It should come as no surprise that Türkiye is home to a wealth of spectacular Ottoman mosques. The six-hundred-year Ottoman state left a powerful mark between its foundation in 1299, to its demise in 1923. This is especially true of the empire’s former capital Istanbul, and its heartlands in Anatolia and Thrace. What is particularly […]
With less than a month to go until the UK General Election, something unusual is underway in Enfield North, where two candidates with Turkish connections are contesting the parliamentary seat. The London constituency’s main contender is Türkiye-born Feryal Demirci Clark who is currently running for her second term. Ms Clark is standing again for the […]
A “chauffeur-driven” Istanbul cat has received an outpouring of affection after footage of the feline sitting on the bonnet of a moving car surfaced on social media. The video was captured by an onlooker and shared on Instagram and X (formerly known as Twitter) with the captions ‘Cats of Istanbul’ and ‘Cats’ favourite city’. The […]
Could Kosovo become a top travel hotspot for British Turks looking for a weekend away? With direct flights between London Luton Airport and the Kosovan capital Prishtina taking a little over 3 hours, this is now a real possibility. Europe’s youngest country has plenty that may be familiar to a person with Turkish roots, connections […]
Familiar animal noises brought cheer to earthquake survivors in Turkiye’s southeastern city of Kahramanmaraş last week, as a retired imam sang the children’s song “Ali Baba’s Farm” through loudspeakers. “Uncle” Ömer Faruk Şirikçi, the former imam of the city’s Abdülhamid Han Mosque, sat in a tent with a microphone and invited children temporarily living in […]
The strategic importance of a new green energy deal, inked by the leaders of Azerbaijan, Georgia, Hungary and Romania on 17 December, was underlined by a key Azerbaijani diplomat. Azerbaijan’s ambassador to Hungary, Tahir Taghizadeh, told T-VINE that the agreement, is “a crucially important new step for Azerbaijan, together with our European partners, all in […]
Azerbaijani athletes took home gold for the Islamic world as the only team from a Muslim-majority nation to finish in the top ten at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics on Sunday. Beating their previous record set in London in 2012, the Paralympians from the South Caucasus state won 10thplace with 19 medals, the highest result achieved […]
Brexit has created new opportunities for the UK and Azerbaijan, a leading Azerbaijani MP has said. “In my opinion, leaving the EU opened new perspectives for our mutual cooperation. After Brexit the UK is not limited any more in any way of cooperation with the world, including Azerbaijan” Javanshir Feyziyev, the Head of Azerbaijan-UK Interparliamentary […]
The historic birthplace of a leading Turkish-Azeri intellectual recently returned to Azerbaijani hands following a truce with Armenia. The town of Shusha, the home of the educator, publicist, Pan-Turkist thinker and politician Ahmet Ağaoğlu, who played an important role in the foundation of both Azerbaijan and Turkey, was among a number of areas brought back […]
My name may not give it away, but I am in fact, a practicing Muslim. I accepted Islam in early 2018, and since then, I have visited mosques all over London. Plenty of these spaces are full of beauty, warmth and spiritual calm, but one of these in particular stands out. Shacklewell Lane Mosque, also […]
