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 News Art & Culture |
 The Road To Elmalı |  So glorious is the coast road that runs between Kaş and Olympos that most visitors never even think about diverting from it. However, here's a tip for anyone keen to get off the beaten track. There's a road that cuts inland, heading north from Finike to Elmalı, and if you take this road, not only will it give you the chance to visit two little known archeological sites at Limyra and Arykanda, as well as Elmalı, a town highly rated for its old Ottoman houses, but you could if you wanted just keep driving straight on and so creep up on Antalya from the rear. Finike itself is not much to write home about. A small town best known for its orange harvest, it boasts a pleasing but private marina and a handful of old houses, most of them tucked away in the market streets out of sight of continue... |
| | Seeing Women In Sports |  Approximately one-third of the licensed athletes in Turkey are female. There are women's basketball and soccer teams, and volleyball is equally popular among males and females. But sports coverage in the Turkish media focuses on men's soccer and basketball with only occasional stories about women athletes. And one rarely sees women playing competitive sports on İstanbul's ball fields. It is remarkable, therefore, to happen upon an art gallery displaying paintings of girls involved in physical competition. As it happens the gallery is in the Hamra district of Beirut, Lebanon. Currently on exhibit at Agial Gallery through Dec. 27, Tamara Al Samerraei's paintings show girls in activities typically associated with boys. These girls play with toy guns, play soccer and ride horses, bi continue... |
| | Finding My Inner Farmer |  Planting a pair of kiwi trees seemed like an exotic idea at first, a test to see if our rugged stretch of new-bought mountainside could be made safe for civilized plant life.
The man at the Ministry of Agriculture's Mediterranean Research Station in Antalya certainly thought I looked exotic, too, with my city clothes, soft hands and greenhorn questions.
"You do know that you need both a male and female kiwi? And do you know you'll need to shade them 50 percent, water them morning, noon and night, you understand? It's well past their ideal planting season."
I nodded impatiently. The man's dubiousness hardened my determination. We walked together to a glass-house, where a few unhappy looking kiwis remained. He sexed two of them. I pretended to understand how he tol continue... |
| | Turkish Food: The World's Oldest Fusion Cuisine |  We Turks generally describe our kitchen as "one of the most amazing in the world." Well to my knowledge this is debatable, particularly when there are other popular Euro-cuisines like French and Italian or Eastern flavors such as Chinese or Indian, of course the latter spreading with the help of population movement towards the West in previous decades.
It is really hard to find a proper Turkish restaurant in Europe or in the US, while you may encounter many of the other examples. "Chef Ramazan" becomes "Chef Ramazotti" and serves Italian rather than Turkish dishes... Döner becomes gyro... When you ask a German or an Englishman about Turkish food they generally think of a greasy kebab shop, tucked away in a corner of the high street. Unfortunately these small "open-till-mornin continue... |
| | The Zeugma Mosaics: Gaziantep's Crowning Glory |  Until 2005 most people viewed Gaziantep as a mere transit point en route to supposedly more interesting places in Southeastern Turkey -- such as the colossal statues atop Mt. Nemrut or Urfa's pools of Abraham.
All that changed with the completion and opening in June of that year of the massive new wing of the city's archaeological museum. Built to house the magnificent finds from the nearby Hellenistic/ Roman city of Zeugma, Gaziantep and its museum now boast one of the premier collections of Roman mosaics anywhere in the world.
Not only is the quality of workmanship of the mosaics superb, so is the way in which they are exhibited. Central to the museum is a partial recreation, using original materials, of a room from a Roman villa at Zeugma. The intricate mosaic flo continue... |
| | Antalya: 48 Hours in The City |  The bustling city of Antalya is the gateway to Turkey's Mediterranean coast. For the vast majority of visitors, however, there is only one place in the city they'll get to see -- the airport. Bussed straight out to the burgeoning resorts to the east and southwest of the city and held virtually captive in the all-inclusive splendor of their beachside hotels, the delights of Antalya are as elusive as a picnic in the park for a prison inmate. If you've got a weekend to spare and fancy combining swimming in the Mediterranean, relaxed meals out, buzzing nightlife and a few bite-sized chunks of history -- all without stepping outside the city limits -- Antalya is the place to choose. What follows is a personal itinerary from a long-time Antalya resident and guidebook writer. These are suggest continue... |
| | The Flowers of the Lake District: Three Nature Walks |  The tall limestone mountains in Spain, Greece and Turkey are the only places in Europe where wild peonies still grow. One place is unique -- Kasnak National Park in the Taurus Mountains, home not only to Paeonia maculata but also to a unique endemic oak tree -- the volcanic oak (Quercus vulcanica). In a sheltered dell on a steep limestone slope stands the type specimen, a 600-year-old granddaddy over 30-meters-high. Straight and sturdy, this tree is surrounded by groves of smaller oaks, which together form a sheltering canopy of dappled shade over the lush forest floor. Below the oaks are carpets of the park’s other wonder -- the wild peony. Early to mid-May is the time to see these brilliant cerise peonies, their upturned cups filled with golden stamens. The tall yellow daisies o continue... |
| | Aspendos and Side: Festivals in the Ancient Theaters |  Imagine taking your theater seat in the self-same spot a Roman citizen would have some 1,800 years ago! OK, the limestone beneath you is hard (local theater lovers in the know bring their own cushions) but it’s still radiating warmth absorbed in the heat of the day. Above, the only roof is a soft, purple-black and star-strewn sky. From outside the ancient theater at Aspendos, the best preserved in Asia Minor, comes the incessant chirrup of cicadas. Inside the noise is equally insistent -- the murmurings of a positive babel of voices -- with Turkish, German, English, and Russian most prominent. As the 10,000-strong audience settles down, the sound of popping wine corks mingles with the hum of stringed-instruments as the musicians warm up in the orchestra. The views from the s continue... |
| | A Thousand and One Nights in Antalya |  The Mediterranean holiday resort city of Antalya will this summer host the second edition of the international sand sculpture exhibition with the theme of "A Thousand and One Nights," the event's organizers announced Wednesday. The sand festival, organized by the ProSandArt organization company, will run from June 20 through Sept. 20 at Konyaaltı Beach Park, the company's owner, Çağdaş Alagöz, told the Anatolia news agency. He said they were expecting some 70 artists, including 30 sand sculptors from various countries, to take part in the event.
Preparations are already under way for the festival, where around 6,000 tons of sand will be utilized, he revealed, adding that the festival would take place on an area of 5,000 square meters. Artists will continue... |
| | Fire Of Anatolia Burns Nonstop At Aspendos |  The Turkish dance ensemble Anadolu Atesi -- known internationally as the Fire of Anatolia -- will be performing at Antalya's ancient Aspendos Theater for the next six months. This announcement puts an end to debates about whether the two-millennia-old theater, in urgent need of restoration work, would continue to host artistic performances. The tickets for this summer's performances of the ensemble's new show, "Troya" (Troy), went on sale earlier this month amid criticism from specialists. The ensemble, under the supervision of its art director and founder Mustafa Erdoğan, will perform three shows every week at the ancient theater, which is also due to host the Turkish State Opera and Ballet's annual Aspendos International Opera and Ballet Festival in June. The Cul continue... |
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