Cem Erciyes

cerciyes@gazeteduvar.com.tr
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The enduring legacy of Nazım Hikmet Nazım Hikmet is one of greatest poets in the history Turkish literature. As a brazen communist, his work was most popular in left-wing circles, but bewitched even his literary adversaries with his energy, rhythm, and creativity. Today his poems are still being read, new books are being written about him, and exhibitions of his life and work are being opened; all evidence of his enduring legacy.
Solace from tensions The Istanbul Film Festival is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. Well, there’s no celebration, but that’s fine. Under pandemic conditions, it is the best activity that could be organized. For filmmakers and cinephiles, the festival offers the kind of mingling with each other we used to enjoy in Beyoğlu. Turkish institutions, artists make waves at the Venice Biennale Under the Venetian sun, Penone’s wise tree, rooted in the Venetian waters with the weight of an old stone, becomes the symbol of this invitation. The old tree stands in the water with all its serenity. It carries the burden of humanity like Atlas, but also embraces the world with its branches as if it is protecting the world from us.
What will happen to Istanbul's Gezi Park now? Like many similar foundations, the Sultan Beyazıt Han Foundation will want to convert Gezi Park into a building complex. Perhaps it will rent out the plot to markets, trade fairs and festivals that would impose an entrance fee. Whatever happens, vengeful decisions to reshape Taksim Square and Gezi Park are likely to spark further protests and tension. This would only amplify the polarization that prevails in Turkish society. Two new museums in Istanbul In the National Palaces Painting Museum in Dolmabahçe, a thick carpet covers its floors and visitors have to wear galoshes to enter the building. The entire place is dimly lit perhaps so as to prevent visitors from being distracted by the gilded ceilings. Only then can they focus on the paintings on the walls. Game over for Turkey’s national lottery Turkey’s National Lottery, which holds a unique place in the country’s literature, history, and daily life, seems to have been dealt a blow by the polarization of the country. Most buyers have lost faith that the money will be spent on a national cause. Turkey's stolen paintings and sculptures Generally, there is little love and respect for ancient art works and cultural heritage in Turkey. The reason for this may be that despite the entire “Anatolian civilizations” dissertation, we consider everything before the Turks as to be belonging to “someone else.” A new dream for Taksim What should a nice city square look like? As a person living in Istanbul, what would I want the heart of the city to look like? I asked these questions to myself. I figured that I would want it to be magnificent, somehow. But, more than anything else, I would want and demand that this public place becomes one with many people spending time on it throughout the day, a place that makes us come together, a spot that has a place in our lives. The Bomonti front in Turkey's culture wars Demolishing old distilleries and turning them into Islamic culture centers, alone, has its challenging symbolism, just by itself. It symbolizes the intolerance toward a lifestyle, the tension trying to be kept alive by setting cultural differences in Turkey against each other. Bringing Bellini's Mehmed the Conqueror painting back in Istanbul Since the day Ekrem İmamoğlu became the mayor of Istanbul in June 2019, I think the most elegant and meaningful thing he has done so far is buying the Mehmed the Conqueror portrait. The mayor and the team who developed and carried out this idea should be congratulated. The Grand Bazaar as a museum In a two-minute video late Reşad Ekrem Koçu, who is an unrivaled master of popular history in Turkey, defines the Grand Bazaar as a Turkish handicrafts museum. It has been depicted as a kind of a museum in the narratives of old travelers too. An abundance of readers with nowhere to buy books The Turkish Publishers Association issued the 2019 Book Market report last week. Looking at the figures in this report, we can say our relationship with books last year was superb. However, as of last month in Turkey and the rest of the world, there were no publishers left that were working as usual due to the COVID-19 outbreak. The "undecided moderns” of Turkish architecture In his recent book Professor Uğur Tanyeli discusses a widespread leaning in Turkish architecture. He does this by introducing five architects: Paul Schmitthener, Dimitris Pikionis, Hassan Fathy, Sedat Hakkı Eldem and Charles Correa. They have one commonality, which is that they have not unconditionally succumbed to modernism. How will Turkey enter the ‘Narrow Corridor’? Arter: the memory lane of Turkish contemporary art The contemporary art venue Arter moved to a new building with an inaugural program featuring four exhibitions drawn from its own collection as well as other exhibitions presenting the icons of Turkey's contemporary art scene. A dream comes true: art museum in Eskişehir This small but international museum in Eskişehir has immediately found its place among the second wave of private art museums in Turkey