Category: Culture

Community
Two legends – Selda Bağcan and Moğollar – to headline 30th Day-Mer Festival

Celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, Day-Mer’s work supporting Turkish and Kurdish communities in Britain remains as valid as ever. It’s also the organiser of the UK’s oldest Turkish festival. This year’s festival promises to be the biggest yet, with two icons of Turkish music headlining: psychedelic folk singer Selda Bağcan and Anatolian rock legends Moğollar. […]

Community
Turkish Cypriot Cultural Festival 2019: “Bigger and better”

On Sunday, 30 June 2019, the third annual celebration of Turkish Cypriot culture will take place on Enfield Playing Fields, located on the aptly named Donkey Lane (Karpaz’s wild donkeys are the national animal of North Cyprus). Weather permitting, some 30,000 people are expected to pass through the gates of this family-friendly event. Ayşe Osman, […]

HP Culture
Review: Dreams Die Hard – story-telling at its brilliant best

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 […]

Festivals
Savour the taste of Anatolia at Laburnum Street Food Fair

If you love Turkish food and are in London, get yourselves to Hackney this week, so you can sample all your favourite flavours in one place. On Thursday, 13 June, a five-day food festival opens by Suleymaniye Mosque in Haggerston, East London. Semi-covered street stalls will be selling a wide range of Turkish food, including […]

Community
Şeker Bayramı – celebrating the end of Ramazan

Today marks the start of a three-day public holiday in Turkey and North Cyprus to celebrate the end of the 30-day fast of Ramazan. Several other Muslim countries will also follow suit, after the new crescent moon was observed in Mecca. The rest of the Muslim world will commence their own festivities, which is called […]