Ersin Tatar, the President of the Turkish Republic of North Cyprus (TRNC), was among the thousands of people to enjoy this year’s Turkish Cypriot Cultural Festival on Donkey Lane, North London. After an absence of four years due to the pandemic, this family-friendly one-day festival organised by the Council of Turkish Cypriot Associations UK (CTCA) […]
UAE-based American journalist Hafsa Lodi’s ‘Modesty: A Fashion Paradox’ has become the definitive read on this fast-growing global industry that marries faith with fashion. Published by Neem Tree Press in 2020, this 288-page book explores the big drivers behind the rise of modest fashion, its controversies and the main players involved. While some of the […]
I attended the Mayor of London’s annual Eid in the Square celebration in Trafalgar Square last weekend. It was a joyous riot of colour and noise, and the delicious smells lingering around from the edge towards thousands of people watching the activities on the main stage. The moon was visible overhead in the clear blue […]
Aynı Gecenin Laciverti (Same Night Different Blue) is a crime thriller where comic animation and live action merge. The film starts out with a homeless man looking through the small hole of his shelter. Light is seeping in like a laser beam, but what’s the catch here? Elsewhere are two thieves – Kadir and Yağmur […]
British born, Turkish Cypriot inter-disciplinary daughter of a Tottenham DJ and artist, Tice Cin weaves a quirky, beautifully poetic depiction of a community and world hitherto unrepresented in English literature. Both lyrically and visually, Keeping the House is full of evocative descriptions of ‘Turkish Cypriotisms’. Could this be the only widely publicised, mainstream British novel […]
Plastic Dream delves into the life of Belma (Nihal Yalçın), a woman nearing her 40s – an age dreaded by those living in our while not totally ruthless, but still highly sexist society. Belma goes to a cosmetic dermatologist for dry skin problems, but she leaves with a whole new parasitic consciousness of her aging […]
This short sci-fi comedy was the most entertaining film at the recent Taste of Anatolia – Films From Turkey 2022 film festival, and got a good laugh out of me for its ending! Kika, a drag queen, enters this virtual hedonistic club game called ‘Free Fun’ where everyone, both players and non-player characters (NPCs), are […]
The world is most transfixed at the “death or glory” of a musician’s career, especially at that moment when they’re either making a comeback after a long absence from music or marrying new genres into their music. Gaye Su Akyol is having a go at both with her latest album Anadolu Ejderi (Anatolian Dragon). She […]
A dystopian patriarchal world, where in the absence of women, plants are the substitutes for men to fully control. Each man owns an empty pot called a ‘void’, which they must fill with a plant purchased from the “Board of District Void and Matchmaking Administration” at some point and take care of it’s living conditions. […]
A nostalgic glimpse at Şimuni and Hurmüz Diril’s last reunion with their family in their home village of Meer (Kovankaya), one of the only remaining Chaldean Catholic villages in Türkiye today. Director Etna Özbek films the family as they prepare for the winter season, stocking supplies and wrapping up the fine honeycombs to share out […]
