Standing at the gateway between Europe and Asia, Istanbul lies at the centre of the most pressing challenges of our time. With environmental decay, rapacious development and tightening authoritarianism straining its social fabric to breaking point, it represents the precipitous moment civilisations around the world are currently facing.

In and around its crumbling Byzantine-era fortifications Alexander Christie-Miller, a former Times Turkiye correspondent, meets people who are experiencing the looming crisis and fighting back, sometimes triumphing despite the odds.

Alexander Christie-Miller was born in Wiltshire in 1982 and studied English Literature and Theatre Studies at Trinity College Dublin. Between 2010 and 2017 he worked as a journalist in Istanbul, where he was correspondent for The Times. His work has also appeared in Newsweek, The Atlantic, Der Spiegel, and The White Review among other publications.

The talk is based on Alexander’s newly published book of the same name, To the City: Life and Death Along the Ancient Walls of Istanbul, and is organised by the Angl0-Turkish Society. The talk can be attended in person in London, although there are only a limited number of places, or can be viewed online via Zoom.

Event Details

Title: To the City: Life and Death Along the Ancient Walls of Istanbul

Date: Tuesday 07 May 2024

Time: 6pm to 8pm

Venue: Royal Anthropological Institute, 50 Fitzroy Street, London W1T 5BT

Admission: Tickets are from £10 (plus £1.55 booking fee) for in-person attendees and £5 (plus £1.13 fee) for virtual attendees

Tickets: Book online via Eventbrite – click here