Category: Culture/Art

Oscar-winning musician calls for peace at Istanbul concert

VERCİHAN ZİFLİOĞLU

ISTANBUL – Hürriyet Daily News

World-renowned musician Yuval Ron and his ensemble will call for peace in the world at a concert in Istanbul. ‘Teach your children the teaching of Musa [Moses], which is [love your fellow man as yourself] and remember the teaching of Jesus Christ [to love your enemy],’ says the Israeli-born winner of Oscar and Grammy awards

Award-winning Israeli musician Yuval Ron, the leader of an ensemble of Arabic, Jewish and Christian artists, will call for peace in the world at his concert Thursday night in Istanbul’s Sultanahmet neighborhood.

“The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a wound I carry with me every day. It is a family fight because Arab and Jews, we are a family. You may say we are cousins but we are actually half-brothers, we have the same father,” the Israeli-born, U.S.-based musician told the Hürriyet Daily News after arriving in Turkey for the concert.

“When Abraham died, both his sons came together to bury him. They came together out of respect and love for their father, even though they were not on friendly terms during their lives and their mothers were in conflict,” Ron said. The leader of the Yuval Ron Ensemble, he has won a Grammy and many other awards, including an Oscar for the short musical film “West Bank Story,” to which he wrote the score.

Speaking about last year’s deadly attack by Israeli commandos on the Mavi Marmara, a ship carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza, Ron said: “It was a very unfortunate event of violence; unnecessary violence saddens me very much.”

Nine Turkish activists were killed onboard the vessel, souring relations between Turkey and Israel.

“It is important Turkey becomes a trusted leader of peace in the Middle East and is able to gain the friendship of both sides in the conflict,” Ron said.

The Mavi Marmara is to set sail to Gaza again in late June as part of an international group of 15 ships. According to convoy organizers with the Humanitarian Relief Foundation, or İHH, 500,000 people applied to join the second flotilla, which will carry approximately 1,500 activists from about 100 countries, as well as humanitarian aid and medical, school and construction materials.

Three Abrahamic traditions

Ron’s Istanbul concert will be held at 9 p.m. Thursday at the Amphi Theater in Sultanahmet Square. During the performance, three religious figures – a muezzin, who leads the call to prayer at a mosque, a cantor, or chief singer in a church choir, and a hazan, who sings or chants prayers in a synagogue – will take the stage to represent the three faiths.

“We will bring sacred music and singers from the three Abrahamic traditions, who will sing together to show people the beauty and harmony of all of us,” Ron said. “We will have a whirling dervish from the Mevlevi order and a Sufi master singer from Pakistan with us, as well as a singer from Yemen, a singer from Morocco and great masters of various musical instruments of the Middle East.”

The musician called for Istanbul to be “the leader of peace in the Middle East and a leader in peace between the East and West.”

“Istanbul is the meeting point of Asia and Europe, of East and West. Istanbul is the middle, and according to the mystical teaching of Judaism, Sufism and Buddhism, the ‘middle’ is the place of wisdom,” he added.

“Teach your children the teaching of Musa [Moses], which is to ‘love your fellow man as yourself’; remember the teaching of Jesus Christ to ‘love your enemy.’ Answer hate with love,” Ron said.

Ron’s concert is Istanbul is being organized in collaboration with the Intercultural Dialogue Platform, or KADIP, Kültür A.Ş. and the Koza Foundation. Admission to the concert is free but reservations must be made by emailing a ticket request to: sevdearpaci@gmail.com.

via Oscar-winning musician calls for peace at Istanbul concert – Hurriyet Daily News and Economic Review.

June 13, 2011
“Armenian Architects of Istanbul” Exhibition Opens in Yerevan | Hetq online

“Armenian Architects of Istanbul in the Era of Westernization” is a unique exhibition that opens in Yerevan on Tuesday, June 14 at 3pm at the National Museum – Institute of Architecture of Armenia.

Curated by Hasan Kuruyazıcı, the exhibition presents the role of forgotten Armenian architects in the process of forging the urban landscape of Istanbul.

The exhibition is the brainchild of the International Hrant Dink Foundation, in collaboration with HAYCAR Association and Istanbul 2010 European Capital of Culture Agency.

