One of London’s most iconic live music venues has launched a crowdfunding appeal to try and survive the coronavirus pandemic. The Jazz Cafe has been an important platform for a diverse range of artists, including those of Turkish origin. Like other venues up and down the country, it was forced to shut its doors in […]
This Tuesday, 19 May, is the holiest night of the year in the Islamic calendar and occurs during the last ten days of Ramazan. Known in Turkish as Kadir Gecesi and in English as the Night of Power, this is the night when the first verses of the Holy Kuran were revealed to the Prophet […]
This week’s London Mevlit programme features a special guest appearance from Imam Muhittin Aydın. The muezzin at Stoke Newington’s Aziziye Mosque will be reciting Koranic prayers alongside programme host Husayn Hashim El Bakayi, the UK’s most prominent Turkish Cypriot hoca (pastor) on Sunday, 17 May. The London Mevlit programme will start straight after Kanal T’s iftar […]
Based on the mystery about the world’s oldest temple Göbekli Tepe, acclaimed TV drama Atiye (The Gift) was the most popular series of the year 2019 on Netflix Turkey, despite only being released on 27 December*. The second Netflix original Turkish series, Atiye was given the thumbs up by non-Turkish audiences and was recommended by […]
DMC, the record label behind Turkey’s biggest pop stars Tarkan, Sezen Aksu and Ajda Pekkan, is being taken over by French digital music platform Believe. An agreement worth $23.4 million, signed on 17 April by Doğan Holding, Doğan Müzik Yapım’s (DMC) parent company, and Believe, will see the French company take a 60% stake in […]
“One love. One heart. Let’s get together and feel alright,” sing NHS staff, key workers and volunteers from London’s Turkish Cypriot community. Their digital rendition of a Bob Markey classic not only aims to uplift spirits, but to also raise awareness of multiple good causes that need funding through the crisis. The clip is the […]
A 5-minute video by Dowan Ahmet warning about the dangers of coronavirus and offering tips for “these uncertain times” has gone viral. Addressed to “the Class of 2020”, Ahmet’s clip has been watched by over ten thousand people. His tribute to “healthcare professionals and other frontline staff” who “risk their lives so you don’t have […]
Originating from the Ottoman era, Karagöz and Hacivat are among Turkey’s most famous and popular theatre characters, a perfect foil for each other as they seek to solve everyday problems. Karagöz represents the illiterate, but straightforward general public, while Hacivat is from the educated classes, always speaking in a posh form of Ottoman Turkish to […]
The success of last Sunday’s Mevlit, which was watched by tens of thousands of people in Britain and abroad, has prompted Kanal T to create a new weekly prime time slot for the religious programme. The broadcaster, one of North Cyprus’ biggest television channels, will screen the Mevlit at 5.30pm UK time (7.30pm Cyprus & […]
Kanal T, one of North Cyprus’ biggest television channels, has announced it is to broadcast this evening’s Mevlit (traditional prayers) to commemorate the 35 Turkish Cypriots in Britain who have lost their lives to the coronavirus. The start of the Mevlit has been put back a half hour to 5.30pm UK time (7.30pm Cyprus & […]
