Category: Asia and Pacific

“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
Turkey, Azerbaijan plan joint production of anti-tank missiles

PanARMENIAN.Net – Director General of ROKETSAN Huseyn Baysak said a number of countries, including Azerbaijan take interest in anti-tank missiles projected by the Turkish engineers. Azerbaijan is also interested in the joint production of these missiles.

“We finished the work on the project of long-range anti-tank missile system UMTAS and begin its tests. UMTAS is launched from helicopters and can strike all ground targets, including tanks. This is ROKETSAN’s national product and no foreign technologies were used in this project”, said Baysak.

The company is planning to begin serial production of UMTAS after the tests finish in 2012. The system of maximum 4-km range can be installed on tripod or vehicles. It will be used against the most armored vehicles.

UMTAS missiles have 160-mm caliber, above 37.5kg weight, 1750-mm length and can effectively reach targets in 8 km, APA reported.

via Turkey, Azerbaijan plan joint production of anti-tank missiles – PanARMENIAN.Net.

June 6, 2011
People singing Kurdish, Armenian songs not arrested in Turkey any more

PanARMENIAN.Net – People singing songs in Kurdish would have been arrested five years ago, the Diyarbakır state prosecutor told an audience Friday, June 3, adding that rational people do not stand against change, but instead encourage it.

Durdu Kavak, the chief prosecutor of the southeastern province, attended a ceremony Friday that was organized by Dicle University and featured conservatory artists singing songs in Turkish, Kurdish, Zaza dialect and Armenian.

“Had I participated such a program in 2006, when I first came here, and had such a piece [in Kurdish] been sung, I would have immediately left the ceremony, and then detained and arrested everyone singing the song,” Kavak said following the ceremony, adding that Diyarbakır has gone through many changes in general, Hurriyet Daily News reported citing Anatolia agency.

“The song called ‘Leyla’ was especially beautiful. Leyla is the name of a girl I once fell in love with while in university,” Kavak added.

Diyarbakır Gov. Mustafa Topark and university rector Ayşegül Jale Saraç were also present at the ceremony, which was organized for the university’s Medicine Faculty being granted the “ISO 900” certificate.

“They say the only unchangeable thing is change itself. Anyone who is rational does not stand [against] change, but rather encourages change. I thank you all for encouraging such a change,” Kavak said in his speech.

via People singing Kurdish, Armenian songs not arrested in Turkey any more – PanARMENIAN.Net.

June 5, 2011
Turkey plans to open bank in China

GÖKHAN KURTARAN

ISTANBUL – Hürriyet Daily News

The Turkish Central Bank and the Chinese Central Bank are negotiating to support trade in national currencies, says Turkish Deputy PM Ali Babacan (2nd L).

Turkey plans to open a bank in China as a result of the developing trade and monetary relations between the two countries, according to a statement by Turkish Deputy Prime Minister and Economy Minister Ali Babacan.

The Bank of China, the Asian county’s third-largest lender by market value, has received a license to open a branch in Istanbul, Babacan said while speaking at the Turkey China business forum held Thursday in Istanbul.

The Turkish Central Bank and the Chinese Central Bank are negotiating to support trade in national currencies, the economy minister added. “We are pleased to see that the head of the branch has been assigned by the bank to operate in Istanbul,” he said.

“We are also trying to open a Turkish bank in China as soon as possible,” Babacan said, noting that the Turkish government hopes to develop a long-term and multidimensional strategic partnership with China.

The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, or ICBC, has also been looking for opportunities to open branches in Turkey, Ning Zhang, the secretary-general of the standing committee of Shenyang Municipal People’s Congress, told the Hürriyet Daily News earlier. Chinese banks started to plan new branches in Turkey following a November meeting between Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao in Ankara, agreeing to use local currencies, the Turkish Lira and the yuan, in bilateral trade.

More than 50 Chinese companies looking for investment and trade opportunities in the Turkish market joined Thursday’s event.

Leading energy firms from the two countries agreed to invest nearly $120 million in a solar-energy business in Turkey, the top executive of Turkey’s Akfel Engineering told the Daily News during the forum.

CEEG Solar Science & Technology, the largest solar-cell manufacturing company in China, will directly invest nearly $100 million in a new solar plant in southern Turkey, said Fatih Baltacı of Akfel. He added that his firm will invest nearly $20 million in the project.

