CALL FOR APPLICATION: noor-nikon masterclass (noorimages.com)

(noorimages.com) NOOR, Nikon and Genis Aci Project Office (GAPO) invite photographers to submit their portfolios for selection for the 2014 NOOR-Nikon Masterclass in Documentary Photography in Turkey.

NOOR photo agency and foundation  and Nikon Europe  support documentary photographers from emerging markets all over the world through the organization of annual motivational masterclasses.

The 2014 program takes place in Istanbul, Turkey, organized in collaboration with Genis Aci Project Office (GAPO), 24 March through to 28 March 2014.

The masterclass will be accessible to young and aspiring documentary photographers and photojournalists from the following countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece, Iraq, Iran, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria and Turkey.

THE WORKSHOP

During the five days of the workshop, 15 participants, together with three member photographers of NOOR and NOOR’s managing director will share experiences, work on portfolios, improve editing skills and learn how to pick up and develop stories. Each day consists of intensive communication with the photographers on the subjects of technical features and the peculiarities of the international photo market. It is a unique opportunity to gain new knowledge, contacts, learn to tell stories in a visual language and develop a personal vision.

The workshop is free of charge; travel and accommodation costs will be reimbursed (possession of a passport and travel insurance is required to apply).

SUBMISSION

For submission you are required to have:

• Basic experience in documentary photography or photojournalism;

• A high level of motivation;

• English language skills (the workshop is in English);

• A good technical understanding of your camera equipment, a working knowledge of the media environment and basic image management skills.

 To apply you need to send a PDF file not exceeding 6 MB including:

• A CV including your contact information and a written text explaining your work and projects. Please clarify your involvement in photography by showing a proven track record, proof of a photographic training or at least 1-year experience of practice;

• Motivation letter in English (1 page);

• A portfolio of max. 30 images with text introductions and captions (please show your story telling skills by presenting at least one picture story of 8 images).

Please send your application to: masterclass2014@noorimages.com before midnight C.E.T. Monday 10 February 2014.

If sending a PDF creates a problem, we accept links and word documents or alternative formats. For more information contact NOOR via masterclass2014@noorimages.com or tel. +31.20.6164040 or Skype: noorimages (Amsterdam).

In case you are selected for the workshop, you will be asked to perform a short assignment to work on before the workshop starts.

Application deadline: 10 February 2014 (before midnight C.E.T.).

Organized with the generous support of Nikon Europe B.V.

EXHIBITION: Post-war Soviet architecture - Trespassing Modernities at SALT Galata (e-flux.com)

Ministry of Transportation, Tibilissi, Georgia (1974). Architects: Georgy Chakhava, Zurab Jalaghaniya, T. Tkhilava, V. Kimberg. Courtesy Georgy Chakhava’s personal archive gathered and selected by Vahram Aghasyan, Nini Palavandishvili and Lali Pertenava as part of Frozen moments: Architecture Speaks Back curated by Joanna Warsza, Tbilsi, 2010.

May 8–August 11, 2013

SALT Galata
Bankalar Caddesi 11
Karaköy 34420
Istanbul, Turkey
Hours: Tuesday–Saturday 12–8pm
Sunday 12–6pm

T +90 212 334 22 00
F +90 212 292 16 67

www.saltonline.org

(e-flux.com) Almost 25 years after the corrosion of the Soviet Union, still little is known about the social fabric that wove it together. Architecture and urbanism have been one of its strongest warps: creating a feeling of social unity and being one of the agents of its dissolution. This continent of architecture, afflicted by inner contradictions that enfolded within a homogenized space, is full of masterpieces waiting to be formally discovered. Trespassing Modernities explores this landscape and an approach of building for a fundamentally different idea of society.

Examples of practices by local architects working in the 1960s and 1970s followed by the critical approach of the Paper Architecture movement in the 1980s are brought together from the 15 countries that once made up the Soviet Union. Through a selection of scale models, drawings, photographs, films and ephemera that portray the legacy of post-war Soviet architecture, the exhibition will offer a glance at a still existing void in the canonical history of architecture. This issue will be discussed further in a conference to be held at SALT Galata on May 10–11.

