77 American middle and high school teachers will be visiting Turkey on three Teacher Study Tours, organized and sponsored by the TCF. Selected competitively from among teachers who participated in the Teacher Workshops on Turkey, organized by local chapters of the World Affairs Councils of America (WACA) and TCF, the teachers will begin arriving in Istanbul on June 25. The tours will visit Istanbul, Gelibolu (Gallipoli) and Troy, Canakkale, Bursa, Kusadasi, Pamukkale, Konya and Catalhoyuk, Cappadocia and Ankara. This year, the American teachers will be accompanied by volunteer Turkish teachers on their tours. The study tours are the second tier of the Spotlight on Turkey, nationwide educational program organized by TCF, WACA and its local chapters and funded by a major TCF grant.

TCF Senior Scholar in Residence, Prof.Dr.Nurhan Atasoy lectured on Impressions of Ottoman Culture in Europe: 1453-1699, her new book with co-author Dr. Lale Uluc, in a series of events in the United States. Her first lecture took place in New York on May 29, co-hosted by the American Turkish Society. On May 31, Dr.Atasoy spoke at the Smithsonian Institution's Sackler and Freer Gallery of Art. Dr.Atasoy also lectured about the book at a conference organized by the Center for Turkish Studies at Ghent University in Belgium. Impressions of Ottoman Culture in Europe: 1453-1699 has been receiving international and Turkish media coverage ever since it was published. Most recently, the book was reviewed by Melik Kaylan in the June issue of Newsweek Magazine. An online version of the article was published by the Daily Beast on May 27. The book's research has been sponsored by TCF and it has been published by ARMAGGAN. It is available at ARMAGGAN and bookstores in Turkey and on Amazon.

Dr.Sumiyo Okumura, TCF Resident Art Historian, gave a lecture on The Influence of Turkic Culture on Mamluk Carpets at the Institute of Advanced Studies on Asia, at the University of Tokyo.

Several lectures that took place in the last season of the TCF Lecture Series in Turkish Culture and Art at the TCF Istanbul office can now be viewed online at the TCF Video Gallery.

The following lecture videos have been added this month: Cok Katmanli bir Kentin Mimarisi: Istanbul by Ahmet Eyuce; An American in Ankara (1921) by Heath Lowry; Ciragan Sarayi Ic Mekanlarinin Yeniden Duzenlenmesi by Hande Tozun; The Imperial Processions of the Ottoman Sultans by Gunhan Borekci; Tracing the Ottoman Rugs in Transylvania by Stefano Ionescu; Istanbul ve Ayasofya'daki Kultur Degerlerimiz by Haluk Dursun; Early Chinese-Turkic Encounters in East Asiaby Isenbike Togan; Cin Uygarliginin Dogusu ve Turklerle Iliskiler by Ahmet Tasagil; European Music in Ottoman Istanbul by Evren Kutlay; 21.yuzyilda Klasik Muzik by Alper Maral; Osmanli Kulturunun Avrupa'da Yansimalari by Nurhan Atasoy & Lale Uluc.

A segment of the prominent travel and cuisine show on Turkish television channel Skyturk360, Renkler, hosted by Ayhan Sicimoglu, was filmed at the TCF Culinary Arts Center-YESAM at Armaggan Nuruosmaniye in Istanbul. The show featured the YESAM demonstration on the making of Turkish delight and palace style borek. The segment can be watched here.

Vedat Basaran, YESAM President and Chef, was the featured guest on the Zirvedekiler program on TRT1, hosted by Ece Incedursun. The program features individuals who are regarded at the pinnacle of their careers. The segment on Mr.Basaran was filmed at YESAM and also showcased the work of YESAM, including parts of a YESAM seminar on Turkey's regional cuisine culture. The program can be watched here.

On June 21, YESAM will host a lecture by Nedim Atilla who will speak on Giresun: The Black Sea's Hidden Cuisine. The lecture is presented in Turkish and is open to the public. To register, please send an e-mail to  lecture@yemeksanatlari.org

A TCF grant to Makam New York helped underwrite the First Annual Turkish Music Institute. The workshop was held in New York on May 29 through June 2 and featured three classes in practical use of music theory, intonation, and modal repertoire analysis and interpretation. The workshop was taught by Ahmet Erdogdular, Omer Erdogdular and Ross Daly.

A TCF grant to the Spencer Museum of Art at the University of Kansas will underwrite an exhibition on Turkish kilims, titled Elegance Under Foot: Turkish Weavings. The exhibition will consist of 182 Turkish kilims owned by a private collection. The museum will create an inventory and photograph the collection prior to the exhibition, which will be on view at the Spencer Museum of Art on June 16 through July 8.

The TCF Istanbul office hosted a group of MBA students of Johns Hopkins University earlier in the month and briefed them on the range of TCF programs and grants. In June, the TCF Istanbul office will host American geography teachers who will visit Turkey on a study tour organized by the Oregon Geographic Alliance at Portland State University, with support from a TCF study tour grant. A group of MBA students from the University of San Francisco will also visit the TCF Istanbul office in June. Later in June, the TCF Istanbul office will host a delegation from Dayton, Ohio, led by the Ahiska Turkish American Community Center. The Dayton delegation visit is sponsored in part by the Turkish Coalition of America.