US actor Kevin Spacey will be in Istanbul for five performances this October with a starring role in Shakespeare’s ‘Richard III.’ The play, which will be staged as part of the Istanbul Theater Festival, is directed by British director Sam Mendes

The Istanbul Theater Festival will feature two special guests this October when Academy Award-winning actor Kevin Spacey and Oscar-winning director Sam Mendes bring William Shakespeare’s “Richard III” to the city for five performances.

“Richard III,” which staged its world premiere in June in London to great acclaim, will appear at the Harbiye Muhsin Ertuğrul Stage between Oct. 5 and 9.

Mendes and Spacey have won five Academy Awards including the honors for best actor and best director in 1999 for their collaborate work, “American Beauty.” The duo has come together again now to produce “Richard III,” one of Shakespeare’s most famous historical plays.

The Galata Tower (Galata Kulesi ) — called Christea Turris by the  Genoese— is a medieval stone tower in the Galata district of İSTANBUL, just to the north of the Golden Horn. One of the city’s most striking landmarks, it is a high, cone-capped cylinder that dominates the skyline and affords a panoramic vista of Old Istanbul and its environs

THE GALATA TOWER RESTAURANT Is located at the top of the tower which offers a breathtaking view of Istanbul 

20.00-21.00 : Dinner Service
21.00-21.30 : Band begins to play
21.30-21.45 : Folk Dances
21.50-22.20 : Harem Show
22.20-22.35 : Caucasus Folk Dances
22.35-22.50 : 2. Belly dance
22.50-23.50 : Showmen Chanteure

“I FEEL ALL MUSIC AND JOY OF THE WORLD INSIDE MYSELF”

YANNI IS PERFORMING IN ISTANBUL

DATE : 18 SEPTEMBER 2011            

TIME : 20:00              

PLACE : Sortie             

CITY : İstanbul

He earned Grammy nominations for his 1992 album, Dare to Dream, and the 1993 follow-up,In My Time. His breakthrough success came with the 1994 release of Yanni Live at the Acropolis, deemed to be the second best-selling music video of all time. Yanni has since performed live in concert before in excess of two million people in more than 20 countries around the world. He has accumulated more than 35 platinum and gold albums globally, with sales totaling over 20 million copies. Yanni is considered to be one of the top fundraisers of all time for public television. His compositions have been included in all Olympic Games television broadcasts since 1988, and his music has been used extensively in television and televised sporting events. His music is frequently described as “NEW AGE”, though he prefers the term “contemporary instrumental”.

DATE.13 SEPTEMBER

CITY. ISTANBUL

PLACE.HARBIYE CEMIL TOPUZLU OPEN AIR THEATER

MACIAS WILL BE MEETING ISTANBULLERS ON 13TH SEPTEMBER AT HARBIYE OPEN AIR THEATRE.BEING ONE OF THE MOST POPULAR FOREIGN SINGERS IN TURKEY, ENRICO IS EXPECTED TO CREATE AN ATHMOSPHERE OF ROMANCE AND NOSTALGIA IN HIS FORTHCOMING CONCERT

In 19th-century Pera (Todaty’s Beyoglu) a traditional tram trundled along the Grande Rue de Pera Istiklal caddesi)  for 1.64 km (1 mile) connecting Taksim Square with Galatasaray and Tünel Square.

TRAMS IN THE OLD DAYS

The tram was taken out of service in 1961, replaced by buses.After  Istişlal Caddesi became a pedestrian zone, the tram was restored and revived in 1990.

TODAY TRAVELLING BY TRAMS BETWEEN TAKSIM SQUARE AND TUNEL COULD BE A FUN

Although it’s as much a curiosity as a means of transport, you’ll find it useful if your feet are tired while walking Beyoglu’s main shopping and dining avenue with plentitude of night clubs and taverrns.

The termini are Taksim Square and Tünel Square. AtGalatasaray Square, half-way alongIstiklal Caddesi, the trams from opposite directions meet and cross paths, also stopping to take on or set down passengers. There are only two other stops along the route.The historic tram cars are small and cannot hold many passengers, and are often full. The ride is relatively slow (for one thing, the conductor must constantly ring his bell to clear the way of pedestrians), but pleasant—a good quick tour of İstiklal Caddesi.

Despite their antiquity, the trams carry an average of 6000 passengers dailyYou can take the tram in one direction, then walk back along İstiklal Caddesi for a closer look, or a stop at its wide range of sops, restaurants and taverns.

INTERNATIONAL ISTANBUL FASHION FAIR

22 – 24 Sep 2011 (various dates)

The breadth and depth of the Turkish ready-to-wear clothing industry is revealed at the biannual International Istanbul Fashion Fair, held at the CNR Expo. Turkish and international designers manufacturers, importers, global brands, retailers and department chains are all present.

ISTANBUL HOUSEWARE AND GIFT FAIR

23 – 27  Sep 2011 (annual)

The Istanbul Houseware & Gift Fair at the Tuyap Fair Center showcases the latest design trends from Eastern and Western markets. On offer is a plethora of gift ideas, from glassware, ceramics and leather goods to handwoven Assamese products

STREET ART FESTIVAL

Sep 2011 (annual)

Paintings, graffiti, music and the performing arts enliven the streets of Istanbul for three days during the Street Art Festival. Free to both artists and visitors, the initiative supports cultural exchange through the arts.

08 – 18 SEPTEMBER 2011.

