TCF awarded a grant to Humanities West, a San Francisco based organization that presents programs on the fine arts, social history, music, politics, and philosophy of the arts. The TCF grant will support a series of lectures on performances under two programs organized by Humanities West. The first program, Constantinople and the Byzantine Millennium will take place on February 28-March 1; the second program Baghdad in Its Golden Age will take place on April 25-26.

Last month, TCF selected seven culture professionals to receive the first term 2014 TCF Cultural Exchange Fellowship. Established in 2012, the TCF Cultural Exchange Fellowship Program aims to support international exchanges between artists, as well as professionals working in fields related to the arts and culture. Since its inception, the Fellowship has been awarded to 40 individuals. TCF is now accepting applications for the 2014 second term fellowships. Please visit the TCF website to learn about eligibility and how to apply.

In January, the TCF Lecture Series in Turkish Culture and Art held at the TCF Istanbul offices featured the first of four lectures by Prof.Dr.Nurhan Atasoy, Istanbul University. Her lecture “Surname-i Humayun” (Imperial Festival Book) presented a window into Ottoman social and court life through these illustrated and narrated accounts of imperial celebrations. On February 11, Dr.Atasoy will give a lecture on Ottoman Imperial Garments (in Turkish).

All TCF lectures are recorded and periodically uploaded on the TCF Video Gallery for online viewing. In January, TCF was pleased to share its 100th online lecture video with the addition of the December lecture videos: The Lost Turkish Pavilion of Expo '58 by Dr.Johann Pillai, Sidestreets Educational and Cultural Initiatives and Excavation, Research and Restoration of the Edirne Palace  (in Turkish) by Dr.Mustafa Ozer, Bahcesehir University. For more information on the TCF Lectures, please visit here.

Tayfun Serttas (TCF Cultural Exchange Fellow-2014) will have his solo exhibition "Mimarlar Mezarlığı / Cemetery of Architects" at the Studio-X Istanbul in January 31-March 28, 2014. He will also participate in the art residency program at Cité International des Arts in Paris between January and March, 2014.

TCF announced a matching grant challenge in support of research and preservation efforts at the Neolithic site of Catalhoyuk (Çatalhöyük) in Turkey. All donations made to TCF as part of this campaign must be marked Ref: Catalhoyuk and sent to the TCF Washington office by the end of the year.

TCF Executive Director Guler Koknar gave an interview to Posta212, a New York based Turkish language newspaper. In the article, Koknar highlighted current and future programs of TCF, while commenting on how the TCF people-to-people programs aim to strenghten relations between the United States and Turkey.

As part of its mission to preserve Turkey's cultural heritage, the TCF Cultural Heritage Preservation and Natural Dyes Laboratory-DATU provides free analytical services to museums and other cultural institutions. This month, the TCF-DATU scientific team did analysis on the fabrics covering the tomb of Turhan Hatice Valide Sultan (wife of Ottoman Sultan Ibrahim I, mother of Sultan Mehmet IV), in the New (Yeni) Mosque  complex.   The DATU team conducted dye, fiber and metal thread analysis on 8 tomb covers, recommended appropriate restoration and preservation methods for the covers and provided materials for the work.

On January 16, the TCF Culinary Art Center-YESAM hosted Dr.Ozge Samanci, professor of Gastronomi at Yeditepe University, who talked about Sherbets in Ottoman Culinary Culture. Past YESAM lectures are periodically uploaded and are available for viewing on the TCF Video Gallery. The latest YESAM lecture addition to the TCF Video Gallery is Turkish coffee lecture by Dr.Nihal Bursa.

Meanwhile, Turkish cooking traditions are highlighted every month with the YESAM Recipe of the Month, which features a recipe for Sauteed Foxtail Lily with Lamb for January.