The TCF Culinary Arts Center-YESAM is getting ready to organize its second Culinary Cultural Tour this year, visiting the city of Safranbolu on October 24-26. Safranbolu, a World Heritage Site, is home to the saffron plant from which the town takes its name. The tour is to coincide with the harvest of the saffron plant and will be guided by Ibrahim Canbolat, architect and owner of Gulevi Safranbolu. For more information and to register, please visit here.

The TCF "Spotlight on Turkey" national educational program is entering the last phase in its 2014 cycle, after the conclusion of the two Teacher Study Tours which took place in the summer. Beginning this month and lasting through the end of the year, 10 participating local chapters of the World Affairs Councils (WACA) will organize a variety of cultural and educational events under the "Portrait of Turkey" segment of the Spotlight program.

Teachers who participated in the TCF Teacher Study Tours spearhead many of these events and will share their experiences with other teachers, students and the community members to facilitate a better understanding of Turkey, Turkey's culture and history.

TCF awarded a major grant to Billings Middle School in Seattle, WA to underwrite a study tour to Turkey for the school’s students in spring 2015. The school has received TCF support for study tours in past years, as well as a major grant to start-up a Turkish language class, which is now part of the permanent language program at the school. Rebecca Timson, who just retired from teaching at Billings, spearheaded these programs at her school after participating in the TCF Teacher Study Tours.

TCF awarded a grant to the American Turkish Association of North Carolina at Charlotte in support of the 4th Annual Charlotte Turkish Festival. The festival will take place on October 25 and feature Turkish cultural performances, music and culinary events.

TCF provided a grant to Dr.Evangelia Balta, Research Director at the National Hellenic Research Institute, to support the publication of conference proceedings on Karamanlidika - Karamanli Studies. Dr. Balta, a TCF Fellow, was recently recognized for her contributions to the field of Turkish cultural studies by the President of Turkey.

YESAM Project Executive Banu Ozden gave a lecture to Architecture students at Bilgi University on “Carts and Equipments used by Street Vendors of Istanbul,” on September 23. She also gave a lecture on the history of Turkish cuisine to a group from the Ship for World Youth Alumni Association, followed by a demonstration on the making of Turkish hard candy – akide sekeri by chefs of NAR Lokanta. Ms.Ozden will also give a lecture on Turkish culinary culture to Syracuse University students studying at Bahcesehir University on September 26.

The 2014-2015 YESAM Seminar Series got its start with a presentation by Pelin Dumanli,  a chef and food culture researcher, with a lecture on "Offal culture in Turkish Cuisine." The next YESAM seminar will take place on October 22 and feature Aylin Oney Tan, culinary expert and author. Her presentation is titled “Bone-dry Freshness: Dried Vegetables in Turkish Cookery.” For more information, please visit the YESAM website.

Past YESAM seminar videos may be watched online on the TCF Video Gallery. Meanwhile, Turkish cooking traditions are highlighted every month with the YESAM Recipe of the Month, which now features a recipe for Keskek, a dish traditionally served at weddings in Anatolia.

In the upcoming weeks, TCF scholars and experts at the Cultural Preservation and Natural Dyes Laboratory-DATU will be participating in scientific conferences in Turkey and around the world. Prof.Dr.Recep Karadag will be presenting at the International Forum on Natural Dyes in Taiwan on “Understanding and Conserving the Past and Recreating Natural Dyes for Today.” DATU will also participate in the 33rd Annual Dyes in History and Archaeology Conference at the University of Glasgow, UK on October 29 – November 1, with three poster presentations, prepared in collaboration with Marmara University Faculty of Technology. Dr.Karadag will also give a lecture about “Natural Dyes” at the University of Northampton, School of Arts on October 25. Meanwhile, DATU expert Emine Torgan will give a presentation titled “Determination of antimicrobial activity of dyed silk fabrics with natural dyes,” at the 6th International Istanbul Textile Conference at Marmara University on October 15-17. DATU will also have a poster presentation at the same conference. For details about these programs, please visit the DATU website.

Contemporary artists Ozgur Demirci and Sumer Sayin (TCF Cultural Exchange Fellows-2014) presented their works at the "City and Public Places," exhibition as part of the 10th Contemporary Art Festival "Nights of Museums and Galleries," organized by the Open Arts Foundation in Plovdiv, Bulgaria on September 5-13, 2014.

Installation artist Tayfun Serttas (TCF Cultural Exchange Fellow-2014) participated in a residency program and exhibition project "We All Live on the Same Sea" at the Sirius Arts Centre in Cobh in Cork, Ireland on August 22-September 15, 2014.

Feraye Aysel Alver (TCF Cultural Exchange Fellow-2014), a sculptor and Ph.D. candidate at Hacettepe University, attends a 3-week artist residence program at Amilly Ville des Arts School on September 8-28, 2014.

Ceramic artist Robin Cameron, contemporary artists Ann Edzgveradze, Carol Shymanski and Josh Tonsfeldt, all with support from the 2014 TCF Cultural Exchange Fellowship,  will exhibit their works at the international exhibition project "Lower East Side in Istanbul (LESI): The Built Environment, " curated by Kathleen Madden (TCF Cultural Exchange Fellow-2014) at Mixer Arts on September 19-November 2, 2014.