Historic trading castle to become center of art

A 1,750-year-old castle in the central Anatolian province of Kayseri is preparing to host culture and art events. The Kayseri Castle was built in 238 during the reign of the Roman Empire and served as a center of trade after surviving many wars.

The castle, located in Cumhuriyet Square and symbolizing the 6,000 year history of the city, was one of the leading places for commercial affairs in the past.

The Kayseri Metropolitan Municipality recently gave the go-ahead to turn the castle into a culture and arts center. The shanty houses around the main structure have been removed, while shops currently situated there have been transferred to a passage built in Hunat neighborhood. Works are also continuing to move any businesses inside the castle to alternate locations.

Speaking to the Anatolia news agency, Kayseri Metropolitan Municipality Deputy Secretary-General Cengiz Tekinsoy said after the rearrangement process in Cumhuriyet Square, the historical castle had become a significant place for social life of the city.

He said the municipality had organized a national architectural project competition to make the castle more suitable for social life, and from the 75 projects submitted, they selected Professor Zafer Ertürk and his friends’ proposal.

“The project aims to make the castle a living place. It has been approved by the Regional Committee for the Protection of Cultural and Natural Beings. Two hundred seventy-nine shanty houses inside the walls of the castle have been moved. Application projects have also been prepared, and when they are approved over the coming months we will have completed a significant stage of the plans,” he said.

Tekinsoy also said there were stone houses built in the 1980s inside the castle that should be removed for the project. “Even though the houses match the historical tissue of the castle, they deface the image of the castle overall.”

Groundbreaking photography museum to open in Istanbul

The Istanbul Photography Museum will open in the Kadırga Cultural Center in Fatih. The first museum of its kind in Turkey will also serve as a cultural center and display one permanent and two temporary exhibitions as opening attractions.

The Istanbul Photography Museum is situated on a 1,000 square-meter area at the Kadırga Cultural Center. Company photo

A groundbreaking Turkish photography museum is preparing to open Nov. 20 with three exhibitions in Istanbul’s central Fatih district.

The Istanbul Photography Museum aims to support the art of photography and amateur and professional photographers in Turkey and will serve as a new cultural center to develop the art of photography with collections, exhibitions, publications, photography archives, library, events, projects and educational presentations, according to officials.

Situated on a 1,000-square-meter area that was allocated by Fatih Municipality at the Kadırga Cultural Center, the museum consists of five photography galleries, a photography archive and a library. It will be managed by the Photography Friends’ Association.

A permanent and two temporary exhibits

The museum will host three exhibitions after the Nov. 19 opening ceremony. The exhibition titled “Republican Period Photography Masters – Trailblazers” will take place at the Klasikler Gallery under the sponsorship of Çetin Nuhoğlu.

The exhibition is made up of works by 50 photographers who have left their mark in every field of the art of photography.

One of the most important aims of the museum is to bring together, preserve, display and promote the classics of photographic art.

The Istanbul Photography Museum will also open with two temporary exhibitions.

The first temporary exhibition, “Fotoğrafımızda Bugün-2011” (Present time in our photography – 2011), featuring works by 200 photographic artists, will bring a contemporary view to Turkish photography. Visitors will see works not only by Turkish photographic virtuosos, but also see the advent of photography in the early republican era.

The second temporary exhibition, “Basılı Fotoğrafımız – Albümler” (Our printed photography – albums), will present an important selection including albums, books and portfolios to visitors. After the exhibition, the collection will be presented for research use in the archive of the museum. The exhibitions will remain open through Feb. 19, 2012, everyday except Monday, between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m.

Tickets cost four Turkish Liras, although members of a group can enter for three liras, while teachers and students can visit for two liras. The museum will be free for children under 14, members of the press, people with disabilities and those over 60.

Visitors can also use the museum archive and library

Afrodisias reveals Roman sculptures in western Turkey

Ancient sculptures from Roman times have been unearthed during excavation work in Aydın’s Karacasu district.

Roland Smith, head of the excavation project, said it was an important discovery for the Afrodisias excavation. The excavation work has been ongoing since 1961.

Noting that Afrodisias was an important city during the Greek Empire era, Smith said the ancient city has history starting from 2 B.C. to the 6th century after Christ.

