Last Saturday, 12 October, Britain’s Turkish Cypriots celebrated the leading lights of the community at a special gala dinner in Central London. Three hundred guests attended the event, at the Royal National Hotel in Bloomsbury, to learn about the community’s high achievers in a variety of fields including community work, philanthropy, the arts, activism, business, […]
The latest edition of Wallpaper* – the world’s leading publication for architecture, design, fashion, art and interiors – sees Hussein Chalayan MBE as one of two guest editors. The fashion designer uses the opportunity to put the spotlight on his hometown of northern Nicosia in Cyprus, which remains internationally isolated due to the ongoing dispute […]
Turkish Cypriot trade union EL-SEN, which represents workers at the North Cyprus’ Electricity Board KIB-TEK, has cut the electricity to the Finance Ministry after it repeatedly failed to pay its electricity bill. The union claims the debt has risen to 110 million TL, which the TRNC Government refutes. At a protest outside the Finance Ministry […]
The passing last year of Ara Güler, one of the greatest photojournalists of our time, at the age of 90 was mourned worldwide. His talent for documenting the people and places around him earned Güler many accolades. Today, his incredible archive bears testament to a bygone era and the huge transformation Turkey has undergone, immortalising […]
The struggle to survive has defined much of the recent history of Turkish Cypriots, with the Erenköy Resistance of 1964 among their most famous battles. A major milestone that occurred early on in the 11-year Cyprus Conflict, the Battle of Erenköy not only highlighted the bravery and resilience of the island’s minority Turkish community, but also the critical […]
On 5 April, the world witnessed the single biggest move in aviation history. Dozens of aircraft, each weighing 44 tons, and 10,000 pieces of equipment weighing approximately 47,300 tons were transported on five thousand trucking rigs from Atatürk Airport to Istanbul Airport. Less than 48 hours later, Istanbul Airport was formally open for business, while […]
Habibi Funk returns for his quarterly residency at the Jazz Cafe in early August with guest selector Kornelia Binicewicz aka Ladies On Records. Originally from Krakow, Poland, anthropologist turned DJ Kornelia has been living in Istanbul since 2015, where she has been curating an incredible collection of music recorded by lesser known female artists in […]
House-heads are slowly but surely discovering the sublime music of Aleksandir, the Istanbul-born DJ, producer and co-founder of label Artesian Sounds. The rising star, who spends part of his time in London, has been in demand ever since his debut album The Turtle Nipper (Blind Jacks Journey) dropped three years ago, showcasing his fresh take on […]
It’s a warm weekday lunchtime in May when I meet Hassan Redif (aka Hass or J Junior) and Bekir Remzi (aka Ramsey) in the bar of Trent Park Country Club, located at the far end of the Piccadilly Line in Oakwood. The pair are relaxed and in casual attire, with Ramsey tapping at his watch […]
This is story-telling at its brilliant best. Personal, incisive, at times funny, yet also sad and highly thought-provoking. Dreams Die Hard also contains the best-ever explanation of Brexit courtesy of the good old British fry-up. A one-woman show, written and performed by Rachel Karafistan (whose grandfather Mehmet Karafistan was from Yeşilırmak, Cyprus) with direction and […]
