Those familiar with the British Turkish Cypriot community may well wonder how such a question could even arise. After all, Turkish Cypriots are highly secular and the younger generations well integrated into British society. So well integrated, that most know very little about their Islamic roots. It’s a topic actor and playwright Cosh Omar explored […]
Few artists have achieved as much in their life as David Bowie. His talents were endless: singer, songwriter, musician, producer, actor, painter, fashion icon… Since first coming into the public consciousness in 1969 with the release of his second album David Bowie/Space Oddity, Bowie has proved to be the master of transformation and innovation, his […]
According to Taner Derviş, most of Maraş – the ghost town claimed by Greek Cypriots as inalienably “theirs” – still legally belongs to Evkaf, a Muslim charity dating back to the Ottoman conquest of 1571. The former director of Evkaf says these rights have been re-confirmed in every Cyprus Constitution since then. Under Turkish Cypriot […]
Securing protected status for traditional Cypriot cheese will benefit all producers on the island. However, the decision by Greek Cypriots to make a unilateral application to the European Union while deliberately excluding Turkish Cypriot producers not only turned this into a political issue, but also left a bitter taste in North Cyprus. With the EU […]
Perceptions about Islam, the gentrification of inner London, and ‘how do you tell your gangster family that you’ve converted to Islam’ were among the questions put to film director Andrew Hulme and actor Martin Askew at a special screening of Snow in Paradise, a film which they wrote together. Inspired by Martin’s life and shot […]
Next Sunday, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus will go to the polls to elect a new President. Seven candidates are vying for the political hot seat, including incumbent, Dr. Derviş Eroğlu. The TRNC operates a Parliamentary political system, which means the Presidency is primarily a symbolic role. However, since the times of the first […]
One of Turkish cinema’s legendary figures, Yılmaz Güney was an award-winning film director, scenarist, novelist and actor. Of Kurdish origin, he made his mark championing Turkey’s most marginal citizens on and off the screen. During his career, he directed 25 films, wrote 61 scripts, and appeared in 116 movies. He became the first filmmaker from Turkey to win […]
Back in June, Dr. Kudret Özersay – a respected academic, leading civil society activist and the current Turkish Cypriot Negotiator for the Cyprus talks – visited London to meet with high level officials in the British Government. While in the capital, he also gave an illuminating talk at the London School of Economics. T-VINE caught […]
Forty years ago today the war in Cyprus ended, but not before the gruesome discovery of a variety of mass graves containing the bodies of Turkish Cypriots. One of the worst was the Tochni Massacre: 85 inhabitants from Taşkent (also known as Tochni), a mainly Turkish village located in the Larnaca District of Cyprus, about halfway between Larnaca and Limassol, were […]
Record numbers are expected to turn out for tonight’s Şafak Nöbeti (Dawn Watch), the annual remembrance event at Yavuz Çıkarma Plajı in Girne – the beach where Turkish troops first landed in 1974. This year not only marks the fifth such event, but will also commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Turkish intervention that brought to an […]