“In ancient times, Afrodisias was a city that combined art, history and nature in the same locale,” said Smith, adding that Afrodisias is one of the best preserved ancient cities in the world. “We have a chance to find rock tombs, sculptures, ancient remains, art works in one city. That’s why Afrodisias is very important for our excavation works.”

The team is continuing excavation work in three locations. “One of the excavation areas is called Tetrapylon Avenue. We are working on three different venues in three points in this large avenue. This avenue gives information about this ancient city and how people lived during ancient times.”

Noting that the team has found valuable remains from the Ottoman era, Smith said: “We have found a sculpture from Roman times and we guess this sculpture belongs to a very important leader of the town.”

The team estimates that the sculpture belongs to the Sebastian Passage. “We are still researching the area to learn when this city was established,” he said.

Smith said the team also discovered a crossroads in the city. “There are two drainage channels in the intersection of the crossroads,” said Smith, adding that this is a very important development that revealed the condition of the city.

The other area that the team currently works in is called Hadrian’s Bath. “We keep working on the site with restoration and documentation projects.”

Smith said Afrodisias deserved to enter UNESCO’s main list. “If Afrodisias enters the list, then the tourist numbers will increase.”

Films from ‘unknown countries’ hit screens in Istanbul

 

The ‘Unknown Cinemas Films Festival,’ organized as part of the 4th United Nations Least Developed Countries Conference, will feature films from unknown cultures across a wide geography from Burkina Faso to Nepal, Bangladesh to Mauritania, Senegal to Bhutan, Mali to Cambodia. The festival runs May 11-17

The festival focuses on African films from the 1960s to present.

A festival inspired by the 4th United Nations Least Developed Countries Conference is currently taking place in Istanbul and will screen for free 48 films from the U.N.’s least developed country list. The event, from May 11 to 17, will provide a new insight into the culture, history and social dynamics of these “unknown countries.”

The U.N. conference is being hosted by the Turkish Foreign Ministry from May 9 to 13, with the film festival, titled “Unknown Cinemas Films Festival,” running from May 11 to 17. The festival’s consultants include significant names in Turkey’s film sector such as Semih Kağlanoğlu, Gökhan Yorgancıgil, Burçak Evren and Nedim Hazar.

Least Developed Countries is the title given to 48 members of the U.N., and exhibits the lowest indicators of socioeconomic development with domestic income per capita of less than $750. Thirty-three of these countries are in Africa, 14 in Asia and one in the Americas.

With the festival’s compilation, viewers will be introduced to broad visual fields of a wide geography from Burkina Faso to Nepal, Bangladesh to Mauritania, Senegal to Bhutan, Mali to Cambodia. They will discover the lights of unknown cultures and contemplate on reflections of historical insights and difficulties, concerns, problems and joys of modern life.

The festival movies will be shown under five main sections: “Social Memory,” “In Track of the Present,” The Documentary Eye,” “Panorama” and “The Deep Insight.”

Films mainly from Africa

Speaking about the first-time festival, the festival’s general coordinator İhsan Kabil said they had first planned to organize a festival on films of the Developing Eight, or D-8. “Together with a leading statesman from Indonesia, Dipo Alam, we presented a petition to the Turkish Foreign Ministry to organize this festival. But the ministry asked us to organize a festival within the scope of the Least Developed Countries conference. Then we started working for the unknown countries.”

Kabil said within a very short time they had obtained many films. “There is a festival titled Fespaco in Burkina Faso, which is a very small country in western Africa. The festival runs every two years. Our talks with the organizers of this festival accelerated the process and we reached lots of films easily,” he said, adding that they had succeeded to bring together films from the 48 countries on three continents.

“The festival is mostly focused on African films. African cinema is largely influenced by French cinema. Some films are made by their own people while some are collaborations with other countries. We also include documentaries in the festival and show the deep social problems these countries have to as many people as possible,” Kabil said.

