DİLŞAH KEFLİOĞLU Surrounded by fortress walls, Istanbul’s historical peninsula has a seven-hill structure. Therefore, the historical peninsula is also known as the ‘City on the Seven Hills’. It is not possible to visit all these cities in a day. A single day is not at all sufficient to see and scrutinize everything in a town full of layers of historical patterns. For this reason, we wish to take you on a tour of books and culture towards Eminönü from the Beyazıt-Süleymaniye hill – the midpoint of Istanbul’s historical peninsula. Now, we are at the Beyazıt Square. On our left is the Central Campus of the Istanbul University and on our right remains the Beyazıt Mosque that named the square…We head towards the Sahaflar Çarşısı – the Secondhand Books Bazaar. Sahaf is a person who sells or switches the secondhand books or magazines that are not published anymore, and Secondhand Books Bazaar is the market where such stores remain. Then again, at this bazaar, it is possible to find contemporary published books in addition to old and rare works, too. Moreover, there are paintings and artworks as well… WORLD’S FIRST SHOPPING MALL After spending a fair amount of time with old and new books, we move towards the Grand Bazaar, the world’s first and largest shopping mall. Grand Bazaar immediately pops up before us once we leave the Secondhand Books Bazaar… Regarded as the predecessor of the world’s shopping malls, tens of streets and thousands of goods in hundreds of shops in various categories welcome us at the Grand Bazaar… It is better to tour with a guide or a map in this massive bazaar to avoid getting lost as there are different doors in every direction, and each entry can lead you to another path. We take a quick tour for our limited time and finally reach the Nuruosmaniye Door…On our left, we proceed with Nuruosmaniye Mosque and reach Nuruosmaniye Avenue, shadowed by the great plane trees…Precious and bedazzling goods of the Turkish jewellery industry lie on each side of the venue…But we wish to take a break and store some energy with the legendary Turkish coffee at a high-quality café on the avenue. DESTINATION EMİNÖNÜ We review our route and sip our coffees accompanied by the famous Turkish delights. We may end up at the Sultanahmet Square, see Hagia Sophia or the Topkapı Palace as well. Yet that route has a unique depth on its own. So, we take the old traditional way from the Grand Bazaar and go down its open-air version - the Mahmutpaşa hill. The groups in the forms of families look pretty interesting in the shops scattered on both sides of the hill, looking like an outdoor mall. This area is also Istanbul’s oldest wedding shopping destination… ART SHOPS We come across the New Mosque when we proceed in the plain area. Under the Sultan’s Summer Palace next to the mosque, we are attracted by the rows of art shops. A different branch of traditional Turkish arts is performed in each shop, and the artworks are sold. One can see artists working on a wide range of arts, from paper marbling to calligraphy, string art to tile art, chat with them, and buy an artwork.

