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
An Enduring Resonance: Turkey’s Jewish Voices
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
Ottoman/Turkish Women’s Autobiographical Narratives, 19th to Early 20th Century
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
‘Ara Guler’s Istanbul: 40 Years of Photographs’ with a foreword by Orhan Pamuk
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
Be Part of International Reading Campaign: ‘One Book, Many Communities’ in April 2017
This year's book is Ghassan Kanafani's classic Returning to Haifa, originally published in Arabic in 1969 and translated into English by Barbara Harlow.
Global Literature in Libraries Initiative 