Saturday, October 22, 2005

The Hindu : Magazine / Lifestyle : The many stories of Istanbul

"The many stories of Istanbul

GUNVANTHI BALARAM

It is one of the most significant contemporary art events and, this year, it unfolds and reveals its context — the city of Istanbul.

REFLECTING TURKEY: Creation by Khalil Rabah.

ISTANBUL: There are two Istanbuls. One is the city of many pasts, where every brick and every tile reminds us that this was the seat of three ancient empires, the Byzantine, the Roman and the Ottoman. Then there's the city of multiple futures, a hybrid, globalising city of 16 million people — and seemingly as many automobiles — that is unabashedly re-inventing itself and trying to catapult itself into the European Union."

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