Fans of novelist Elif Shafak don’t have much longer to wait before they can get their hands on her powerful new novel ‘10 Minutes 38 Seconds in this Strange World’. The 368-page book in English hits the shops on 6 June and previews are already raving about it. Historian Peter Frankopan describes the book as, […]
Turkey is no stranger to martial law. Its roots are steeped in the late Ottoman Empire, when İdare-i örfiyye first appeared as a neologism in the 1876 Ottoman constitution. While the term referred to the sultan’s authority in the Ottoman-Islamic legal tradition, its definition was inspired from the French “état de siège” in the 19th century. […]
Independent London publishers Saqi Books will release a new book focusing on the Cyprus city of Nicosia, the “world’s last divided capital”, in June. Nicosia Beyond Barriers: Voices from a Divided City brings together “writers from all sides of the divide” to “reimagine the past, present and future of their city”. The city has been […]
A new edition of the internationally bestselling biography of Latife Hanım, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk’s wife, will be released next month Madam Atatürk The First Lady of Modern Turkey by İpek Çalışlar will be available in paperback format from 10 May. The book will cost £12.99, London-based independent publishers Saqi Books said this week. “Kemal Atatürk was […]
On Friday evening, food historian Priscilla Mary Işın will give a talk at the Yunus Emre Institute based on her book, Bountiful Empire: A History of Ottoman Cuisine, in which she explores the rich culinary traditions of the Ottoman Empire. Published last year, the book examines in detail the production and consumption of food by […]
On Thursday 21 February, the Yunus Emre Institute London is hosting a book launch and talk by Martyn Downer, a historian, author and expert on Admiral Horatio Lord Nelson. Downer’s new book Nelson’s Lost Jewel delves into the history behind one of Lord Nelson’s most treasured possessions: a diamond Chelengk (‘Çelenk’), gifted to him by […]
Books in English about London’s diverse Turkish community are hard to come by. One of the community’s foremost authorities is sociologist, writer and filmmaker Semra Eren-Nijhar. At the turn of the millennium Eren-Nijhar embarked on a six-year project to ‘give a voice’ to “[Turkish] people from different walks of life”living in the capital. She interviewed […]
London’s Turkish community may be celebrating its centenary in Britain, but there are few books on its history, personalities and heritage. Sociologist and documentary-maker Semra Eren-Nijhar has been at the forefront of researching the community. Earlier this year her latest book titled Turks In London: The Unheard Voices was published in paperback. The 237-page book […]
When Orhan Pamuk’s name is mentioned, a lot comes to mind: Turkey, Turkish Literature, the Nobel Prize, East and the West, history and politics. Translated by Ekin Oklap, The Red Haired Woman is an exciting journey into the mysterious unknown with its multi-layered structure, originality and imagery in the context of individuality and authoritarianism. Pamuk […]
Recently released, Nejla Clements’ book The Battle of Kokkina is the true story of how a besieged Turkish Cypriot community survived attempted annihilation as they defended a key coastal village in Northern Cyprus. The book is based on Erenköy ve Hayat– the extraordinary autobiography of Nejla’s uncle Fadıl Elmasoğlu (both pictured above), who led […]