İzmir International Fair is the oldest tradeshow inTurkey, considered the cradle of Turkey’s fairs and expositions industry, and is also notable for hosting a series of simultaneous festival activities. The fair and the festival are held in the compound of İzmir’s vast inner city park named Kültürpark in the first days of September, and organized by IZFAŞ,.The 77th İzmir International Fair took place between 22 August – 31 August 2008. The dates in 2009 were August 28 – September 6. İzmir International Fair is also the most venerable member (since 1948) from Turkey of UFI, the association of the world’s leading tradeshow organisers and fairground owners, as well as the major national and international associations of the exhibition industry, and its partners. The musical and other cultural events that accompany the commercial fair and that had actually started out as an auxiliary activity to attract popular interest for the event have become, over the years, a school by themselves.

The fair itself is not limited to a theme, the participants are generally simply required to expose products with export or import potential, although each year a specific field of activity, a country and a Turkish province is put in limelight. Fields of activity or expertise relating to such sectors as theautomotive industry, electric tools and devices,electronic , working machinery and equipment, foodstuff  and packaging have always been well-represented in İzmir Fair.

This year Ramadan is expected to begin on or around August 1and finish on or around August 29, 2011. The exact dates of Islamic holidays cannot be determined in advance, because of the nature of the Islamıc lunar calendar. Estimates are based on expected visibility of the moon (waxing crescent moon following a new moon) and may vary according to location

Celebrating the holy month of Ramadan is a  special event Istanbul. A festive atmosphere is felt  everywhere. Most of the Ramadan Entertainments take place at Taksim Gezi Park and around the Hıppodrome. Any evening during the Ramadan one should not miss visiting  the Hippodrome area for the joyous celebrtations ,with many families enjoying their meals and  making fun, in such plessant

atmosphere

All the mosques light messages strung between their minarets. This seems to be  a very old tradition in Turkey, called ‘Mahya’ and is a very old art form. It is sad that most of the mahya making experts have passed away, The messages mostly read “Hoşgeldin Ramazan ayın sultanı”-”Welcome Ramazan,sultan of the months”. While lighting used to be achieved by means of oil lamps in old days, electric bulbs are used in our day.

Probably the most famous thing in Istanbul is the huge fair that sets up around the Hippodrome. As Iftar(dinner time) approaches the gardens around there are filled up with people carrying picnic baskets which are shared by all sitting nearby. There are stalls and litlle kiosks everywhere  selling much looked for traditional food as well as  handicrafts , books, religious objects , in a colourful surrounding.

The mosques are busy at yatsi naturally and often carpets are laid outside to accommodate the great number of attendants.Huge Iftar  tents are set up by various organisations as well as ordinary people to feed people during Ramazan.

Some non Muslim visitors are concerned about visiting Istanbul during this period yet this is a wonderful time for everybody regardless of faith.

The atmosphere really is very special!

Located on the top of the “Bulbul” mountain 9 km ahead of Ephesus, the shrine of Virgin Mary enjoys a marvelous atmosphere  hidden in the green. It is the place where Mary may have spent her last days. Indeed, she may have come in the area together with Saint John, who spent several years in the area to spread Christianity. Mary preferred this remote place rather than living in crowded place. On Bulbul Dag (Nightingale mountain) there is the House of the Virgin where it’s believed that she passed last years of her life and died. She came to Ephesus together with St John and taken up to Panaghia Kapulu mountain to survive the Roman persecutions. The House was destroyed by many earthquakes Nun Catherine Emmerich who saw its location in her visions. It is recognized as a shrine by Vatican. Now the House of Virgin Mary is renovated by George Quatman Foundation from Ohio and serves as a small church which attracts many Christians  coming to pray for Her. The Mass is held here every Sunday. On 15th August 2000 there was a great ceremony for the Assumption of the Virgin.

The house is a typical Roman architectural example, entirely made of stones. In the 4th century AD, a church, combining her house and grave, has been built. The original two-stored house, which consisted of an anteroom (where today candles are proposed), bedroom and praying room (Christian church area) and a room with fireplace (chapel for Muslims). A front kitchen fell into ruins and has been restored in 1940′s. Today, only the central part and a room on the right of the altar are open to visitors. From there one can understand that this building looks more like a church than a house.

TURKISH DOLMA

Dolma is a verbal noun of the Turkish verb dolmak, ‘to be stuffed’, and means ‘stuffed thing’.

Dolma is a stuffed vegetable, that is, a vegetable that is hollowed out and filled with stuffing. This applies to courgette , tomato, pepper, eggplant, and the like; Dishes involving wrapping leaves such as vine leaves or cabbage leaves around a filling are called sarma. Sarma is derived from the verb sarmak which means ‘to wrap’. Other variants derive from the Turkish word for ‘leaf’, yaprak.

Dolma cooked with olive oil without minced meat is sometimes called yalancı which means ‘liar’ or ‘fake’ in Turkish. It is ‘fake’ because it does not contain meat.

The filling generally consists of rice, minced meat or grain. In either case, the filling includes onion, parsley, herbs and spices. Meatless fillings are cooked with olive oil and include raisins,nuts or pulses.

Lets  make a typical Turkish minced meet pepper dolma

• 9 medium sized green bell peppers cored from the top leaving base sealed
• stuffing;

3medium sized tomatoes skinned and pureed

1 onion,grated

1 hanfull of chopped dill

1 handfull of chopped parsley

11/2 cups of rice

300 gramms of minced meat

Fill green peppers  with stuffing until 1cm from top.Insert a pıece of tomato on top -skinside up- as cover Place peppers upright in a saucepan.
Sprinkle 2 teaspoons salt over peppers and carefully pour 2 cups boiling water mixed red pepper paste into pan

Cover pan, place on fire on high heat and bring to boil, turn heat down to a gentle simmer and cook for 40 minutes.
When cooked remove from heat. Cool slightly before serving.