Today's Zaman, your gateway to Turkish daily news :: Features

Hometown markets attract attention of regional foodies

ELİF AKDENİZ — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 21:00:00 GMT

Turks in the big city no longer have to worry about ordering regional delicacies from their hometowns.

Batik: Indonesia’s cultural heritage UNESCO to protect batik as Indonesia’s cultural heritage

DIPO ALAM* — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 21:00:00 GMT

With the spirit of UNESCO's 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in mind, and after a long and complex process, batik will finally be listed by the world cultural body as Indonesian cultural heritage.

Steam rises anew in Turkey’s historic bath houses

ALEXANDRA HUDSON — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 21:00:00 GMT

Old İstanbul's bath houses hosted scheming pashas and shapely concubines before modern bathrooms sent them into decline, but their appeal to tourists and the growth of the spa industry promise a revival.

Kaynaklar: an organic heaven

YAVUZ ULUTÜRK — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 21:00:00 GMT

There are so many spots throughout Anatolia which remain relatively unknown. One of these is the village of Kaynaklar, near İzmir. This little village is very far removed from the holiday centers of the Aegean city of İzmir.

Turkish garden blooms in shade of Berlin Wall

REUTERS — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 21:00:00 GMT

Osman Kalın is the proud occupier of his very own patch of no man's land. The cabbages, cherry trees and grape vines that grow on his allotment, a short ride from Checkpoint Charlie, are flourishing on a patch of earth the pensioner accidentally seized from East Germany when the Berlin Wall was still standing.

"Smoke like a Turk"? No more

REUTERS — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 21:00:00 GMT

Smokers in Turkey tempted to flout an imminent ban in cafes, restaurants and bars will be spared execution as allegedly meted out in 17th-Century İstanbul -- but their Prime Minister has likened cigarettes to terrorism.

Hotel Monec GM Duru: We only have guests here, not clients

MUSTAFA EDİB YILMAZ — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 21:00:00 GMT

As Turkey has been pushing forward with its foreign policy and building new bridges not only with its close neighbors but also with allies far from the homeland, Ankara has become a center of attraction for diplomatic, bureaucratic and business-oriented visits within the last few years.

Şahmeran’s coppersmith

FATİH VURAL — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 21:00:00 GMT

The legend of Şahmeran is one that has been told for hundreds of years on Mesopotamian soil, and this legend from the lands where snakes live is one that has been engraved not just onto the tongues of local denizens, but also onto copper.

Our Elizaveth: a balancing factor in Greek-Turkish relations

EMİNE KART — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 21:00:00 GMT

Nobody, at least not the correspondents' community in the Turkish capital, would dare say she is not one of “us.” She was born to a Greek family in İstanbul, and her identity card says that she is Greek, not Turkish. If one would dare say she is not one of “us,” then asking the question, “Who are we?” becomes more legitimate than usual.

Turkey's many historical bridges targeted in restoration effort

ERCAN YAVUZ — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 21:00:00 GMT

Turkey, itself a bridge between the Asian and European continents, has launched a restoration project targeting the historic bridges of Anatolia, restoring 34 historic bridges in 2008 and aiming to restore every historically significant bridge in Anatolia by the year 2012.