Unknown films to reveal unknown history

Kabil said the Unknown Cinemas Festival would feature many cultural values like polygamy and male-dominant relations. “It is possible to see mythological factors in films. There is also a passive struggle against the dominant language of the new world. The festival will show films from the 1960s and since most of the films are from Africa, we will see the historical development of this continent. We can also see local religions and the effect of Islam in these films. Islam is in the region as a peaceful religion. These films are contrary to most Western cinema. You will see unique rhythms.”

The films in the festival will be screened for free at the Kadıköy Moda Movie Theater, the Beyoğlu Movie Theater and the Tarık Zafer Tunaya Culture Center

Turkey to be guest of Schleswig-Holstein Festival

The Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, one of the world’s most prominent classical music festivals, will be organized this year from July 9 to Aug. 28 under the slogan “Welcome Turkey.”

A total of 131 concerts will be performed as part of the 26th edition of the annual festival, which is supported by the federal German state of Schleswig-Holstein, the Turkish Culture and Tourism Ministry and the International Istanbul Film Festival.

Describing Turkey as the meeting point of cultures, Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival Organization Committee Chairman Rolf Beck said: “Different religions and cultures live together in Turkey. There are 50 different ethnic groups in the country, which is an unbelievable variety. Turkey unites cultures between the East and the West.”

The range of music in the festival offers an Anatolian journey from along the coastline of the Black Sea to the colorful chamber music of the great Turkish composer Ahmed Adnan Saygun and the visionary opus of colleague Fazıl Say. The event, which includes two world premieres, will feature whirling dervishes.

Say will perform his own composition “Khayyam” for the first time at the festival. In addition to Say, the Bilkent Symphonic Orchestra, or BSO, under the conduction of Işın Mein, successful pianists Ferhan Önder and Ferzan Önder, Gülsün Onay, Hüseyin Sermet, violin virtuoso Hande Özyürek, world-renowned clarinetist Selim Sesler, percussion master Burhan Öçal and Kurdish artist Aynur will be guests at the festival.

Also featuring are musical groups Kollektif Istanbul and Sarband, while Turkish DJ İpek İpekçioğlu, who lives in Berlin, will present a musical show.

Turkey’s ancient city Hasankeyf to reopen for tourism in April

The Culture Ministry will invest 2 million Turkish Liras to enable ancient sites in Southeast Anatolia to be reopened for tourism – for however long remains before a new dam floods the entire area.

Tourism sites in the ancient city of Hasankeyf, located in Batman province, have been closed to visitors since July, when a large rock rolled down from the city’s old castle and killed an elderly man living in a nearby cave.

A Culture Ministry board consisting of 38 officials visited the city last week and examined the region for three days before producing a report calling for the area to be reopened to tourism in April, the Doğan news agency, or DHA, reported Sunday.

According to Professor Abdüsselam Uluçam, who heads the archaeological excavations in the city, the ministry will provide 2.1 million Turkish Liras for the renovation of the Hasankeyf area, which is set to be flooded as part of the ongoing construction of the controversial Ilısu Dam.

The money will be used to reinforce loose rocks and boulders and fix a gate that is in danger of falling apart, said Uluçam, who oversaw the work of the Culture Ministry board in coordination with Batman’s deputy governor and Hasankeyf’s local administrators. He added that the State Waterworks Authority, or DSİ, would write a report on the geological structure of the rocks in the area. Ancient houses in the city will also be registered and restoration work on historical buildings will be sped up.

The city has been the focus of international campaigns to prevent it from being flooded by the Ilısu Dam, which is being built nearby. In addition to its rich historical heritage, which is still being uncovered in ongoing archaeological excavations, the area is home to many animal and plant species. Before the city is flooded, some historical artifacts and buildings will be moved to the new village of Hasankeyf being built for the current town’s soon-to-be-displaced residents

Benefits of film, tourism, media discussed in Turkey’s Cappadocia

Nevşehir University Tourism Faculty organized Thursday a panel discussion titled “Film Tourism and Media in Dream City Cappadocia,” during which the effects of media on tourism were discussed.

Nevşehir Journalists Association Chairman Muammer Başer said 50 television channels from 13 countries have made documentaries in the region over the last three years, complaining that the TV series featured the feudalism system even though there is no feudalism in the region.

