The rise and rise of Istanbul, European Capital of Culture 2010
Last updated 25/02/2009 00:00:41
Photo © Salina Christmas
Istanbul will be the European Capital of Culture in 2010 together with Essen and Pec.
But the Turkish capital city is already eclipsing its German and Hungarian counterparts with a series of cultural events launched since last December.
Every year, the European Union will select a few European cities to be the Capitals of Culture. The campaign provides a good opportunity for a European city to gives its cultural and political image a massive makeover.
London was a great place for the Turkish Culture and Tourism Office to start. The 14th Annual Turkish Film Festival at the BFI Southbank, London, kicked off in December 2008. This was then followed by the 5th Akbank Sanat Short Film Festival, held in Istanbul later that month.
During The Optimist's visit to Istanbul over the Christmas period, we witnessed several restoration works taking place.
One of them was that of the Constantine Column in the historical Sultanahmet area, south of the city.
European heritage
The column was constructed by Emperor Constantine in 328 AD as a symbol of acceptance of Christianity by the Roman Empire. Christians were persecuted by the Romans many years before. The restoration is part of an ongoing citywide project carried out by the Istanbul City Municipality since 2003.
The local museums are also geared towards promoting Istanbul's European heritage both ancient and modern, as evident in the photographic exhibition of the Eastern Church icons at Aya Sofia, formerly the seat of Eastern Christianity; and in the installations by contemporary Turkish artists at the Istanbul Modern.
The European Union, after all, stipulates that "cities wishing to become European capital of culture must prepare a cultural programme that meets rather specific criteria: it must reflect the European character of the event and involve the participation of the people who live there.
"The European flavour can be seen in the themes chosen and the artists and cultural organisers from different countries cooperating to put on the event. The programme must also have a lasting and sustainable impact on the city's long-term cultural, economic and social development."
Turkey has not yet been accepted into the EU.