It was the end of 70s and early 80s, when punk became mainstream, and Franco-Turkish combo progressive rock band Asia Minor hit their stride, releasing two albums back to back. Suddenly the band was attracting the attention of all prog lovers and prominent musicians of the era, including Alan Parsons, who was recording an album […]
The cancellation of a concert by renowned DJ Kölsch at Saint Hilarion Castle in North Cyprus has left Turkish Cypriots feeling angry and frustrated. The Danish DJ was scheduled to play a 90-minute live set in the medieval castle atop the Girne / Kyrenia mountain range on Monday evening, 31 May. The concert was being […]
Five years ago, an article by John Oakes for T-VINE highlighted how Turkish Cypriots who had fought for Britain had been largely forgotten in the United Kingdom’s annual remembrance services (Turkish Cypriots: Britain’s forgotten soldiers, 11 Nov. 2016). A new initiative headed by retired British Ambassador Alp Mehmet and John Oakes aims to have Turkish […]
Somewhere on the internet is a graveyard of petitions for direct flights to North Cyprus. They all start with good intentions, and one last year even got a response from the British government, but they all die a premature death without making a material difference. Kadir Kanizi (pictured top) is responsible for the latest direct flights […]
A fortnight ago, the European Commission adopted a package of measures to protect an important part of Cypriot heritage – its cheese. Called ‘hellim’ in Turkish, and ‘halloumi’ in Greek, this renowned Cypriot cheese was registered as a protected designation of origin (PDO), essentially banning the misuse of its name by imitation products across the […]
Tuesday marks the start of Ramadan, or Ramazan in Turkish, for most of the world’s 1.8 billion Muslims. This holiest of months is when the Ku’ran was first revealed to the Prophet Muhammed. Each year, Muslims go through their own spiritual reawakening. For the next thirty days, all healthy Muslims will fast during daylight hours, […]
“Curated by TRNC Consulate General in İstanbul” reads the bio for KKTCIstanbul, the arts and cultural Instagram account of the Istanbul Consulate for the Turkish Republic of North Cyprus (TRNC). Running since the summer of 2020, KKTCIstanbul’s 132 posts to date are a visual feast of Turkish Cypriot life, past and present. A cursory glance […]
Today, 8 March, is International Women’s Day. While many use this annual day to celebrate inspirational women and their achievements, others will focus on the issues currently blighting women’s lives. The day’s roots lie in Russia where a little over a hundred years ago, on 8 March 1917, women working in textile factories across Petrograd […]
Did you know that Turkish Cypriots have been deprived of their political, economic and social rights since 1964? Turkish Cypriots are the co-founders of the Republic of Cyprus, a small island in the Eastern Mediterranean. The island became independent from British rule in 1960 and a new power-sharing state was created between Cyprus’ two largest […]
The international community and media and many Cypriots often wrongly claim that Cyprus was split in 1974, when in fact the division had occurred a decade earlier. This crucial detail is clear from reviewing historical archives and articles written by journalists present in Cyprus during or immediately after the outbreak of the Cyprus conflict on 21 […]
