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I asked the Modern’s chief curator, Levent Çalıkoğlu, for a list of his top ten favorite works in the museum. I was happy that he also chose Han Coffeehouse as one of them, and his other nine favorites are Forest Nymph, by Hamit Görele (1940); Abstract Landscape, by İhsan Cemal Karaburçak (1964-65); My Hell, by Fahrelnissa Zeid (1951); Death of the Poet, by Cihat Burak (1967); Abstract Composition, by Nejad Melih Devrim (1947-49); 3 Men, 4 Women, Visitors, by Ömer Uluç (1989); Dog Walking Area, by Özdemir Altan (1995); Hallac-ı Mansur, by Erol Akyavaş (1987); and The Seaman, by Mehmet Güleryüz (1988).

The Modern’s gift shop stocks many appealing items, for yourself or as gifts, and the café (whose dominant color is red) is fantastic—one side completely faces the sea and the bar is hugely fun. The menu features mezes and light dishes, and every table is given great bread with a small bowl of olive oil filled with fennel seeds and red pepper flakes, a combination I immediately copied when I got home. The café is a destination in itself and I would recommend it as a dining option even if you don’t visit the museum, though that would be a shame.

Istanbul 2010

Istanbul was designated by the European Union to be a European Capital of Culture in 2010. The designation lasts for a full year and is a huge opportunity for the city to showcase its cultural life and cultural development. (It is also the last time non-EU member counties are eligible for selection.) Among the goals of 2010 are improving the current conditions of structures of cultural and historical value, improving and increasing the diversity of the existing historical tourism destinations in the city, and promoting Turkey’s cultural assets across Europe. The overall theme of the celebration is “The City of Four Elements,” the elements being water, fire, air, and earth.

More information is available at istanbul2010.org.

İstiklâl

“My favorite word in Turkish is istiklâl” writes Stephen Kinzer in Crescent & Star. “The dictionary says it means ‘independence,’ and that alone is enough to win it a place of honor in any language. But the real reason I love to hear the word istiklâl is because it is the name of Turkey’s most fascinating boulevard. Jammed with people all day and late into the night, lined with cafes, bookstores, cinemas and shops of every description, it is the pulsating heart not only of Istanbul but of the Turkish nation.” İstiklâl Caddesi is indeed one of the most famous streets in Istanbul, and as it is a pedestrian zone, it’s worth your time to stroll up or down it, if only to see a modern, cosmopolitan side of the city (there are chain stores and Starbucks mixed in with local businesses). During Ottoman times, the Grand Avenue (Caddes-i Kebir) was popular with intellectuals as well as European foreigners and local Italian and French Levantines, who referred to it as the Grande Rue de Péra. When nineteenth-century travelers referred to Constantinople as the “Paris of the East” they were referring to the Grande Rue de Péra.

In addition to its many shops, İstiklâl is also lined with some beautiful examples of nineteenth-century Turkish architecture, and there are a number of places to stop during a stroll for refreshment. One of my favorites is Café Markiz, formerly the Pâtisserie Lebon, with its pretty Art Nouveau interior.

Iznik

Iznik is both the name of a town, across the Sea of Marmara from Istanbul, and the legendary ceramic wares that were produced there. John Ash writes in A Byzantine Journey that the dominant motifs in Iznik ware are floral in intricate designs of “blue, turquoise, green, white and a startling tomato red. It was the addition of this lustrous red, which is unique to Iznik ware, that made the accurate depiction of so many flowers possible. As a result, any interior that is covered with Iznik tiles, be it a mosque, a palace or a tomb, becomes an image of paradise.” By the early seventeenth century, Iznik wares deteriorated, and Ash notes, “The secret was lost, never to be recovered,