21 Şubat 2022 Pazartesi

DİLŞAH KEFLİOĞLU ConstructIons of the Galataport and Atatürk Cultural Center (AKM) located at the beginning and ending points of the Beyoğlu Cultural Route Project are finalised. Prominent arts and culture centres have been positioned on the route between these two massive structures. In this way, Beyoğlu Cultural Route built a brand new and treasured path for local and foreign tourists. CULTURE IN EVERY STEP Here comes the critical question: From which point shall we start walking on the cultural route? Because if we start the tour from the Galataport zone, we would need to go uphill to reach Taksim. If we wish to walk downhill instead, we can begin with Atatürk Cultural Center in Taksim. Rebuilt in such a short period as 2.5 years and retaken into service, AKM is a global structure with doors wide open to life, where people of all ages and different segments meet nearly all branches 365 days and 24 hours. You can follow the up-to-date events viahttps://akmistanbul.gov.tr. You can also display the events and venues nearby via the app specially designed for Beyoğlu Cultural Route and plan the events you wish to join. CONTEMPORARY EXHIBITIONS Following our AKM experience, we are at Taksim Square… We salute the statute of Veteran Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. We headtowards the right to the Taksim Mosque Culture and Art Center as activities of various themes of many different ages await us at the culture and art centre of the Taksim Mosque. The same applies to the French Cultural Center located just at the right of the İstiklal Avenue’s entrance. İSTİKLAL AVENUE We are moving forward on İstiklal Avenue. Our final point on Beyoğlu Cultural Route is the Mehmet Akif Ersoy Memorial House…With its historical fabric, Mısır Building over the Avenue stands tall as an old guard. Also mentioned in the literature with its long-standing past, the structure stands before us as the Memorial House of the lyricist of the Turkish National Anthem Mehmet Akif Ersoy. YEŞİLÇAM NOSTALGIA We are proceeding on İstiklal Avenue; our next stop is the Museum of Cinema… The digital memory pool used for the first time by a cinematography museum offers a massive collection of data, including eight thousand 406 movies and 31 thousand and 106 people comprising of actors, directors, scriptwriters, producers and movie workers. SUFI CULTURE Tarık Zafer Tunaya Culture Center is one of the prominent stops on our route… This structure has been introduced as a new-generation cultural centre to art lovers. It serves a theatre hall with 110 people, a movie room with an audience of 97 people, two small exhibition halls and a foyer area, and the 140m² main exhibition hall. Another outstanding example of Ottoman architecture, Galata Mevlevi House, remains at this route as a venue visited by local and foreign tourists. GALATA TOWER We enter the Galata area after the Galata Mevlevi House. Galata Tower stands before us like a massive monument… Istanbul is indeed looking quite different from Galata Tower…We head downhill to have a closer look at Karaköy of which Galata Tower offered a bird’s-eye view. GASTRONOMY IN KARAKÖY Naturally, we exerted a considerable amount of energy after walking this long. Now, we need to recover our losses, ready for food and beverages… We have a wide variety of opportunities in Karaköy with a light shining more than ever with the Galataport project. We can taste the best baklava and have either Turkish coffee or third-generation coffee at the cafes with a growing number… So, we go with the glow at the gastronomic zone in Karaköy where it is tough to choose… You can have another endorphin rush by taking a walk at the newly-organised coastline after the food and beverage break and enhance your happiness exponentially with the magnificent scene of the Bosphorus and fresh air.