The total electricity-generation capacity of the solar plant will be nearly 50 megawatts, according to Baltacı. “Turkey plans to reach a total of 600 MW of energy generated through solar power plants within four years,” Baltacı said, adding that Chinese solar-energy companies, primarily CEEG, are looking for a bigger share of this market.

“I believe that more investment will come to Turkey,” he said.

“The Bank of China may fund the Chinese firm for the solar investment in Turkey,” Baltacı said, noting that the location of the investment has not yet been decided, but the negotiations are continuing between the companies.

More firms eying Turkey

The DAQQ Group, which has 23 subsidiaries and joint venture companies cooperating with Germany’s Siemens and Moeller, the U.S. firm Eaton and the Swiss firm Secheron, is meanwhile eyeing investments in hydropower stations in Turkey, the Daily News has learned.

Huadong Electrical & Mechanical Engineering plans new investments in hydropower stations and renewable energy in Turkey, while Chinese manufacturers of construction equipment, including Jiangsu Jianhua Concrete Pile and Fuzhou Xia, aim to manufacture equipment in the Turkish market. The leading Chinese construction firms Shanghai Euro Sunshine Group and Zhongwei Real Estate are meanwhile among the companies looking for investment opportunities in Turkey’s rapidly growing property market.

via Turkey plans to open bank in China – Hurriyet Daily News and Economic Review.

June 5, 2011
Achievements of Kazakhstan highly appraised in Turkey

The conference dedicated to the 20th anniversary of independence of Kazakhstan and the Kazakh-Turkish relations was held in Istanbul. The conference was organized by the Embassy of Kazakhstan in Turkey.

Kazakh Ambassador to Turkey Zhanseit Tuimebayev told about the achievements of Kazakhstan in political, socio-economic, cultural-humanitarian and other spheres that had been accomplished by Kazakhstan over the years of independence and about the relations with Turkey developing in the strategic partnership mode.

The participants of the conference highly appraised the pace of development of Kazakhstan in so many spheres and processes of modernization democratization of society.

The grand ceremony of awarding prizes to prominent figures, politicians and representatives of business community of Turkey for contribution to development and strengthening of friendship and cooperation between the two countries was organized within the framework of the event.

via Eng.Gazeta.kz – Achievements of Kazakhstan highly appraised in Turkey.

June 4, 2011
Erasing traces of Armenian presence: Turkey accused of misrepresenting history of monuments

By Gayane Abrahamyan

Armenian experts are warning that in Turkey almost everywhere panels telling about Armenian monuments present distorted information, which shows a consistent attempt by Turks to erase Armenian traces inside what now is within the borders of their state.

“While generally signs and notices placed near monuments are designed to inform tourists, in Turkey their special purpose is to mislead them and present a totally different history,” says specialist in Oriental studies Raffi Kortoshyan, who works as an expert for Research on Armenian Architecture NGO.

One of such outrageous examples cited by Armenian experts is the huge information panel near the ruins of Ani that presents the history of the area beginning from the Stone Age and chronologically presents almost everything, except its Armenian period, while the royal Armenian dynasty of the Bagratunis is presented as the Bagratoglu emirate.

“Perhaps they did not have enough space for Armenians,” Kortoshyan comments with irony, adding that such cases aren’t inadvertent omissions but rather amount to a consistent policy in Turkey.

“Often we see that when a brazen lie is written on a panel, it only has one variant, in Turkish, while in English this passage is omitted, because they realize that the lie is too blatant,” he says.

Experts at the monuments studying NGO highlight the important of the joint initiative of the Turkish government and the World Monuments Fund to restore the St. Savior Church and the Cathedral of Ani, but they believe the results of the restoration work will be questionable unless Armenian specialists are engaged in the projects.

NGO head Samvel Karapetyan says that under the guise of restoration work they also distort the original Armenian architectural form.

“They try to restore it, but in reality we see wrong restoration and distortions. A visual image distortion is committed and it seems to me that there is no desire and their professional ability is not enough to implement proper restoration,” says Karapetyan.

He says according to his information there is no desire yet to engage Armenian specialists in the restoration project in Ani.

via Erasing traces of Armenian presence: Turkey accused of misrepresenting history of monuments – News | ArmeniaNow.com.

June 2, 2011