Istanbul Guide

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odd-numbered years from mid-September to mid-November. An inter- national curator or panel of curators nominates a theme and puts together a cutting-edge program that is then exhibited in a variety of venues around town. October The year’s final festivals take everyone’s minds off the impending arrival of winter. Ruby-red pomegranates come into season at the end of the month and are juiced at stands across the city. 3 Akbank Jazz Festival This older sister to the International İstanbul Jazz Festival is a boutique event (www.akbanksanat. com), with a program featuring traditional and avant-garde jazz. Venues are scattered around town. 2 İstanbul Design Biennial A reasonably recent addition to the İstanbul Foundation for Culture & Arts’ (İKSV) stellar calendar of festivals, this event (http://istanbul designbiennial.iksv.org) sees the city’s design com munity celebrating its profession and critically discussing its future. It’s held in even-numbered years.

ISLAMIC HOLIDAYS & EVENTS Islamic religious holidays and events are celebrated according to the Muslim lunar Hejira calendar, so their dates change every year. The most important event of the year is the holy month of Ramazan (called Rama dan in other countries), when Muslims fast from dawn until dusk and then sit with friends, family and com munity members to enjoy iftar (the meal that breaks the fast). It runs between May and June from 2017 to 2019. These iftar meals are sometimes held in streets or in large tents within the grounds of mosques. A three-day festival called Ramazan Bayramı (also known as Şeker, or Sugar, Bayramı because it involves lots of candy consumption) celebrates the completion of Ramazan. The four- or five-day Kurban Bayramı is the most significant religious holiday of the year. It celebrates the biblical and Kur’anic account of Abraham’s near sacrifice of his son on Mt Moriah. In 2017 it will be in September; in 2018, August.

PLAN YOUR TRIP Month by Month

3 Efes Pilsen One Love This one-day music festival (www.onelove istanbul.com) is organised by the major promoter of rock and pop concerts in Turkey, Pozitif. Interna tional headline acts play everything from punk to pop, electronica to disco. September Autumn’s cool breezes usher in an influx of tourists, and hotels revert to their high-season rates. Arty types are in seventh heaven when the internationally acclaimed art biennial is launched. 2 İstanbul Biennial The city’s major visual arts shindig (http://bienal. iksv.org/en) takes place in

action takes place in atmosphere-laden Aya İrini.

July It can be as hot as Hades at this time of year, so many locals decamp to beaches on the Mediterranean coast. Those left in town keep the heat under control with a liberal dose of cool jazz. 3 İstanbul Jazz Festival This festival (http://caz. iksv.org/en) programs an exhilarating hybrid of conventional jazz, elec tronica, drum ’n’ bass, world music and rock. Venues include Salon in Şişhane and parks around the city.