Trespassing Modernities is programmed for SALT by Georg Schöllhammer with support from Ruben Arevshatyan. The exhibition is based on the research of Local Modernities, a project by Georg Schöllhammer, Ruben Arevshatyan, Klaus Ronneberger, Markus Weisbeck and Heike Ander, which initiated the exhibition Soviet Modernism 1955–1991 Unknown Stories (2012) at Architekturzentrum Wien.

Supported by Kalebodur.

subREALSALT Beyoğlu
May 8–August 11

Taiping Tianguo, A History of Possible EncountersAi Weiwei, Frog King Kwok, Tehching Hsieh and Martin Wong
SALT Beyoğlu
May 8–August 11, 2013

It was a time of conversationSALT Ulus
April 3–June 2, 2013

FOOD & WINE: Good News! Georgian in Istanbul! (carpetblog.typepad.com)

(carpetblog.typepad.com) Were you as sad as we were to hear that Cafe Euro, the only source of legitimate Georgian foodin Istanbul, had closed? Well, little girl, stop your sobbing and get yourself back to the bus station in Aksaray. There's Khingali to be had!

Café Niko, photo by Ansel Mullins

The brand formerly known as Istanbul Eats, Istanbul Culinary Backstreets, broke the news about Cafe Niko, located a stone's throw from the late Cafe Euro.  We agree with everything they say. Owner and Batumi native Beso is chatty and friendly, the khingali is the bomb and -- wait for it -- there is real pork meat. He serves all your favorites: Khachapuri (adjarian and imrelian), khingali, swine shashlyk (baked with onions, not grilled) and lobio (sadly, out when we went). He predicts a real bounty in October, when he starts serving kupati, homemade pickles and xaş (bone and tripe soup that you'll just LOVE).

Every ingredient, except the potatoes, flour and onions, comes from Georgia. There's no Georgian wine -- sad face! -- because Beso's homemade wine doesn't travel well. Beso is, however, a chacha usta and his homebrew, served in recycled plastic water bottles, is smoother than you'd expect. He attributes this to the wood charcoal filtering process he uses.

Beso has grand expansion visions. He's clearly a man whose ambitions will not be confined by a crappy bus station in Istanbul. At 20 TL/pp for a full meal of Georgian gloriousness, however, a lot of us will have to devour a lot of khingali to provide him with the capital he needs to grow.

Café Niko, photo by Ansel Mullins

We do feel a professional obligation to issue a few words of warning about Cafe Niko. If you thought Cafe Euro was a bit too chi-chi, you'll love Cafe Niko's earthiness. The kitchen looked mostly clean-ish but the astro-turfed terrace, while pleasant on a late summer evening, is, uh, gritty. You might want to leave your high maintenance friends and visitors at home. The crowd looks rough but friendly so unaccompanied ladies might not feel super comfortable. Also, if you don't speak Georgian, Russian or know Georgian food, you might have to take what you get (the menu is only in Georgian but Beso speaks a few words of English). Turkish isn't going to help, either.  But wanting what you get is the key to expat happiness, right? What's the worst that can happen?* You eat something delicious you've never had before? 

Cafe Niko: Carpetblog Stamp of Approval. 

*the worst that can happen is that you go after 8 pm or on Sunday, when Cafe Niko is closed.

more: culinarybackstreets.com

Address: Emniyet Otogarı (bus station), Küçük Langa Caddesi 190, Aksaray

(Go 20 meters after walking through the gates of Emniyet bus station, then look left and you’ll see the balcony of Café Niko above Emniyet Café.)

Note that this is NOT the main otogar in Ensenler. It's in the middle of Aksaray. Yes, there is a bus station there. 

RESEARCH: International Conference 11-13 October 2012, Istanbul (ascn.ch)

(ascn.ch) Registration 

The call for abstracts has expired. If you are interested in attending the conference as a guest, please register here.

Security, Democracy and Development in the Southern Caucasus and the Black Sea Region

The Academic Swiss Caucasus Net (ASCN), in cooperation with Kadir Has University, is pleased to organize an international conference on Security, Democracy and Development in the Southern Caucasus and the Black Sea Region to take place in Istanbul on 11-13 October 2012.

The conference offers a forum for the presentation and discussion of ongoing research projects. It will consist of thematic panels, roundtables and keynote speeches bringing together researchers and policy makers. 

