Of all the houses on the Bosphorus that had to be struck by the Vitaspirit, a 74,000-ton, 225 metre cargo ship yesterday afternoon, did it have to be the Hekimbaşı Yalı? And not only that but the most historic part of the house. Every creaking floorboard, every inch of its...

In this blog series, we highlight some of our favourite Turkey-related articles and news titbits that we’ve read over the past month. ‘I never thought I’d be saying this, but I’m a big fan of Martha Stewart’, writes Robert Ousterhout in a delightful post for the Penn History of Art...

The London Book Fair opened today with Poland as the ‘Market Focus’ country, and trade looked brisk. The behemoth publishing houses occupied centre stage with vast stands and clients checking in for their appointment. Better to wander around the edge of Olympia’s Exhibition Halls to find publishers less susceptible to...

Three Istanbul galleries – Galerist, Galeri Zilberman and Sanatorium – will participate in the 11th edition of Art Dubai, an international art fair highlighting works from the Middle East, Africa and South Asia. Under the leadership of its new director, Myrna Ayad, the fair is presenting its strongest programme to...

Even though Istanbul is one of the worst cities in the world for noise pollution, the sounds of the city are as much of a joy as they are a nuisance – they evoke a sense of place. Istanbul would not be Istanbul without the long, low horns of container...

In this blog series, we highlight some of our favourite Turkey-related articles and news titbits that we’ve read over the past month. ‘Snow in Istanbul always feels magical,’ writes Tim Arango in The New York Times. He documents how last month’s blizzard, the heaviest snowfall in Istanbul since 2009, came as...

The photos and footage shared on Thursday night by Facebook user Togan Tong were grainy but unmistakable: the Karaköy Yolcu Salonu (Passenger Terminal), an important work of Turkish architecture from the early Republican era, was being torn down. The online newspaper Diken reports that the sea-facing side of the terminal...

Calling all poets: the 9th Nâzim Hikmet Poetry Competition, organised as a tribute to the pre-eminent Turkish poet, is open for submissions. The competition and accompanying festival, held annually in the town of Cary, North Carolina, are proof that Nâzım Hikmet Ran, once a cult figure of the Communist world,...

In this blog series, we highlight some of our favourite Turkey-related articles and news titbits that we’ve read and listened to over the past month (or two, in this case). The Ottoman History Podcast began as a modest experiment in 2011, but has since grown into a vast digital resource...

The tragedy of the Gallipoli campaign was felt across the world, and not least in the small town of Hawick in the Scottish Borders. By the time the fighting had subsided in 1916, Hawick and the surrounding area had suffered 132 dead, 84 of them in one day alone. That infamous...

The British Institute at Ankara (BIAA) is currently accepting applications for the position of London Manager. This opportunity may be a good fit for a Cornucopia reader, as the ideal candidate would have some knowledge of Turkey and the academic disciplines within the remit of the Institute. Founded in 1948,...

A candle in the window is a favourite Christmas tradition of mine. There’s something about a flickering light that alleviates the winter doldrums. So as the days grew shorter in Istanbul, I found myself searching for candles to brighten up the dark nights. My hunt led me to NYKS, a...

Pinpointing the qualities of a good komşu (neighbour) is far from an exact science. It comes down to what an individual values: one person may prefer a neighbour who leaves them alone, while another wants someone to cook them food when they’re sick. The 15th Istanbul Biennial, curated by the...

This is a photogrammetric image (©EEF/Black Sea MAP) of The Flower of the Black Sea, an Ottoman ship that has been given her name because of the floral patterns found carved on her tiller. Nobody yet knows what she was carrying or where she was going when she sank off...

‘Rewarding reads’ is a new feature on the Cornucopia blog. In this series, we highlight some of our favourite Turkey-related articles and news titbits that we've read over the past month. Kornelia Binicewicz is at it again, filing more gaps in the history of the Turkish music industry (she previously...

Researchers, take note. There’s only a week or so left to apply for two grants awarded to individuals undertaking Turkey-related research. First up is the Ancient & Modern Prize, which is sponsored by Cornucopia magazine, HALI magazine and the three major London auction houses: Bonhams, Christie’s and Sotheby’s. The aim...

No artist is an island. Open Studio Days Istanbul (Açık Stüdyo Günleri), which runs from October 7–9, makes certain of that. The three-day event creates an opportunity for the denizens of Istanbul to visit artists’ studios and non-commercial artist collectives that are normally off-limits. Artists directly connect not only with...

‘Rewarding reads’ is a new feature on the Cornucopia blog. At the end of each month, we’ll highlight some of our favourite Turkey-related articles and news titbits that we read over the course of the month. In Discover magazine, Jennifer Hattam elucidates the new techniques utilised by archaeologists and researchers...

It’s no Cannes or Sundance, but Filmekimi may be the next best thing. Unlike these major film festivals, or even the annual Istanbul Film Festival, with its focus on competitions for both foreign and local filmmakers, Filmekimi is more of a year-in-review. The programme almost exclusively features foreign films (this...

Described by David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter as ‘a thick Freudian soup of sibling love and parental denial’, Big Big World (Koca Dünya) – the only Turkish film in competition at the 73rd Venice Film Festival – certainly made an impact. Out of 32 films selected for the Horizons...