Ali Güreli, the founder and chairman of the Contemporary Istanbul art fair, emphasizes the importance of contemporary art and speaks about new projects and how to better circulate Turkish contemporary art internationally.

"The art of photography can build a bridge between cultures and carry our collaboration forward. 'Concept: Turkey' is a very important event in terms of the meeting of two different cultures," Türkoğlu said. He also invited everyone who is interested in photography to become a part of the project in order to introduce the Turkish way of life as well as culture to the Americans.

Four multiple award-winning independent documentary features from the United States will hit select movie theaters in two Turkish cities later this month thanks to a new collaboration between Turkey's indie distribution system Başka Sinema and the American Film Showcase (AFS), a film diplomacy program organizing screenings and workshops with US filmmakers in more than 35 countries.

More than 100 people gathered in front of the Islamic Arts museum in Istanbul on Friday to commemorate the massacre of Armenians during the last days of the Ottoman empire. [...]The commemoration, organized by Turkish and international human rights organizations, was one of a series of events taking place in Istanbul to mark the centenary of the Armenian genocide during which more than 1.5 million Armenians were killed, according to historians’ estimates.

The French Consulate in Istanbul has prepared a lovers' dictionary in French and Turkish to mark Valentine's Day on Feb. 14. The dictionary, titled "Aşk-ı Hayat" (the Love of Life), introduces the definitions of words associated with love along with traditional Turkish love stories, romantic films and books and special venues for lovers. 

Istanbul may be rich in cultural history, with 18th-century mosques, sultans’ palaces and Byzantine relics, but its global contemporary art offerings are nowhere near that of London, Paris and New York.

The International Olympics Committee will hold a vote in Buenos Aires on Friday to decide the host of the 2020 Olympics. According to oddschecker.com, a site that gathers odds from Internet betting sites, Tokyo bests its competitors at 11-10 (meaning a successful bet of $10 will return $11 plus the original stake). Madrid follows at 11-4 and Istanbul 5-1.

The recent trend of the International Olympic Committee and FIFA, the organizer of soccer’s World Cup, has been to award the planet’s two largest sporting events to cities, countries or regions that have never hosted the global competitions. If that mind-set holds, Istanbul might seem to have the edge over Madrid and Tokyo on Saturday, when about 100 delegates of the Olympic committee will choose the host city for the 2020 Summer Games.