contributors

Phoenix canariensis

Farewell to a Mediterranean icon

Mashallah region

A native of the Canary Islands, the Phoenix canariensis was planted en masse on the Riviera in the 19th century. For vacationers and locals alike, this palm has come to embody the Mediterranean ideal of leisure and rest. But 150 years later, it is facing a deadly threat.

An epistolary quest for peace

Interview with Raffi Wartanian

CultureSociety Yerevan

Direct contacts between Armenians and Azerbaijanis are almost non-existent. Founded by Raffi Wartanian, the Letters for Peace project is an attempt to create ties between young people from both countries through epistolary exchanges. 

In godly trance

Zikr in Georgia's Pankisi Valley

CultureSociety Mashallah region

Kists in Georgia’s Pankisi Valley have traditionally embraced sufism, and Sufi orders – or tariqas – have played a major role in structuring society and organising religious practices through collective rituals. One of their most treasured practices is zikr, the remembrance of Allah.

Izmir’s art revival

Talking to Nursaç Sargon

Izmir

With the new art season about to start, we spoke to curator Nursaç Sargon about her project Monitor Izmir and the decentralisation of Turkey’s artistic scene.

Caring for Georgia’s old wooden mosques

Culture Batumi

Georgia harbours a valuable, often forgotten, Muslim heritage. The project “Indigenous Outsiders” aims to let people discover the old wooden mosques of the Adjara province.

Fueling Turkish feminism with satire and humour

CultureSociety Istanbul

Bayan Yanı is a Turkish satirical magazine led by women. Cartoonists and writers make readers not only think but also laugh in a feminist way.

Educating out of the box

Aziz Nesin’s living heritage

CultureRights & dissent Istanbul

The Nesin Foundation is the creation one of Turkey’s biggest writers who thought education should always bring out the best in children.

Fighting back with a camera

Interview with Marie-Rose Osta

Culture Beirut

Marie-Rose Osta’s last project, called “GangBang”, is a short, catchy silent movie that was screened during the last Lebanese Film Festival in Beirut.

Addicted to birds

Society Istanbul

“For birds’ sake” is a photo book by Cemre Yesil and Maria Sturm about Istanbul birdmen. More than a hobby, the bird lovers speak of an addiction.

Telling kids’ stories in everyday Arabic

Culture Mashallah region

“The Girl Who Lost Her Imagination” is a new book for kids that aims at making the Arabic language accessible to bilingual children.