In December, the TCF Lecture Series in Turkish Culture and Art held at the TCF Istanbul offices featured Dr.Johann Pillai of Sidestreets Educational and Cultural Initiatives who led participants on an exciting journey to trace the whereabouts of the Turkish pavillion at Expo '58; and Dr.Mustafa Ozer of Bahcesehir University, who spoke on the historical importance, as well as ongoing excavations, research and restoration efforts at the Edirne Palace.

In January 2014, the Istanbul office is proud to host a series of lectures by Prof.Dr.Nurhan Atasoy. Her first lecture is titled “Surname-i Humayun” (Imperial Festival Book), and will present a window into Ottoman social and court life through these illustrated and narrated accounts of imperial celebrations.

All TCF lectures are recorded and periodically uploaded on the TCF Video Gallery for online viewing. The latest video additions to the portal are “The Ottoman Heritage in Sweden,” by Dr. Karin Adahl and “19.Yuzyilda Bogazici” by Dr.M.Sinan Genim. For more information on the TCF Lectures, please visit here.

Kiraz Perincek Karavit (TCF Academic Fellow- 2013) will participate in a conference on “Chinese-Turkish Cultural Relations,” which will be held in the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing on December 25, 2013, with her paper “A Case Study Where Everything is Mobile Along the Silk Road: Mehmed Siyah Kalem's Paintings.”

Rustem Ertug Altinay's (TCF Academic Fellow Fellow-2013) play "Melek," about the life of Melek Kobra, a female theater, opera and cinema artist of the early Turkish Republic years,  will be performed at Bogazici University as part of the university's 150th year celebrations on December 19, 2013. “Melek” will also be staged at the Sahne Cihangir throughout the season.

TCF awarded its fourth grant Stanford University to fulfill its final year commitment to support a full-time Lecturer position in Turkish Language and Literature at the university. Burcu Karahan Richardson, the lecturer and a recipient of the TCF Fellowship in Turkish Culture and Art, will be offering language courses on Turkish Reading, Introductory Ottoman Turkish, and Advanced Turkish for Research, as well as two courses on Turkish culture, Contemporary Turkish Cinema and Society and Istanbul the Muse: The City in Literature and Film. The courses are offered Mediterranean Studies Forum at Stanford University. For more information on the courses offered, please visit the Stanford website.

The Boston Turkish Festival's Documentary and Short Film Competition, supported by a TCF grant, concluded on November 16 and selected its winners. The competition's films were screened at the Museum of Fine Arts. The Guest (Misafir) by Haydar Demirtas received the Jury's Best Documentary Award and Ozan Sihay's I II III IV received the Best Short Film Award. The Audience Award for Best Documentary was given to My Child (Benim Cocugum) by Can Candan and the Best Short Film Award to Uncle Seref and his Shadow (Seref Dayi ve Golgesi) by Bugra Dedeoglu.

A TCF grant will support the organization of the 6th Nazim Hikmet Poetry Festival and Competition organized by the American Turkish Association of North Carolina. TCF has underwritten this event since its inception. The Festival will be held on April 13, 2013 at the Page Walker Arts & History Center in Cary, NC and celebrate the life and poetry of Nazim Hikmet, regarded widely as the greatest Turkish contemporary poet. The 6th Annual Nazim Hikmet Poetry Competition precedes the festival and is now accepting submissions. Finalists will be invited to read their poetry at the Festival alongside other noted poets. Poetry submissions are accepted until January 31, 2014.

Dr.Recep Karadag of the TCF Cultural Heritage Preservation and Natural Dyes Laboratory-DATU has been invited to participate in a platform on “Restoration and Conservation of Cultural Heritage Assets of Turkey,” organized by the General Directorate of Foundations and Fatih Sultan Mehmet University on December 21 in Istanbul.

On December 18, YESAM hosted the second lecture on “Traditional Turkish Confectionary” by Mary Isin, author and culinary expert, focusing on traditional desserts. In January, YESAM will host Dr.Ozge Samanci, professor of Gastronomi at Yeditepe University, who will talk about “Sherbets in Ottoman Culinary Culture” (in Turkish). Past YESAM lectures are periodically uploaded and are available for viewing on the TCF Video Portal.

Meanwhile, Turkish cooking traditions are highlighted every month with the YESAM Recipe of the Month, which features a recipe for Mung Bean Salad for December.