Programme

Programme (pdf)

Brochure

Brochure.pdf (pdf)

Conference Papers

Please click here to access the conference papers.
Content: The conference overall will address the interaction of security, democracy and development in the Southern Caucasus and the wider Black Sea region. Specific topics and debates will be explored within and between these broad themes. Research papers will include contributions from a variety of social science disciplines as well as interdisciplinary work. Panels and roundtables will analyse evolving state level, regional and broader international processes, present new scholarship and allow the exchange of ideas from a wide variety of national, theoretical and intellectual perspectives.

Venue and Timeline: The conference will take place on the premises of Kadir Has University. The selected participants will be informed about the programme and the specific conference panels, as well as organisational details, in due time.

Timeline

Application deadline: 25 April 2012
Selection of abstracts: end of May 2012
Submission of papers: 24 September 2012
Papers online on conference website: 1 October 2012
Conference: 11-13 October 2012


Further Questions: info@ascn.ch

Scientific Committee: Roy Allison (Oxford University), Pavel Baev (Peace Research Institute Oslo), Nicolas Hayoz (University of Fribourg), Ghia Nodia (Ilia State University), Dimitrios Triantaphyllou (Kadir Has University)

  

ARTIKEL: Rallye von Deutschland nach Baku (tagblatt.de)

5000 KILOMETER BIS NACH BAKU - Team von der Alb fährt auf der Allgäu-Orient-Rallye 


Eigentlich sind die 333 Autos reif für den Schrott. Doch auf sie wartet eine Härteprobe: die Allgäu-Orient-Rallye. In elf Tagen sollen sie ihre Teams nach Aserbaidschan bringen, auch "dBäsawäga" von der Alb.


Blaubeuren/Ulm Sein Ruhestand wäre nah gewesen. Bald hätte er nur noch in der Garage stehen und auf sein Ende auf dem Schrottplatz, warten müssen. Im 19-jährigen Leben von Reinhard Bucks schwarzem Golf III gab es unzählige Berg- und Talfahrten. Doch das, was ihn nun erwartet, stellt ihn vor seine bisher größte Herausforderung.

Der altgediente Gefährte wurde von sechs durchtriebenen Abenteurern aus Blaubeuren (Alb-Donau-Kreis) und Ulm dazu auserkoren, nochmal Gas zu geben. Denn Dirk Bayer, Reinhard Buck, Niclas Kopp, Bernhard Seidt, Christoph Buck und Michelle Linder haben sich in den Kopf gesetzt als Team "dBäsawäga" bei der Allgäu-Orient-Rallye Ende April zu starten. Der Volkswagen muss in elf Tagen 5555 Kilometer meistern - von Oberstaufen im Allgäu nach Baku in Aserbaidschan, wo im Sommer der Eurovision-Song-Contest stattfindet. Dazwischen liegen die Alpen, die ungarische Steppe, türkische Salzwüsten und der 5000 Meter hohe Kaukasus. Autobahnen sind für den Golf streng verboten. Fahrer Bernhard Seidt: "Wir hoffen, dass er uns nicht im Stich lässt."

Der Golf ist in guter Gesellschaft. Weil die Autos laut Veranstalter der Orient-Rallye höchstens noch 1111 Euro Wert sein dürfen, teilen sein Schicksal 330 weitere Rostlauben aus allen Ecken Deutschlands. Zwei weitere starten für die "Bäsawäga": ein Opel Omega Caravan und ein Vauxhall Omega, britischer Bruder eines Opel. Bernhard Seidt konnte den Vauxhall von seinem Vater ergattern, der ihn schweren Herzens her gab. Er hatte ihn vor Jahren in England erstanden. Der Sohn aber freut sich. "Das ist ein echter Rechtslenker, das wird spannend!"