Calling on TV producers, Başer said: “If a TV series is made here, the traditional dresses of the region should be highlighted and actors should speak with the region’s accent. In this way TV series could promote the culture of Nevşehir and Cappadocia.”

He said as the media of Nevşehir, they have made great contributions to the promotion of the region and have avoided damaging the region’s tourism. “We have organized media festivals in past years and hosted many journalists from all around the country in Nevşehir. When they return, they have promoted our region very well,” he said.

Cappadocia Tourist Entrepreneurs Association Chairman Ahmet Tok said films made in 1970s in the region had made contributions to the promotion of the region in the domestic market. “The number of documentaries, TV series and films also increase the number of local tourists visiting the region, which has a capacity of 20,000 beds. But this has been insufficient in recent years,” Tok said.

Cappadocia Cade Resort Boutique Hotel Operation Manager Perihan Çakır spoke about the effects of a TV series titled “Asmalı Konak” (Asmalı Mansion) in the region, adding that the positive effects of the series still continued. “More than 130 gift shops have been opened around the mansion and 300 buses of local tourists visited Nevşehir’s Ürgüp district in a day,” she said

ISTANBUL & HARP

“Istanbul and Harp” is a work-order and album recording project realized by the Art of Harp Association with the support of Istanbul 2010 European Capital of Culture Agency.

Six different Turkish composers from two different generations composed of works comprised of various combinations of solo harp / chengçwith harp/cheng plus flute, viola, fiddle, contrabass, lute and zither. Each work has been ordered to attribute to the memory of Istanbul in a way preferred by the composer. Composers produced works about symbols of Istanbul such as the doves, children, Basilica Cistern, Seven Hills.

The concert will be performed by Şirin Pancaroğlu and six more musicians: Yurdal Tokcan, Tahir Aydoğdu, Derya Türkan, Elif Yurdakul, Arda Agoşyan and Evrim Baştaş. The project’s premier will be held on December 19, 2010 at CRR Concert Hall which will be the promotion of the album as well.

FRIDA KAHLO AT PERA MUSEUM

Between 23 December 2010 and 20 March 2011, the Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera from the Gelman Collection exhibition introduces to art lovers two of the most outstanding, globally renowned Mexican figures of 20th century art: Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera.

Generating wide interest as much with their unique characters, life stories, and intriguing relationship, as with their oeuvre, the two artists are welcomed in Turkey for the very first time in an exhibition of more than forty of their works displayed at Pera Museum.

Collectors Jacques and Natasha Gelman spent a significant portion of their lives in Mexico; the works included in the couple’s extensive collection, which also encompasses 20th century Mexican art, include the most outstanding Frida Kahlo self-portraits, which reflect the profound traces of her artistic personality, as well as rare examples of Diego Rivera’s canvas paintings. This globally acclaimed collection was previously presented to audiences through a limited number of exhibitions outside of Mexico.

Apart from the most favored Kahlo works of the Frida Kahlo Retrospective organized in Berlin and Vienna in 2010, the exhibition at Pera Museum also includes Diego Rivera’s paintings. The works of Frida and Diego, who inspired the motion picture and literary worlds with their oeuvre and unconventional lives, can be visited at Pera Museum until 20 March 2011.

http://en.peramuzesi.org.tr/

SALON IKSV ON DECEMBER

Phonem by Miller: Owen Pallett (2 December)
Electronic music artist.

Raymond Weil Parsifal Nights: Tok Tok Tok (3 December)
Acoustic soul from Nijerian vocalist Tokunbo Akiro/Morten Klein from Denmark on saxophone.

Göksel Radio Days (5 December)
’70′s Turkish pop classics by Turkish singer Göksel.

These New Puritans (7 December)
Art-rock collective.

Music is Fun by Lenovo: Chromatics (9 December)
Nu-disco trio.

Garanti Caz Yeşili: The Magic Numbers (10 December)
Alternative rock group from England.

Melissa Auf Der Maur (17 December)
Ex Smashing Pumpkins/Hole bass guitarist’s solo project.

Phonem by Miller: Mystery Jets (18 December)
Indie-rock collective from England.

Nevcivan Special Project (24 December)
Traditional Turkish Music with a modern touch.

http://www.saloniksv.com/english/index.asp