “So do you feel crucified?” during an interview for the network’s “60 Minutes” news program with high ratings, drawing a harsh reaction from Ahmet Davutoglu, Turkey’s Foreign Minister. […]
Johanna Holm Never have I felt as European as I have during my stay in Turkey. I came to Istanbul in September 2009 and I have faced attitudes and comments that have surprised me and which I did not always expect to hear. Some of them made me laugh, some made me almost speechless and […]
Aneka Rusak “You cannot feel here the high class atmosphere that you feel at opera houses elsewhere. People don’t dress up with in their best anymore. The first thing that surprised me personally, when I visited this opera was people wearing sports shoes,” says Cesar Sevillano Gallach, 22, an exchange student from Spain who often […]
Kristin Ofer “We are not afraid of HIV but prejudices,” was the main slogan used during the events in Istanbul marking the World AIDS Day. The events provided an opportunity to change the main medical topic that is the swine flu that everybody has been talking about for several months. The flu, or more scientifically, […]
Johanna Holm Istanbul produces about 10,000 tons of solid waste every day. A part of this is being recycled and re-used again. However, a big part is still not recycled which causes damages to the nature: in 2008 the waste amount was 3,653,333 tons/year and only 938 830 kilos were recycled. According to communication and […]
Niyazi Dalyancı State of affairs in Turkey, already rife with political and social tensions, took yet another precarious turn with the eleven members of the Constitutional Court voting unanimously to close down the Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP) on grounds that it has become a focal point of activities aimed at undermining the national integrity […]
HaberVs Anayasa Mahkemesi, Demokratik Toplum Partisi’ni (DTP), kapatılmasına karar verdi. DTP’nin “terör faaliyetlerin odağı haline geldiği” iddiasıyla, “ teröre bulaşmış bir partiye ifade özgürlüğü hakkı tanınamayağına” hükmeden mahkeme Abdülkadir Fırat, Ahmet Ay, Ahmet Türk, Orhan Miroğlu, Selim Sadak, Aydın Budak, Aysel Tuğluk ve Leyla Zana’nın da aralarında bulunduğu çok sayıda üye ve yöneticisine de siyaset […]
Manon Loisel “The Marmaray is going to change the face of Istanbul entirely,” says Nora Seni, director of the IFEA, French Institute of Anatolian Research. “Dazzling”, “providing freer movement”, “being better connected” and “revitalizing” are her keywords about the Marmaray tunnel project. The IFEA is involved in social studies and historical research. The Urban Observatory […]
Piotr Zareba Pera Museum used to attract attention with its exhibitions of significant artists. This time we can discover Marc Chagall’s Life and Love, collection of prints, drawings and paintings.The exhibition is an evidence of artist’s stormy life. His Jewish descent was the reason of his numerous migrations. “When we escape from Russia we first […]
Aslı TUNÇ American rock band, Plain White T’s song, “hate is a strong word” could have easily been the soundtrack of the hate speech panel held a few days ago. Although the lyrics are about a nasty break-up, a good song can help to ease the sinking feeling caused by talking, listening to and writing […]