Visitors will be able to explore the life stories of more than 40 Armenian architects who lived between late 19th and early 20th centuries. The history, architectural drawings and documents about the ancient versions of 100 buildings that were designed by these architects will also be displayed at the exhibition via photographs and two short films.

The photographs of buildings, listed by Hasan Kuruyazıcı after his long trips through the streets of Kurtuluş-Tatavla, Pangaltı, Taksim, Cihangir, Tarlabaşı, Tünel, Galata, Eminönü and Mahmutpaşa, show us the contribution of Armenian architects in the westernization process of Istanbul.

Armenian architects played a significant role in the shaping up of the architectural silhouette of Istanbul by blending their knowledge based on tradition with Western architecture, which gradually brought the European style to Istanbul.

Designed by Erkal Yavi, the exhibition was previously held at Istanbul Modern Arts Museum, the Istanbul Bahceshir University and the Modern Arts Centre of Ankara Cankaya Municipality.

The exhibition will travel to Gyumri in September and Vanadzor in October. A book that features articles on the architects and architecture of the period together with the photographs of buildings has been published in Armenian-English and will be available at the exhibition.

The exhibition will be on view from June 14 – August 31at the National Museum – Institute of Architecture of Armenia, Republic Square Government Bldg. #3, 1st Floor, Yerevan. (+374 10) 524630

Visiting hours: Tuesday-Sunday 10:00am-5:00pm

via “Armenian Architects of Istanbul” Exhibition Opens in Yerevan | Hetq online.

June 13, 2011
The country with the evil eye

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By Suman Sharma | Place: Mumbai | Agency: DNA

In Turkey, they say, when God wants to reaffirm your belief in him, he first makes you lose your donkey and then, quite benevolently, makes you find it. To ward off an evil eye, all you have to do is put a loaf of bread on the victim’s head, cut it and distribute it among the poor.

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These are some of the more popular superstitions abound in Turkey, the country that introduced the world to evil eyes or nazar-botus. A 10,000 year old civilisation, attacked and conquered by at least six different rulers, Turkey is full of beliefs and superstitions, much like India.

Shukran Arslan, a 53-year-old married Turkish woman says, “May be these beliefs came from rural areas. They must haVe benefitted someone, and from there it all spread to the rest of the country.”

The evil-eye charm, worn to ward off bad luck, is famous across the world. These ‘eyes’ are blue with a black spot on them. Arslan explains the curious colouring. The nazar-botu is blue because Turkish people predominantly have blue coloured eyes, and the black spot is to ward off the evil.

There are various other superstitions that pervade every strata of Turkish life. Small babies for example are never called by their names, it is considered unlucky for the child, and it’s also believed if a baby is kissed on the lips it grows up to be a liar.

Gul Gamze, a young college student, when asked whether she believes in such superstitions, says, “I do not consciously believe in these beliefs, but since they are followed at home, they have been ingrained in me.” Interestingly, you can hardly spot a young Turk wearing the nazar-botu, which, nowadays seems to attract only foreigners.

Some like Ali Temiz, a young professional in his early thirties, are too busy living their lives to pay any attention to superstitions. “In this fast paced world, people really don’t have time to consider these superstitions. A black cat crossing your path is considered to bring bad luck, but how long can a person wait before it’s okay to cross?,” he asks incredulously.

Some Turkish beliefs and rituals, however, have more serious and life-altering effects. When a prospective groom and his family visit the girl’s house, it is expected that the girl will serve Turkish coffee to the boy’s family. However, in a rather hilarious twist, if the girl is not particularly enamoured by the boy, she expresses her displeasure by adding salt in the coffee, sending out a loud and clear message.

Shopkeepers in Turkey take their first earnings of the day, rub it once on their beards and throw it on the ground once before they pick it up and deposit it. Arslan explains that this is done in the hope of multiplying your earnings and is thrown away to ward off evil influences. Superstitions, omens and lucky charms are an indelible part of Turkish architecture. Red, for example, is the colour of wealth and power. So, all six hundred rooms of the Dolmabahce Palace are upholstered in red.

One wonders what it is about the Turks that make them so superstitious. Well, the Turks are a beautiful people. They are tall, fair with blue eyes and sharp Aryan features. They believe that their beauty, wealth, and health are the envy of others, which perhaps explains it all.

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via Turkey: The country with the evil eye – Lifestyle – DNA.

