Taner Öngür has been the torch-bearer for Turkish pop rock for decades, even baptising the genre with the name ‘Anatolian Pop’. The bass guitarist cum multi-instrumentalist has played with many of Turkey’s seminal artists, including Barış Manço, Erkin Koray, Ersen Dinleten and Selda Bağcan, and feat...
Two photographs, two family tragedies. The first of these show a three-year-old girl, Ayşe, wiping tears off her grandmother’s face with a tissue, oblivious to the tragedy her family has just suffered. The grandmother, also called Ayşe, is shedding tears for her daughter, little Ayşe’s mum Sonya Kay...
Ten days ago, I highlighted the plight of some 120 British nationals, many of Turkish Cypriot descent, stranded in North Cyprus due to the coronavirus pandemic. Lots of affected individuals, their British MPs, and community groups have all been lobbying the UK Foreign Office to demand their return.&...
Over 120 British nationals, many of them of Turkish Cypriot descent, are currently stranded in North Cyprus, unable to get any flights back to the UK. All international flights on both sides of the Cyprus divide were grounded In March to contain the coronavirus pandemic. In the same month, UK F...
With the circumstances that we are all experiencing at present, it is paramount that we look after our health and wellbeing. An important and crucial defence against any virus or infection is our immune system.Compromised nutritional status and poor lifestyle choices weaken the immune system. Howeve...
THIS EVENT HAS BEEN POSTPONED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE, DUE TO THE CORONAVIRUS Ladies, if you are after some fun and want to support a good cause, get yourselves a ticket to the Rauf Raif Denktaş Turkish School Ladies Night. Taking place at the Orpington branch of the stylish Hisa...
One of the most closely contested constituencies of this General Election is one in East London. Labour are after a big scalp: that of Iain Duncan Smith, the former Conservative leader and architect of the widely despised Universal Credit benefits system. Standing against him is Faiza Shaheen, a 36-...
Blessed with a heavenly voice, Olcay Bayır has been singing for as long as she can remember. She was born in Gaziantep to a Kurdish Alevi family steeped in the âşık (wandering minstrels) tradition, and her career as a classically-trained singer-songwriter is a perfect marriage of her roots and globa...
If you haven’t heard Dilara Fındıkoğlu’s name, where have you been? The London-based Turkish designer hit the headlines in September 2017 following her controversial Satan-themed catwalk show at St Andrew Holborn Church during London Fashion Week. Since then she’s enjoyed a meteoric rise, dress...
With the weather suddenly getting colder and a forecast that potentially four months of snow is heading towards the UK this winter, we are all at risk of catching a cold or flu. With its many uncomfortable symptoms, the inconvenience of having to take time off work, the disruption to our daily lives...