21 Şubat 2022 Pazartesi

OSMAN KUVVET Turkey is among the thirty countries with a satellite in the space. The number of Turkey’s satellites operating in the space reaches seven with the launch of TÜRKSAT 5A. Turkey’s first communication satellite attempt TÜRKSAT 1A was launched to space on 24 January 1994. However, due to a malfunction in the launcher-rocket, the satellite did not reach the orbit and fell into the ocean 12 minutes and 12 seconds upon its launch. Pursuing its efforts on satellites, in August 1994, Turkey attained a place in the space with TÜRKSAT 1B. Finally, the countdown for the launch of Turkey’s 7th communication satellite, TÜRKSAT 5A, started. Airbus D&S completed the manufacturing process and test stages of the TÜRKSAT 5A and delivered the satellite to TÜRKSAT officials on October 2. The satellite’s manufacturing was launched at Airbus’ facilities in Toulouse, France, upon the agreement signed in 2017 and delivered to SpaceX company’s launch station at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, USA. After the preliminary works, the satellite was launched to space on January 8 with the Falcon 9 rocket. TÜRKSAT 5B IN THE LINE Featuring a full electronic propulsion system, the TÜRKSAT 5A satellite’s journey before settling into the orbital slot at 31 degrees East will take around four months. The satellite is expected to start service in the second quarter of 2021. The satellite will secure orbital and frequency rights of Turkey at 31 degrees East for 30 years with its maneuver life. With the investments in satellite technologies, Turkey plans to launch the TÜRKSAT 5B communication satellite in 2021. The TÜRKSAT 6A communication satellite to be manufactured at the Turkish Space Systems Integration and Test Center (USET), on the other hand, is aimed to be launched to space in 2022. DESIGNED IN TURKEY RASAT earth observation satellite was TÜBİTAK UZAY’s second remote sensing satellite after BİLSAT. The first earth observation satellite designed and manufactured in Turkey, RASAT, was launched to space from Russia on 17 August 2011. Although the original design life of the RASAT Satellite was three years, as of 17 August 2020, it completed its 9th anniversary in orbit. RASAT took 47 thousand 943 rounds in orbit around the Earth, observed an area of 16.8 million square kilometers and transmitted 3 thousand 202 strip images to the ground station. RASAT satellite is located at 700km altitude with a sun-synchronous circular orbit. RASAT features a pushbroom camera with a spatial resolution of 7.5 m panchromatic image, and a multispectral spatial resolution of 15m. OVER 100 EXPERTS RASAT satellite is 3-axis stabilized and its average re-visit time is four days. Each frame image of RASAT covers 30x30 km and the 960 km long strip images can be obtained via the satellite. Within the project’s scope, the satellite assembly, integrationand test laboratory was enhanced and over 100 experts in satellite design, manufacturing and testing were trained. CAPTURES SATELLITE IMAGES GÖKTÜRK-1 satellite was launched to space in 2016 to fulfill the Turkish Armed Forces’ (TSK) demand for high-resolution satellite images towards target intelligence. Settled into the low earth orbit, the satellite can perform remote sensing missions regarding environmental control and identification of illegal construction, crop management, municipal implementations, border control and mapping and planning applications. The satellite with a 0.50 m resolution is planned for reconnaissanceover any location on Earth without geographical restrictions and is expected to have a lifespan of seven years. THE FIRST HIGH-RESOLUTION RECONNAISSANCE The first high-resolution reconnaissance and surveillance satellite developed indigenously in Turkey, GÖKTÜRK-2 was settled into its orbit with the launch operation in 2012. GÖKTÜRK-2 was manufactured within the scope of the agreement signed by the Ministry of National Defence, TÜBİTAK and TÜBİTAK UZAY-TUSAŞ (Turkish Aircraft Industries Corporation) business partnership. The satellite enables digital and geographic data generation and target intelligence required by the Turkish Armed Forces and the Air Forces Command. Besides, GÖKTÜRK-2 fulfills other public institutions /organizations and university and research institutes’ satellite image demands. Manufactured with a high rate of domestic participation, the observation satellite has a resolution of 2.5m. GÖKTÜRK-2 covers Turkey’s critical demands regarding defense, environment, urban development, and agriculture and forestry areas. With its high data transmission rate capable of downloading a 640 km long strip in a single round. Satellite can capture and transfer the images of the Earth and completes its one period around the Earth in nearly 98 minutes. As part of the GÖKTÜRK-2 Project, expert human resources to take part in the future satellite projects were trained within the bodies of TÜBİTAK UZAY AND TUSAŞ. Furthermore, infrastructure and capabilities regarding satellite equipment design, analysis, production, assembly, and integration and test activities were acquired. ACCESS TO 91 PERCENT OF THE WORLD POPULATION Delivered to the launch center in September 2020, TÜRKSAT 5A was launched to space in January 2021. Moreover, TÜRKSAT 5B satellite is planned to be launched to space in the second quarter of 2021. Turkey’s first satellite project conducted with indigenous engineering and design, TÜRKSAT 6A is scheduled to be launched in 2022. With its finance, design and software, the TÜRKSAT 6A communication satellite is a wholly indigenous project. Turkey will have a say in the world with its video, sound and data communication as soon as these activities are completed. In 2022, the satellite fleet will include South America, east of North America, Europe, Asia and Africa and west of Australia in our coverage area. In this way, Turkish satellites will enable access to 91 percent of the world population. TRY160 MILLION WORTH R&D FOR SPACE According to the Turkish Statistical Institute’s data, the public expenditures on research and development activities regarding discovering and utilizing the space reached TRY160 million 209 thousand and 989 in the five years in 2014-2018. The R&D expenses in this area in 2014 was TRY12 million 918 thousand 200 and these expenses amounted to TRY60 million 956 thousand 607 last year. Thus, public expenditure on R&D quintupled in the previous five years.