June 12, 2011
The church of Gidon Kremer

The church of Gidon Kremer

I’m not sure there’s another living violinist I appreciate as much as Gidon Kremer. I’ve seen him perform several times and interviewed him once and I never get tired of his approach, which is intense physically, intellectually open-minded and always full of the unexpected. When I learned he would be performing at the Istanbul Music Festival during our stay, I knew I had to go. Beyond that, Kremer’s concert took place in the Hagia Irene, a majestic surrounding. The church, just inside the walls of the Topkapi Palace, was originally built in the 4th century and rebuilt to its present state after an earthquake about 400 years later.

I took Lila as my date because my wife, Carlene, decided she would rather put Cal to bed than worry about me getting a one-year-old to sleep. By my eyes, that made Lila (easily) the only person in Hagia Irene under 18.

It is hard to imagine anything not feeling special in this church. You walk down a narrow, arched passageway into the main space, with columns and pillars lit from below. The performers were set to play under the done, with its 20 windows and flowers packed on each sill. There’s a reason, beyond the beauty, that the festival has held concerts here for 30 years: At 330 by 100 feet, the space forms a kind of shoebox, making it acoustically ideal.

Kremer and his group, Kremerata Baltica, arrived with a program designed to pay homage to Glenn Gould. First, the festival presented Kremer with a lifetime achievement award. Then, after a short exit, the violinist opened a first set heavy on Shostakovich. Lila was awake when intermission arrived, which surprised me considering the late hour and the fact my shoulder has supported her head through countless concerts. But she was clearly impressed by Kremer, though she would only verbalize that some of the music reminded her of “Young Frankenstein.”

We spent the intermission wandering the church as I explained to her why it was such a bummer that a giant Mercedes Benz banner had been hung in the middle of what I had hoped to be a tasteful photograph of the entrance hallway. The second set was a stunner, with Kremer displaying his range on works by Leonid Desyatnikov, Carl Vine, Valentin Silvestrov, Alexander Raskatov and an aria from Victor Kissine’s version of the Goldberg Variations. This final piece featured some of the most delicate harmonics of the night. In this beautiful church, Kremer used his bow as if he were closing an artery. Not a breathe could be heard in the hall. This audience was with his every stroke.

He played a short encore, including a rousing piece by Piazzolla. A woman screamed “bravo” from behind us, partially waking Lila, and my promise of a late-night soft serve did the rest of the job. We walked out of Topkapi, past the Blue Mosque and up the street until we reached our 1 lire cone of vanilla.

via The church of Gidon Kremer – Exhibitionist.

June 11, 2011
Top 10 summer music festivals in Europe

Dedicated to lovers of jazz, rock and rollers, or heavy metal fanatics, HotelTravel.com is pleased to present its Top 10 Summer Music Festivals in Europe for 2011:

1) Rock Werchter: Belgium’s Big Band Jam (June 30 to July 3)

Rock Werchter is one of the big five European music festivals, bringing together a host of the hottest acts for four days in the Belgian countryside. The event is held in the village of Werchter, which is an easy commute by train from Brussels. For great rates starting from just EUR 31 per night, click on our Brussels hotel promotion page.

2) Montreux Jazz Festival: Rhymes of Rock ‘n’ Fusion (July 1-16)

Back in 1967 when Claude Nobs chose this delightful town on the shores of Lake Geneva, the festival he inaugurated was only a three-day event and was almost purely dedicated to jazz. This year, good hotel deals are available on our Montreux hotel promotion page with rates from EUR 88 per night.

3) Oxegen Festival: A Blast of Fresh Eire (July 8-10)

If you want to attend one of this year’s greatest outdoor concerts, then look no further than Oxegen, Ireland’s biggest music festival featuring rock, pop, electro, hip hop, indie. The host town of Naas is less than an hour away from Dublin, so look over our Dublin hotel promotion page for low rates from only EUR 35 per night.

4) Rock’n Coke 2011 Fizzing Pop in Istanbul (July 16-17)

Summer time in Europe means festival time and this is no different in Turkey’s capital Istanbul, which hosts the Rock’n Coke Festival 2011. The event is held at Hezarfen Airfield outside the city, with HotelTravel.com featuring excellent rates on our Istanbul hotel promotion page starting from EUR 27 per night.

