The Three Old Ladies’ Tea opens with a young man appearing at a tram stop in the middle of the night, where he begins undressing before collapsing into a coma-like state, all while a policeman looks on uncomprehendingly. And in these opening paragraphs, we find the template by which Friedrich Glauser will continue to draw … Continue reading Review: The Three Old Ladies’ Tea by Friedrich Glauser
'Hiroshima Child' I come and stand at every door But none can hear my silent tread I knock and yet remain unseen For I am dead for I am dead I'm only seven though I died In Hiroshima long ago I'm seven now as I was then When children die they do not grow My … Continue reading ‘Hiroshima Child’ a poem by Nazim Hikmet
Flora is the daughter of a family from the town of Ray. Since the radio in their house can get reception only from the neighboring town of Hur, little Flora learns to sing songs in Hurrish before even learns to speak! But this should be kept a secret! A hundred years ago there had been … Continue reading ‘A White Line Between Us’ by Çiğdem Kaplangi, illustrated by Seçil Çokan
The author Ahmet Ümit writes: ‘’The tales in this book, I heard from my mother. My mother heard them from a storyteller nearly sixty years ago. It seems my grandfather never thought twice about hiring a storyteller to warm the cockles of his little girl's heart. She listened to many stories, though she couldn't always … Continue reading ‘A Tale Within A Tale’ by Ahmet Ümit
Ask most any Turkish citizen where to find the country’s most exciting food and the answer will inevitably be ‘Gaziantep’. Since 2015, when UNESCO recognized this south eastern province by listing it as a ‘Creative City’, word about the south eastern province’s rich and varied cuisine has spread beyond Turkey’s borders. Now, even foreign visitors … Continue reading ‘A Taste of Sun and Fire – Gaziantep Cookery,’ edited by Aylin Öney Tan
By Dayla Rogers The Ottoman Empire (1299-1923) was a mind-bogglingly diverse place. For nearly seven centuries all stripes of Muslim, Christian and Jewish people, falling into countless ethnic and linguistic groups, existed in relative harmony compared to Europe, where ghettos, pogroms and discrimination were commonplace. Sephardic Jews, defined as those of Spain and Portugal, were … Continue reading An Enduring Resonance: Turkey’s Jewish Voices
2017 Batchelder Honor Book and ALA Notable Book Once upon a time there was a ship that sailed beside the sun with very important people on board. The spirit of reinvention – and the importance we place on things – is beautifully expressed in José Sanabria’s visually evocative story. A steamship makes a journey across … Continue reading USBBY Outstanding International Book Pick: As Time Went By by José Sanabria
By Dr. Roberta Micallef European men and women fantasized about, wrote about and painted Middle Eastern, especially Ottoman/Turkish, women for decades. Ottoman and Turkish women were not silent passive participants in this conversation. They wrote back. Some participated in the stereotypes abounding about them and others fought them, but all of those who participated in … Continue reading Ottoman/Turkish Women’s Autobiographical Narratives, 19th to Early 20th Century
By Monica Fritz In this exquisite edition, two significant men collaborate: photographer Ara Güler and writer Orhan Pamuk. Both native to the city, and experts in their own right, through the visual and the written word, a natural union. Istanbul seems to be disappearing before our eyes. A glimpse of its magic can still be … Continue reading ‘Ara Guler’s Istanbul: 40 Years of Photographs’ with a foreword by Orhan Pamuk
THE JOURNEY “Travel is a sort of door through which one exits reality into an unexplored world that seems like a dream.” - Guy de Maupassant I had dreamt of visiting New York for years. I have always loved travelling and on earlier trips across the Atlantic I’d visited a number of cities, such as … Continue reading Excerpt: The Monk with No Past by Paolo Marrone
Global Literature in Libraries Initiative 