“Life is the absoluteness of truth which exists in its own essence.” -Osman Türkay- I cannot describe my joy when I stumbled across a cassette, which I had been looking for many years and finally found during some building works at home. It was the tape with a recording of an interview with Osman […]
It seems that I am repeating myself, but I can’t stop asking the question: “What has changed since my article from 25 November 2020? And once again, I am very saddened to say, “Nothing!” Unfortunately, nothing has changed except the numbers. Although violence against women and girls is PREVENTABLE, the numbers on violence against women […]
There are some people you meet that once you begin to speak you wish the conversation wouldn’t stop, regardless of the topic. As John Ford said, “You can speak well if your tongue can deliver the message of your heart” and indeed Abdullah Nihat Yılmaz was one of those rare people who conducted his talks […]
One year has flown by since 25 November 2019. Exactly 365 days since we demonstrated globally to raise awareness of violence against women and girls, and what has changed since that day? Nothing! Nothing has changed, and unfortunately with the Covid-19 pandemic with lockdowns and quarantine days, the reality is that violence against women and […]
The jessamine is odorous; so Maid lilies are, and clematis And where tall meadowsweet flowers grow A rare and subtle perfume is; – What can there be more choice than these? – A rose when it doth bud and blow.” By Christina Rosetti (1830-1894) When I began interviewing people about their memory of smell […]
Galip Ahmet is one of the first Turkish Cypriots to have come and settled in Britain in the early 1950s. Born in Cyprus on 18 April 1929, Galip Bey recently turned 90. I interviewed him earlier this summer about his experiences before and after his move, as part of my work on ‘Turkish heritage in […]
It is very difficult to write an obituary if the person was very dear to you and held a special place in your life. You try to put the words together, but after a while the blank paper in front of you remains just the same as you had started, completely blank. This happened to […]
“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world” said Nelson Mandela and indeed the same can be attributed to Kelami Dedezade, who passed away on the 13 July 2018. Dedezade was a huge believer that education is the only tool to make a difference in society. All his […]
Abdullah Nihat Yılmaz is a writer and columnist. He was born in Fatsa, Turkey, in 1941 and has been living in Britain since 1981. We met recently to discuss the subject of migration literature and the notion of ‘gurbet’, which is loosely translated as ‘a place far from home’. Abdullah Ağabey*, over the years we […]
I was not planning to write about my trip to Sofia, Bulgaria, where I attended a conference on Cultural Heritage in Migration. We all had an intense discussion on this issue with the conference organisers and participants, and later my personal experience of heritage in Sofia left me to conclude that I must address […]
