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 […]
Senior members of the Board of Deputies of British Jews (BDBJ) met with the TRNC London Representative for the first time yesterday. TRNC ambassador Zehra Başaran and Esra Emin, a TRNC diplomat, hosted BDBJ’s chief executive Gillian Merron and David Walsh, the body’s international relations officer, at the TRNC London office on Thursday morning. […]
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 […]
On Sunday, the great and the good from the nation’s kebab industry will come together for the 5th British Kebab Awards. The event, this year hosted by BBC Radio 1 presenters Chris Stark and Scott Mills, is an opportunity to recognise the UK’s high achievers, from Best Chef, to the Best Newcomer, and Outstanding Contribution […]
Turkish scholars fired from their jobs following a mass purge in Turkey have found an unexpected guardian angel in Germany. In a bizarre twist of fate, the Philipp Schwartz Initiative, launched last year and inspired by a German Jewish academic saved by Turks, is helping refugee researchers fleeing persecution in their home countries to find […]
You’ve probably already heard the news that fugitives fleeing British justice can no longer use the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) as a safe haven. Thanks to a landmark decision in the High Court, even without an extradition treaty between Britain and the TRNC, law enforcement officers from the two countries can still co-operate. […]
Turkey’s domestic battle against multiple terrorist groups is being thwarted by its Western allies. Since 2007, Ankara has secured the extradition of just 12 of a possible 448 terror suspects currently residing in Europe. According to a report in Turkish daily Sözcü, most of those wanted by Turkey are accused of being members of the […]
One of Britain’s finest singers has passed away of suspected heart failure. George Michael’s death was announced on Christmas Day in a statement by his publicist: “It is with great sadness that we can confirm our beloved son, brother and friend George passed away peacefully at home over the Christmas period…The family would ask that […]
A 61-year-old Turkish Cypriot man with severe mobility problems is a virtual prisoner in his own home due to a chronic shortage of social housing in his borough and the unwillingness of the council’s independent medical advisors to upgrade his priority status. Soner Sabriler lives in a small, 2-bedroom, first-floor flat off Green Lanes, Harringay, […]
A controversial clause by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) to pardon men imprisoned for marrying and having sex with underage girls has caused outrage in Turkey. The government claims it is a one-time amnesty for men who have wed teenage girls in a religious ceremony with the consent of the girls and their […]