5) Sziget Puts Budapest in Party Fest Zone (August 8-15)

The Sziget Festival has a multi-cultural theme, which has been built upon to such an extent that half of the fest’s visitors come from outside Hungary, and it received a top-ten rating at the European Festival Awards. Scroll through our Budapest hotel promotion page for deals from only EUR 12 per night.

6) Oslo Jazz Festival Silver Anniversary Swing (August 15-20).

To celebrate its silver anniversary, the Oslo Jazz Festival has invited a very pleasant group of friends – not too crazy, not too conservative – to perform from August 15-20 at a variety of venues throughout the city. Rates on HotelTravel.com’s Oslo hotel promotion page start from EUR 75 per night.

7) Pukkelpop Festival Oozes Entertainment in Belgium by (August 18-20).

One European festival causes quite a stir with a mixture of both contemporary and progressive acts on its bill – The Pukkelpop Festival. Fortunately our Antwerp hotel promotion page offers deals starting from EUR 48 per night.

8) V Festival: As Up North, So Down South (August 20-21)

This year, US rapper Eminem and the pride of Barbados, Rihanna, are just two acts that will hit the stage at “V Fest.” Our Birmingham hotel promotion page has deals from only EUR 25 per night.

9) Reading Festival Rolls In and Rocks Out (August 26-28)

This popular event is twinned with Leeds Festival, in northern England, with both being held on the same weekend and sharing the same acts. Our Reading hotel promotion page has rates starting from EUR 40 per night.

10) Leeds Festival: By Gum, it’s Back (August 26-28)

The annual Leeds Festival, a 3-day event, is packed with music, a bit of comedy and, well, more music. HotelTravel.com has heaps of excellent deals on its Leeds hotel promotion page from EUR 34 per night.

via Top 10 summer music festivals in Europe | Travel News.

June 10, 2011
Turkey-Israel concert for religious tolerance canceled due to IHH pressure

* Published 20:52 09.06.11
* Latest update 20:52 09.06.11

Turkey-Israel concert for religious tolerance canceled due to IHH pressure

‘Three Religions’ concert to be held in Istanbul canceled at last minute after IHH and other Islamic organizations claim Israel participation in event ‘unacceptable’ and a ‘provocation’.

Mavi Marmara-AP- May 22, 2010 The Mavi Marmara, aboard which Israel's deadly raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla resulted in the deaths of 9 Turkish activists May 22, 2010 Photo by: AP

By Haaretz Service Tags: Israel Turkey Gaza flotilla Gaza

A Turkish concert meant to bridge the religious divide between Jews, Christians and Muslims was canceled at the last minute Thursday due to pressure from a Turkish humanitarian NGO, according to a Channel 10 report.

Members of the Turkish Humanitarian Relief foundation (IHH) along with other Islamic organizations demanded that organizers cancel the “Three Religions” concert to be held in Istanbul, claiming that Israeli participation in the event was “unacceptable”.

“This [the call for cancellation of the concert] is an act of people and not the government,” Hussein Arutch told Channel 10, identifying himself as an IHH member who was aboard the Mavi Marmara Gaza-bound flotilla last year. Nine activists were killed by Israel Defense Forces soldiers when the ship attempted to breach a naval blockade on Gaza in May of last year.

Arutch told Channel 10 that the decision to hold the concert so close to the one-year-anniversary of the flotilla incident was “unacceptable”, adding that they are not against the concert itself, but rather events organized by Israel’s consulate in Turkey, calling it a “provocation”.

The IHH activist said that Israel owes the Turkish government an apology, and that Israel’s attempt to hold an event in Istanbul “only makes the problem worse”.

“We will not allow for the normalization of relations of relations [with Israel] after nine of our people were killed aboard the flotilla, and so long as the siege and occupation persist in Palestine.”

The Israeli Consulate in Turkey expressed deep disappointment over the last-minute cancellation, saying that it was due to Turkish, not Israeli pressure that the event was cancelled.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Yigal Palmor said that “it is no surprise that the IHH opposes an event that’s main focus is tolerance between religions. Whoever has a terrorist attitude pulls out a gun whenever they hear the word culture.”

via Turkey-Israel concert for religious tolerance canceled due to IHH pressure – Haaretz Daily Newspaper | Israel News.

June 10, 2011