Hakan Tuna’s new single Sevdiğim is out today. A mid-tempo track, it carries the London musician’s signature sound: a nostalgic nod to classic Anatolian Rock, with psychedelic pop keys and indie guitar rhythms that are very much rooted in the present day. Sevdiğim [Whom I Love] was written in 1976 by Özer Şenay, a […]
After her critically-acclaimed 2013 debut release Mortissa¸ Çiğdem returns with an inspired follow-up. Her musical cue is again Rebetiko – the shared cultural heritage of Turkey and Greece in the 1920s – but Çiğdem spreads her musical wings in A Thousand Cranes, travelling from Istanbul and Izmir to Greece, the Balkans, and eastern Turkey picking […]
In the patriarchal world of Turks, it’s easy to overlook the many amazing women who have dared to be different, pioneering a new path for others to follow. Mihri Müşfik was one such lady. Of Circassian ancestry and the daughter of a military doctor, she was born in Kadıköy, Istanbul, on 26 February 1886, and […]
A biographical film charting the meteoric rise of Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has bombed at the box office. Directed by Hüdaverdi Yavuz, Reis opened at over 300 screens on Friday 3rd March, but sold just 67,850 tickets to make 817,158 TL on its first weekend, leaving the film trailing in fourth place at […]
Kamran Aziz, one of the most significant Turkish Cypriot personalities of the past century, has died aged 95. She had been unwell for some time, receiving treatment at Lefkoşa Dr. Burhan Nalbantoğlu Hospita and was discharged yesterday. She passed away at her home in the early hours of this morning. Kamran Hanım was a lady of many […]
A new art exhibition opening in London will celebrate the aspirations and influence of the first female Ottoman contemporary artist. A little over a hundred years ago, Mihri Müşfik Hanım, a Turkish aristocrat and artist, had wanted to establish the Istanbul Women Painters Society, but social and political conditions prevented her from doing so. Instead, […]
This weekend, Manchester Turkish British Association’s Turkish Theatre Club presents its debut production, Ah Şu Gençler (Oh Those Young People). Penned by bestselling author Turgut Özakman (Şu Çılgın Türkler) in 1983, this light-hearted play is part comedy, part social commentary. During a single act, the audience is taken down memory lane as young people […]
Launching on Friday 24 March, Hura Nights is an exotic new live music and DJ event in the heart of London, brought to you by Djanan Turan. The vivacious singer-songwriter and producer from North London’s underground music scene is packing her musical box full of trancy rhythms from Anatolia and other feel-good flavours, from […]
British actor Tamer Hassan stars alongside Terence Stamp, Barry Pepper, Samantha Barks and Max Irons in a new period drama about one of the most overlooked tragedies of the 20th century. Bitter Harvest is a powerful story of love, honour, rebellion and survival as seen through the eyes of two young lovers caught in […]
London-based singer Olcay Bayır has launched a crowdfunding campaign on international music platform PledgeMusic to raise funds to record her second album Rüya [‘Dream’]. PledgeMusic, which was used in 2016 by Robbie Williams to release his album The Heavy Entertainment Show, allows music fans to support artists by pledging to buy new albums and other […]