25 Mart 2021 Perşembe

DİLŞAH KEFLİOĞLU Along with its dense population, Istanbul is hosting hundreds of thousands of stray cats. One can spot a stray cat in almost all Istanbul neighborhoods which with its cultural riches, is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Subject of numerous documents, foreign journals and magazines, the stray cats of Istanbul turn into regulars of their neighborhoods. A SOURCE OF INSPIRATION We may spot the stray cats roaming free on the streets; we sometimes see them standing before a store, sometimes lying on the bench of a bus stop, enjoying the sun at the parks, or following the amateur fishers for getting a tip. Cats have always inspired the poets and authors. They also drew the attention of literature lovers throughout history. Many poets, novels and stories are based on cats. VIEWERS OF KEDİ BUY A TICKET TO ISTANBUL Ceyda Torun, who took on Istanbul’s street cats in her documentary ‘Kedi’ (Cat), describes the city’s cats to foreigners: “It is a creature that comes and sits on your lap and meows for even an hour as if you have known each other for years. And it may follow you with a meow for a while even when you get off of that bank and start to walk away. Istanbul’s cats are always waiting to interact and build a connection. I have never experienced this in the rest of the world. The viewers of the film are sending me messages, telling me ‘We are getting our tickets!’” The documentary ‘Kedi’ tells the story of seven cats of the city with seven hills. Regarded as the most viewed Turkish movie in the USA, the documentary enables the viewers to see Istanbul through the cats’ perspective and listen to the stories of the Istanbul’s inhabitants’ relationships with them. SPECIFIC TO ISTANBUL FOR CENTURIES Ceyda Torun emphasized that the stray cats in Istanbul have been living with the city’s residents for many centuries, adding that such interaction did not exist in any other part of the world. According to Torun, the large number of Istanbul’s cats prevented the rats’ raids that took place in Europe and the USA. EXHIBITION OPENED Japanese traveler and cat-lover Mayu Koga introduced the photos of the cats she took during her two-week-long Istanbul vacation to the Japanese nations’ taste. The photo exhibition at the cultural center of Tokyo’s Bunkyou neighborhood also displays images of the Hagia Sophia Mosque, Galata Tower, Sultanahmet Mosque, Taksim Square and Eminönü capture by Mayu Koga. The Japanese traveler mostly stayed at Cihangir in Beyoğlu during her vacation. The photos of the traveler emphasize the interaction of Turks with the cats. CAT ROUTES Including Istanbul’s stray cats in his book Kediname, Mehmet Nuri Yardım gives hints to the cat-lovers on where to find them. Informing the readers that just like the other cat breeds such as the Siberian Cat, Persian Cat, Norwegian Cat and the Bukhara Cat, Istanbul has its cat breed, the Istanbul Cat. Yardım added: “The researches and ancient sources mention this breed, it is true. There used to be cats that lived in the old wooden houses, getting along with people and considered a ‘family member.’ We may find the traces of these cute cats in numerous works of literature, history books and memoirs written in the last few centuries.” Yardım describes the Istanbul Cat: “They are usually brownish tabby, striped cats with touches of white.” and on their locations: “In my opinion, the Istanbul Cat features the distinctive features of Istanbul which is a city of civilizations, culture and art. They frequently wander around the mosques, fountains, second-hand bookstores, madrassas, lodges and cemeteries. In a sense, they display an identity that is at peace with the history. We may regard them as the wisest of the animals. You will spot them all along the road as you head towards Eyüpsultan. Topkapı, Edirnekapı Martyr’s Cemetery and Merkezefendi Cemetery are also filled with cats. All the cemeteries at the Anatolian side are packed with cats.” CATS ARE NEVER UNGRATEFUL! Having written a book with the title Kediname (Cat Book) based on his cat Lokum, Mehmet Nuri Yardım says: “Cats are not ungrateful animals!” Telling that he regarded Lokum as one of his children, Yardım talked about his experiences with his cat: “She stands by you for their life even when she is fed with cheap food. She adores you, wanders around you and gives all family members joy, particularly to the children. She watches you, accompanies you and welcomes your guests. Yet, she has a personality of her own. She does not like fuss. She is proud. If you pet her too much, she responds with a rather light scratch. She shakes off her paw as if saying, ‘Dad! Enough! I am bored’ and runs away. I have never seen an ungrateful behavior from Lokum; on the contrary, she has always brought joy, happiness and peace to our home. I recommend all the readers, everyone, to adopt the cat they feed around their apartments. Then they will see how colorful and meaningful their lives will become.” TOMBİLİ HONORED WITH A STATUTE Becoming a phenomenal cat with the photograph showing her reclining on the pavement in Istanbul - Kadıkoy (Ziverbey), after her death, Tombili is honored with her statute located at the same point. HAGIA SOPHIA MOSQUE’S CAT GLİ Born in 2004 in Hagia Sophia and grabbing the attention of visiting tourists, Gli soon became one of Istanbul’s most famous cats. Welcoming the visitors and communicating with them in her way, Gli has died, aged 16.

