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Istanbul is the cultural centre of Turkey and offers all possibilities of a world city. In the Ottoman Empire literature and music used to be a part of religion, meaning they were most of the time in a pompous and gloomy style. The social importance of Islam prohibited the graphic depiction of art for many centuries. The abstract part of art though, experienced an extreme development and refinement. In the numerous Turkish museums valuable vases and pottery, jewellery and costumes are displayed. Another impressive detail of Turkish culture are depicted by the artistic portals of the mosques.
With Ataturk coming to power the artistic world in Turkey became a special position. From one day to the other painting and sculpture became enormously popular and spread widely throughout the country and the city. Ataturk also loved opera and supported the influence of modern western sounds. Of course the music has changed since then; folklore music is combined with modern sounds and displaced the old folk songs. The world of Turkish literature boomed when the Latin alphabet was introduced in 1928. The best known literates are Yashar Kemal, Orhan Pamuk and Nazim Hikmet. Also film production experienced a revival after WW II, especially in the 60s and 70s. Famous artists are Yilmaz Güney, Basaran and Omer Kavur are known beyond the borders of Turkey.
Today Istanbul counts more than 20 theatre, an opera, museums, numerous cinemas in which you can watch original movies with subtitles, and various bars and clubs. The traditional “Istanbul Summer” offers a lot of international film, theatre, music and jazz performances.
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