Ein Umstyling haben die drei Autos schon über sich ergehen lassen. Denn sie sollen auch wie "Bäsawäga" - also Wägen der Stadtreinigung - aussehen. Statt in Silber und Schwarz fahren sie nun in frischem Orange durch die Gegend. Außerdem wurden einige technische Raffinessen eingebaut. "Im Zuge der Völkerverständigung wollen wir täglich unseren Rastplatz kehren und so die schwäbische Kultur in der weiten Welt präsentieren: leben, arbeiten und kehren", erklärt Christoph Buck. Als wäre der Trip nicht Herausforderung genug, müssen die Rallyeteams zusätzlich unterschiedliche Aufgaben bewältigen. Beispiel eins: Ein Kunstwerk ist am Bahnhof von Istanbul geplant. Dort, wo vor 50 Jahren die ersten Türken mit dem Zug zum Arbeiten in ein fremdes Land - Deutschland - aufbrachen. Die Rallyefahrer sollen Firmen oder Handwerksbetriebe ausfindig machen, die schon seit Jahrzehnten türkische Mitarbeiter beschäftigen. Typische Teile, die die Arbeiter in den Firmen seither anfertigen, sollen mit auf die Reise geschickt werden. Ein türkischer Künstler schafft daraus ein Denkmal, das die unterschiedlichen Tätigkeiten der ersten Gastarbeiter widerspiegeln soll. Das Team von der Alb hat Ibrahim Çeper gefunden. Christoph Buck erzählt: "Er arbeitet seit 40 Jahren bei Spohn und Burkhardt in Schelklingen und hat uns einen Kran-Joystick überreicht, der aus seiner Anfangszeit im Unternehmen in den frühen 70ern stammt." Aufgabenbeispiel zwei: Das diesjährige Motto der Rallye ist "Musik". Gesponserte Instrumente sollen an Musikschulen in der Südtürkei, in Georgien und Aserbeidschan gespendet werden. Der Part der Rallyefahrer: Während der Reise müssen sie das Lied "Olmaz Olmaz" einstudieren, das angeblich alle Türken, Georgier, Aserbaidschaner und Araber kennen. "Gott sei Dank spielen einige von uns zusammen in einer Band", sagt Bernhard Seidt. Doch ob sie das Instrument, das sie einen Tag vor der Abfahrt zugelost bekommen, tatsächlich schon einmal in der Hand hatten, bleibt Glückssache. "Wir hoffen, dass wir keinen Kontrabass mitschleppen müssen. Eine Querflöte wäre uns lieber", sagt Seidt. In Istanbul, auf der stillgelegten Galatabrücke am Goldenen Horn, soll es dann ein großes Konzert geben.

In all den Ländern, durch die die Teams reisen, findet die Rallye mehr Beachtung als in Deutschland. "In der Türkei dürfen wir auf der Galatabrücke zelten", berichtet Dirk Bayer. Einige türkische Minister hätten die Schirmherrschaft für die Rallye übernommen. Seit 2006, als die Tour zum ersten Mal stattgefunden hat, organisiert die jordanische Prinzessin eine Willkommensparty in der Hauptstadt Amman. Denn bisher war Jordanien das Ziel. 2011 musste die Rallye dorthin aber abgebrochen werden, weil die Autos die Grenze nach Syrien nicht passieren durften, wegen der Revolution. Bernhard Seidt: "Deshalb gehts diesmal nach Baku. Die jordanische Prinzessin war wohl ziemlich sauer." Jetzt lässt sie die Rallyefahrer von ihrer Fluggesellschaft Royal Jordanian Airlines abholen und als Staatsgäste einfliegen.

Und die Autos? Die bleiben in Aserbaidschan und werden versteigert. Der Erlös kommt den Musikschulen in der Südtürkei, in Georgien und Aserbeidschan zugute. Der wohlverdiente Ruhestand rückt somit für den Golf erstmal in weite Ferne.

Infos  www.dbaesawaega.de

www.allgaeu-orient.de


Quelle: www.tagblatt.de

BIKING: Agata and Andy explore the world - Blog about the Travel through the Southcaucasus (agatandy.wordpress.com)

Hallo liebe Radlerfreunde! Wie sieht das eigentlich aus, wenn man den soo oft durchgekauten Spruch "Der Weg ist das Ziel" mal wörtlich nimmt?Wenn man genau aus diesem Grund die kleinenund kleinsten Wege durch Osteuropa wählt,wenn man sich von den Menschen einladen lässt,sich bei Tee, Wein oder Wodka ihre Geschichten anhört?Unsere Reise ist leider schon vor 4 Monaten zu Ende gegangen.Aber wenn ihr wollt, laden wir euch dazu ein,euch auf unserem Blog umzuschauen, viel über Land und Leute zu lernenoder sich über unsere - im Verhältnis - doch eher abenteuerliche Ausrüstung zu informieren. Es wünschen euch viel Spaß beim Stöbern-Andy und Agata: www.agatandy.wordpress.com


