An Istanbul photos exhibition at the Holy Trinity Armenian Apostolic Church in Istanbul. and an Istanbul news roundup

Istanbul Seen Through the Eyes of Armenian Photographers
Hetq Online
A photo exhibition entitled “We Love Your Istanbul from the 19 Century till Today”, has recently opened at the Holy Trinity Armenian Apostolic Church in the Istanbul neighbourhood of Beyoglu. On display are the works of sixteen Armenians who have lived

Be Muslim for a month in Istanbul: pray five times a day and fast

A chance to be immersed in Islam, particularly Sufi traditions and the mystic Rumi – without having to convert

It has the ingredients of a conventional holiday ? experiencing the culture and hospitality of one of the most exciting cities in the world. But few getaways encourage its participants to pray five times a day or try their hand at fasting, especially when those people are not Muslim.

Experts slam AKP plans to add two new cities to Istanbul

Turkish ruling party, opposition both claim ‘two Istanbuls’ project
Hurriyet Daily News
A plan to deal with Istanbul’s growing population by splitting the metropolis into two cities has become a source of argument between the ruling party and main opposition, both of which claim ownership of the idea. In announcing his Justice and

Istanbul could be split in two, says Turkish prime minister

Radical plan unveiled by Recep Tayyip Erdogan to cope with growing strains of city with 17 million residents

Istanbul is renowned as the place where east meets west, the only city in the world, in straddling the Bosphorus, situated in two continents, Europe and Asia. But it may soon lose this unique status if the Turkish government goes ahead with a plan to divide it in two.

ERDOGAN PLANS TO DIVIDE ISTANBUL INTO 2 CITIES
Agenzia Giornalistica Italia
(AGI) Istanbul – Erdogan revealed plans to build 2 new cities in Istanbul so as to better govern the metropolis. One will be on the European side and the other on the Asian side, the Turkish prime minister said. Erdogan announced the plan during the

Fighting Entropy to Salvage Istanbul’s Historic Bazaar

The Grand Bazaar, built in 1461, has its own post office, mosque and police station. But it needs structural repairs and there is no one in charge to do it

The Sound of Istanbul
Sydney Morning Herald
The USD/TRY is an exotic currency pair historically known for its large daily trading ranges and volatility. Rapid growth of the Turkish economy has been a hot issue with speculation that their central monetary authority will again start increasing

Manu Chao drives Istanbul ‘crazy’ with two electrifying shows
Hurriyet Daily News
Delighting a packed audience fortunate to have scored a ticket to the hottest concert in town, singer, songwriter and activist Manu Chao failed to disappoint, delivering two unforgettable shows in Istanbul on Monday and Tuesday

Istanbul: Minarets and miniskirts – Travel Destinations, Travel …
I’ve been in the Secret Garden for something close to an hour now. It’s small, not much bigger than my apartment back home in fact, but it’s packed

Arabesk, the blues of Istanbul

Those of you who know Arabesk, Arabic-style music created in Turkey, will be shocked by the title of this blog post. Defining Arabesk as the blues of Istanbul! Ridiculous! Arabesk is a genre by itself, with its own history and development, you can?t call that the blues of Istanbul! I know, dear readers. Still, the

Istanbul: A City Growing in ‘Overdrive’
Treehugger
by Jennifer Hattam, Istanbul, Turkey on 04.16.11 The Istanbul most visitors see — the Istanbul of palaces and soaring minarets, of ferries on the Bosphorus, bargaining in the bazaar, and bustling nightlife — lies within just a few of the city’s more

An Islamabad-Istanbul train that will traverse 6500 km
Sify
Islamabad, April 18 (IANS) A cargo train that will cover a distance of 6500 km from Islamabad through Tehran to Istanbul will be ‘running in less than a year’, an official said. The ambitious project got a final shape during the April 11-14 official

Tulip time has kicked off in İstanbul
Today’s Zaman
It means that its tulip time is in İstanbul over the next few weeks. Tulips of yellow, orange, purple, pomegranate, cloudy red, light pink and a kaleidoscope of colors are all flowering along the streets and gardens of the city.

Istanbul Shopping Festival: success or failure?

Music, visual arts share stage at Temps d’Images 2011 in Istanbul

Byzantine-era Damatrys Palace to be restored by İstanbul Municipality
Today’s Zaman
The Damatrys Palace, built by Emperor Maurice during the days of the Byzantine Empire, will be restored by the İstanbul Special Provincial Administration under the supervision of the İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality. The Damatrys Palace, which was

İstanbul film fest draws 150000 in 30th year
Today’s Zaman
The İstanbul International Film Festival attracted 150000 festivalgoers in its 30th year, which wrapped up with a closing gala and award ceremony Saturday night, the festival’s organizers announced on Monday. The figures the İstanbul Foundation for

Istanbul Diary: Turkey is a Land of Paradox
Hetq Online
According to Fuat Keyman, Director of the Istanbul Policy Center (IPC) at Sabanci University, modern Turkey has been rapidly changing in the past ten years. 2007, the year of the last parliamentary election in Turkey, was a watershed event in this

Istanbul Diary: AKP Expected to Win Again
Hetq Online
It was a welcoming sight given the past few rainy and overcast days here in Istanbul. That’s not to say the weather was warm. Located on the coast, the sea winds can be quite chilly and damp. Nevertheless, our group headed out to the Shishli