No doubt, taking the stairs is healthy, but it is also boring, too. While figures suggest that taking the stairs requires between eight and eleven kilocalories per minute, the monotony of walking the same symmetric steps is often too much to bear. Good intentions often fade away as soon as the chime of the elevator…
“Oh Turkish Youth!” said Atatürk, “Your first duty is to preserve and defend forever Turkish independence and the Turkish Republic”. 89 years after his ‘Address to the Youth’ it seems that the weight of the past is too heavy, and the present and future of Turkey is more in their hands than ever. There’s a…
France starts a week of commemorative celebrations today, one year after the attacks of the 7th and the 9th of January 2015 against the satiric newspaper Charlie Hebdo and a kosher supermarket. Those commemorations take place in a very tense political climate, while deputies are about to vote reforms of the constitution. By Leslie Traoré-Lacoste
Istanbul’s historical peninsula is the last place you’d expect to find a thriving community of Africans. A far way from home, Kumkapi district boasts a large community of African migrants from all over the continent, so much so the main street of this district has been renamed ‘Somalia Street’ by locals. One walk through the…
By Leslie Traoré-Lacoste Since November the 10th, the Palais de la Porte Dorée in Paris also called Museum of Immigration History organizes an exhibition dedicated to a very current subject: the borders. Between media extracts, testimonies, photos and art the exhibition goes through the concept of borders all over the world with a special focus…
By Saeeda Hugiale Constantinople was the former name of the present city of Istanbul. A city in the European and Asian part of Turkey and the capital of the Ottoman Empire. Before that she was under the name of Constantinople, capital of the Byzantine Empire. During most of its existence, the empire was the most…
A man who offered us drinks. After avoiding him he made this gesture. By Bahar Yilmaz and Noelle Benhija Taksim is the most bubbly and touristic part of Istanbul where tourists do not have time to be bored. Around every corner there’s a nice bar or store and the salesmen are always ready to…
By Puck Guldemond Studying abroad for six months sounds like a dream to many students. You get to see a different country and meet new friends while you’re studying. IMPRESS spoke to an Erasmus student at Bilgi University. Leon Farrenkopf, a 22 year old German student, is currently studying visual communications design in Istanbul.…
The lobster factory on Saint Paul Island in the 30’s. PHOTO: Ouest France By Caroline Burel All of us have heard stories from when you where little. In Concarneau, a small town in the North West of France, there is one that is told to every child. This story is called “Les Oubliés de l’Île…
Text: Tanja Wieser & Tammy van Nerum Photography: Tanja Wieser & Tammy van Nerum There are approximately 15000 to 20000 Jews living in Istanbul. Cenk Bonfil is one of them. The 19 year old student shows us the Neve Shalom synagogue in the Beyoğlu district in Istanbul. When we arrive at the synagogue Bonfil says…
By Noelle Benhija and Bahar Yilmaz Turkish television, Yeşilçam, is more popular internationally than locally. The TV industry plays an important role in increasing Turkey’s popularity in the Middle East, Pakistan, the Balkans and Central Asia. The best exported series are Kıvanç Tatlıtuğ, Beren Saat, Songül Öden and Murat Yıldırım mostly because of the romance…
‘Run Beyond’ at Amsterdam light festival Photo By Louise Zandstra Thinking about winter days, certain things surely come to mind. Probably first Christmas, new year’s eve, dark days, cold days and perhaps slightly more negativity because of the cold and the darkness. To treat the inhabitants and visitors of Amsterdam with more positivity during these…
By Tammy van Nerum and Tanja Wieser Ohannes Kilicdagi is a teacher at Bilgi University in Istanbul. He is part of the Armenian minority in Istanbul. Although Kilicdagi not afraid to express his identity, he notices how little most Turks know about the Armenian history in their country. How many Armenians live in Istanbul? ‘Nobody…
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