News

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1915 remembered in Turkey

Turkey commemorated two devastating legacies of World War One in back-to-back events in April. On the 24th, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan hosted Prince Charles and 21 heads of state in Çanakkale to mark the centenary of the Gallipoli landings, which claimed 140,000 lives. It was a day of reconci...

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FOCUS: Happy 8 March International Working Women's Day!

Happy 8th March International Working Women's Day! Here are some apt words for this day from renowned writer and poet Nazım Hikmet. The faces of our women are the book of our pains. Our pains, our faults and the blood we shed carve scars on the faces of our women like plows. And our joys are...

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FOCUS: Remembering Osman Türkay on his 88th birth anniversary

Former Culture Minister of Turkey, a cultural historian, poet and translator Prof. Dr. Talat Halman once observed that Osman Türkay’s (16 February 1927 – 24 January 2001) work combined Blake’s apocalyptic vision which Eliot’s gloomy depictions of modern civilisations. Not only does Dr. Halman make t...

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Legendary singer Müzeyyen Senar laid to rest

Müzeyyen Senar, the 96-year-old doyen of Turkish Classical music, was laid to rest on Tuesday 17 Feb. She had passed away at a hospital in İzmir last Sunday after contracting pneumonia, with her daughter Feraye and son Ömer by her side. Thousands turned out to pay their respects to the singer who...

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Positive action vs positive discrimination

One of the local Turkish language papers posed an important question for the Turkish speaking communities in Britain. “Are we actually united?” The paper, Londra Gazete/London Turkish Gazette is printed bilingually. In the main Turkish pages the question takes the form of “Are we really one?”Freudia...

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Naciye Nene's Cookbook: humus

Prep Time: 20 minutes      Garnish Time: 7 minutes     Total Time: 27 minutes A favourite of Naciye nene’s, humus is proof that some of the best-tasting things in life are the simplest to make. This chickpea-based dip is a staple at any Turkish table spread and its fabulous flavour means the popula...

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My World: Ali ‘Babutsa’ Sönmez

A legend of the Turkish wedding circuit, he hit the big time with his group Babutsa. These days, he runs a café in Beckenham and performs weekly at a top London Turkish nightspot, while guiding the career of his singer daughter.  Tell us about your family life My parents are from Cyprus (İsk...

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Turkey ranks third in global list of aid donors

Turkey has moved from being a recipient of aid to become one of the largest donors of humanitarian relief in recent years. According to a new report by Global Humanitarian Assistance (GHA), Turkey now ranks third behind only the US and the UK in the amount of aid it gives, accounting for 7.3 percent...

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FOCUS: Floating bodies of refugees in the Mediterranean Sea

The United Nations estimates that more than 2,000 people have died this year while making their journey from North Africa into Europe. The Mediterranean Sea became the route of hope for many migrants and refugees. It was also a deadly route for many whose boats capsized and sank; for those who could...

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Get Away to Lefkoşa

Nicosia (Lefkoşa in Turkish) is the capital of both the TRNC and South Cyprus. The city has been divided since the outbreak of the Cyprus Conflict in December 1963, although the opening of the borders in April 2003 has enabled greater interaction between the two sides. There are now three crossing p...

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