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Restored Byzantine-Era Mosaics and Frescoes
See the Chora Church (er, Kariye Camii) while it’s free
A gem of a Byzantine-era church reopened – albeit as a mosque – last month in Istanbul’s Edirnekapı neighborhood with its rich interior decoration of 14th-century mosaics and frescoes beautifully restored. Like the more famous Hagia Sophia, the Chora Church/Kariye Camii had been used as a mosque by the Ottomans, designated a museum in the first half of the 20th century, and ordered reconverted into a mosque in 2020 by Turkey’s President Erdoğan. The building has been closed for restoration since that decision, and was only officially reconsecrated for Muslim prayers this May.
Access to the main naos (nave) is now restricted to only male worshippers, with the chamber’s three extant mosaics discreetly covered, while the rest of the building and its stunning medieval art is open to all, with no admission charge, though recent female visitors have said they had to don headscarves before entering. (Based on developments at Hagia Sophia, the free entry is unlikely to last forever, and access may be subject to change.) There’s currently no explanatory text or audio guide at the site, but you can find diagrams identifying all of the mosaics and frescos on the wonderful Byzantine Legacy website. To see more of Byzantine Istanbul while you’re in the area, have a stroll alongside the city walls and a peek into the Vefa Stadium, an open-air football pitch built inside the 5th century Cistern of Aetius.
Kariye Camii Sokak No:18, Edirnekapı/Fatih
Open 9am to 7pm (last entry 6:30pm), excluding prayer times
Documentary Days are Here Again
Plus five critical faves at Istanbul Modern + bonus Ankara film fest
The war in Ukraine, the politics of foraging (and existence) in Palestine, and global environmental threats are among the real-life topics featured on film in the latest installment of Documentarist’s Istanbul Documentary Days, which runs from 8 to 13 June at six different venues in Beyoğlu. Films are screened with Turkish and English subtitles and as always, locally produced movies in the “Turkey Panorama” selection are free of charge. Other tickets cost 50 TL each or 400 TL for a pack of 10. Free side events include an English-language talk with French filmmaker Jean-Gabriel Périot, one of the festival’s featured directors, on 9 June from 2-4pm, and a virtual-reality exhibition, “Immerse in the World,” from 8 to 11 June at Metrohan in Tünel Square (open Sat-Sun 2-8pm and Mon-Tue 4-8pm).
In addition, five critically acclaimed international films, including “The Zone of Interest,” “Killers of the Flower Moon,” and “The Boy and the Heron,” will be screened in their original language from 8 to 13 June at Istanbul Modern (tickets 150 TL) as part of the museum’s ongoing cinema program.
And there’s something on for film-lovers in Ankara too: the program of movies screening at the Accessible Film Festival (7 to 13 June) will be shown with English subtitles along with the Turkish audio description and caption subtitling provided for visually and hearing impaired audiences.
THIS WEEK ONLY
OnSpec Podcast Launch – Listening party for the first episode of a new investigative miniseries, “Lethal Dissent – Iran’s Hunt for its Citizens Abroad,” and Q&A with the Istanbul-based journalist team behind it. 5 June at 5:30pm at Postane (Camekan Sk. No:9 in Galata) and online via Zoom. TONIGHT!
Saturday Late at Arter – Peruse the contemporary art exhibitions at Arter until midnight on 8 June and catch a concert by Turkish psychedelic rock band Ayyuka at 10pm (tickets 450 TL). There’s an English-language guided tour of the museum at noon.
‘Parça Parça’ (Piece by Piece) – A trio of feminist artists explore the realities of being a woman in unexpected and sometimes humorous ways. to 8 June from 11am-7pm at Merdiven Art Space (Meclis-i Mebusan Cd. No: 31 in Fındıklı/Beyoğlu).
Upcycle Istanbul – Environmentally themed art and design exhibition and a upcycled-products bazaar (Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday only), along with a program of Turkish-language talks and workshops. 5 to 9 June from noon-8pm at Müze Gazhane in Kadıköy.
NEW AND UPCOMING
Olafur Eliasson: Your unexpected encounter – First solo exhibition in Turkey by the Icelandic–Danish artist known for his large-scale installations and work with light, water, and air. 7 June to 9 February 2025 at Istanbul Modern; click here for opening hours and ticket prices.
Akbank 42nd Contemporary Artists Prize Exhibition – Environmental, urban, and technological anxieties are at the forefront in this new group show of works by young artists. 5 June to 31 July at Akbank Sanat (İstiklal Cad. No:8), open Tue-Sat 11am-7pm.
31st Istanbul Jazz Festival – Headliners including Gregory Porter, Chris Isaak, and Joshua Redman top the bill of more than three dozen concerts around the city. 3 to 18 July, various venues, tickets already on sale. https://caz.iksv.org/en
RECOMMENDED READS
Biennial in Southeast Turkey Faces Backlash on Opening Weekend – Critics accuse the Mardin Biennial of exoticizing the city’s multilayered cultural heritage and ignoring the local context. by Jennifer Hattam for Hyperallergic. (ICYMI my last newsletter was a visitor’s guide to the Mardin Biennial, which ends 10 June.)
Yıldız Moran’s Mardin – One of the featured artists in the Mardin Biennial, pioneering woman photographer Yıldız Moran visited Mardin in the 1950s. Art historian Deniz Türker considers Moran’s journey and presents a selection of her black-and-white images in the latest issue of Sanayi313 PAPER.
The wild ceremonies surrounding a Turkish ‘meatball’ – One of the country's most popular fast-food items, çiğ köfte is traditionally associated with wild and rowdy gatherings in south-eastern Turkey. by Paul Benjamin Osterlund for BBC Travel
The Istanbul Modern celebrates Ozan Sağdıç – Photographers Annette Solakoğlu and Monica Fritz highlight some of their favorite images from the museum’s ongoing exhibition “The Photographer’s Testimony” for Cornucopia.
Martiros Saryan, Serge Avedikian and Gaza – With a proposed bill targeting street animals currently causing controversy in Turkey, Rober Koptaş considers how two Armenian artists saw Istanbul’s stray dogs and the connections between violence against people and against animals, for CivilNet.