Route/Slideshows: The Trip +++ 1-Bike Tests +++ 2-Dresden Wroclaw +++ 3-Wroclaw Zilina +++ 4-Zilina Poprad +++ 5-Poprad Ustrzynki Dolny +++ 6-Ustrzyki Dolne Kamieniec Podolski +++ 6a Lwow/Lviv/Lemberg +++ 7-Kamienec Podolsky Odessa +++ 8-Odessa Jevpatoria +++ 9-Jevpatoria Simferopol +++ 10-Simferopol Tbilisi +++ 11-Tbilisi Signagi +++ 12-Signagi Baku +++ 13-Baku Istanbul +++ 14-Istanbul Dresden

BICYCLING: Canadian Girls Bike to the Caucasus to Study Transboundary Nature Conservation (finchannel.com)

more photos >>>

(Tbilisi, Georgia) Two Canadian girls arrived by bicycle in Tbilisi , Georgia, today as part of their year-long research expedition called Cycling Silk. The goal of this expedition is to study and raise awareness about nature conservation and connectivity across political borders. For all of 2011, Kate Harris and Melissa Yule, both young scientists, are cycling nearly 13,000 kilometers through the mountains, forests, and deserts of the Silk Road.

They started biking in Istanbul, Turkey in mid-January, and after spending time in Georgia, they will continue to Azerbaijan, cross the Caspian Sea by ferry boat, and continue biking from Kazakhstan through Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, China, and Nepal to the expedition’s final destination in northern India.

Along the way, they are studying and documenting the natural and social impacts of existing and proposed transboundary protected areas, including those in the South Caucasus. As one of the world’s biodiversity hotspots, the Caucasus border region of Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Russia, eastern Turkey, and northern Iran is renowned worldwide for its natural beauty. “The greatest threats our planet faces today transcend political borders, whether climate change, poverty, peace and security, water issues, or habitat and biodiversity loss,” says Harris. “These are all tightly interlinked challenges, and to tackle them we need to think beyond borders.” While in Georgia the team is speaking with people working on nature conservation, and visiting protected areas such as Lagodekhi, which lies adjacent to the Dagestan and Zakatala protected areas in Russia and Azerbaijan.

Cycling Silk is comprised of two scientist-explorers, Kate Harris and Melissa Yule, friends since childhood. Kate is a writer, scientist, adventurer and photographer. She won a Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford University where she completed her Master's thesis on transboundary conservation and peace parks. She also holds a Master's degree from MIT in earth and planetary sciences. Melissa is a social scientist, environmentalist and endurance athlete. In her work and research, Mel combines community development with environmental science to study ecological impacts on human health. She holds a Master's degree in International Development from the University of Guelph, and worked as a researcher at the International Development Research Centre in Canada. Harris and Yule have previously biked coast-to-coast across the continental USA in 2005, and they spent four months cycling through Xinjiang and Tibet in western China in 2006.

Harris and Yule will share their journey through a documentary film and a multimedia website, www.cyclingsilk.com, since raising public awareness is a key goal of the expedition. “We believe that people must first care for a place before they feel compelled to protect it, so our goal with Cycling Silk is to leverage adventure into environmental advocacy,” says Yule. “We hope to instill a deeper understanding and inspire a greater appreciation for wild spaces and species that transcend borders, both on the Silk Road and beyond.”

Website: www.cyclingsilk.com
Contact: Kate Harris and Melissa Yule, team@cyclingsilk.com

source: finchannel.com

ARD Mediathek: Political solution sought in Turkey to row over new Armenian Patriarch | DW-Radio (ardmediathek.de)

Normally members of the Armenian Apostolic Orthodox Church in Turkey keep a low profile but a row over the election of a new patriarch has forced some them to send a petition to the Turkish prime minister.

more: www.ardmediathek.de