25 Mart 2021 Perşembe

Launched on 17-19 November 2020 with a virtual B2B meeting, 135 publishers from 36 countries attended the turlameetings.com website in three days. The virtual platform developing with new publishers and works will be continuously active for the copyright buyers across the world. OSMAN KUVVET As part of the Turkish Literature Abroad (TURLA) Project conducted by the Press and Publishers Association to promote Turkish literature works abroad, a groundbreaking event was held on 17-19 November 2020. The opening of the TURLA Meetings virtual fair held within the scope of the project supported by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and Istanbul Chamber of Commerce (ICOC) took place with the participation of 135 local and foreign publishers from 36 countries. NEARLY 500 MEETINGS B2B meetings have been carried out via the online platform for three days. Turkish publishers conducting nearly 500 business negotiations took a major step towards promoting Turkish cultural products in the globally. Thine virtual fair aiming to increase copyright exports has been growing with new publishers and works. Esra Ceceli, Coordinator of the TURLA Project, mentioned that they would be keeping the virtual meeting platform launched on 17-19 November 2020 online for the copyright buyers worldwide. Ceceli underlined that they would maintain the platform’s dynamism and develop it with various events in the future. AN ALTERNATIVE Turla Meetings virtual fair and B2B event offered an innovative, effective and accessible alternative to the international fairs canceled due to the pandemic. Beig executed since 2017 by the Press and Publishers Association, TURLA Project pursues its efforts to transfer the meetings to a brand new ground thanks to the website and platform built. Every publisher has an individual profile at the website where the event is held. The publishers insert the books and works they wished to display and make copyright meetings over. The physical features of each book and descriptive notes on the books can be demonstrated over the book profiles. PANELS FOR THE READERS In addition to gathering the prominent publishers of Turkey and the world, the website entered by 42 thousand single-users since its launch appeals to the readers with various events. As part of such events, discussion panels titled ‘International Success of Turkish Publishing’, ‘Opportunities for Indian Publishers in Turkey’ and ‘Crime Fiction in Turkey and Opportunities’ were held for readers. THE GOAL IS TO PROMOTE 500 BOOKS Dr. İsrafil Kuralay, ICOC Vice President: Started in 2017, TURLA Project brought a brand new vision to our publishing realm. Copyright exports became a significant opportunity. We are encouraging this project actualized by the Press and Publishers Association as ICOC as we regard it as a significant service to our cultural domain. The goal is the promotion of 80 publishing houses and 500 books to the world. I still find this goal insufficient and believe it will be surpassed because we have a very active publishing life. TURKEY IS READING BOOKS! Münir Üstün, Member of ICOC’s Executive Board: Turkey is reading. There is an urban legend claiming that Turks do not read much, well this is false. I will inform you of the figures on books published since 2010. In 214 million books were published in 2010, 289 million in 2011, 293 million in 2012, 330 million in 2013, 344 million in 2014, 384 million in 2015, 405 million in 2016, 408 million in 2017, 411 million in 2018. Finally, in 2019 424 million books were published in Turkey. Taking the number of all these published books into consideration, we may easily claim that as of 2019, 850 million books were published, signaling five novels and five educational books per person. Turkey ranks 16th globally in terms of endorsement in this area and 6th in the world in generating new book titles. WE THANK THE ICOC Head of the Press and Publishers Association, Emrah Kısakürek: The pandemic process has altered all lives. We cannot conduct any activity that requires traveling. This year, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and ICOC support our project, which we launched in 2017 with the support of the Istanbul Development Agency. We decided to take it to an online platform due to the pandemic. We thank the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and ICOC for their support.

25 Mart 2021 Perşembe