* Turkish press reported on January 23 that Prof. Omer Ozkan from Turkey's Akdeniz University was recorded in history of medicine by performing the World's first triple limb transplant. Ahmet Kaya's face, arms and legs were transplanted to two patients, Ugur Acar and Atilla Kavdir.
  Doctors said that the condition of Ugur Acar, who received a full face transplant, was good. Meanwhile, Kavdir's one leg was removed after the operation due to tissue incompatibility.
  On January 26, Daily Sabah reported Ugur Acar, the patient in Turkey's first full face transplant, murmured his first words after the surgery last Sunday. He said "welcome" to his doctors at the Akdeniz University Hospital. "His voice is a bit hoarse but he even makes jokes," Dr. Ozlenen Ozkan told reporters.
  See more at Face and Limbs

* Turkey's Transportation Minister Binali Yildirim issued a statement about the maintenance of Bosphorus Bridge.
  Mr. Yildirim said that on the 40th year of its construction, Bosphorus Bridge would be under maintenance for 8-9 months.
  He added that the bridge would not be closed during maintenance. However, there can be interruptions in the traffic, he noted.
  The Bosphorus Bridge connects the European part of Istanbul to the Asian part.

* The Turkish daily Milliyet told about a report by Turkish Human Rights Foundation presented to the parliamentary committee investigating extra-judicial murders in Turkey.
  The report says the number of summary killings went rampant between the year of 1992 and 1995 reaching as high as 467 in 1994 with almost all of them in east and southeast Turkey during the governments of Suleyman Demirel and Tansu Ciller.
  In related news daily Radikal said the number of human skulls unearthed in Diyarbakir had reached to 23. The victims are believed to be killed and buried by members of JITEM, a secret and illicit military intelligence agency.

* The Turkish daily Turkiye reports that Turkish President Abdullah Gul had approved a legislation that designates a seven-year term for himself in office and closes the way for his re-election to the post.
  A constitutional amendment in 2010 reduced tenure of the president to five years from seven years.
  The amendment will take effect starting with the presidential election of 2014.

* Iraq's Sayyed Ammar al-Hakim visited Turkey this week. Al-Hakim ‎ is an Iraqi politician who leads the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq, which was the largest party in Iraq's Council of Representatives from the 2003 Invasion of Iraq until the 2010 Iraqi elections.
  Commenting on Ammar al-Hakim's visit to Ankara, on January 27 issues Cumhuriyet and Turkiye dailies emphasized that al-Hakim gave many positive messages during his visit. The dailies underlined that al- Hakim met with Turkish President Abdullah Gul, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu. Dailies quoted al-Hakim as saying "we will never let politics hurt our friendship with Turkey".

* On January 27 issues Turkish dailies highlighted European Union Minister and Chief Negotiator Egemen Bagis's remarks made in Davos town of Switzerland.
  Mr. Bagis said that Europe's future was being discussed in Davos. "Europe needs a new vision. New Europe can be possible with only Turkey," Bagis was quoted.

* According to the Hurriyet Daily News, Istanbul has amazed American model and actress Megan Fox.
  Ms. Fox is currently in Turkey to shoot a TV commercial for Doritos chips.
  Noting that she has been impressed by Istanbul, Ms. Fox said she hoped to visit the city with her husband as soon as possible.
  The actress said she visited Hagia Sophia, drank Turkish coffee and took a Bosphorus cruise, but added that she regretted not being able to see much of the city’s historical cultural heritage.
  See Youtube Interview for an interview.

* A new collaborative project between SALT and Van Abbemuseum is set to evolve over the course of three exhibitions presented at both of Istanbul’s SALT venues throughout 2012, reports the Hurriyet Daily News.
  SALT is a not-for-profit institution located in Istanbul, Turkey. Van Abbemuseum is a museum of modern and contemporary art located in central Eindhoven, Netherlands, on the east bank of the Dommel river.
  The first exhibition opens Jan. 27 at SALT Beyoğlu and presents art works on loan from the Van Abbemuseum.
  In collaboration with the team at Van Abbemuseum, SALT has selected over 40 individual works by 15 international artists who have either never shown in Istanbul or have been rarely exhibited despite their fame.
  See more at SALT

* According to the Anatolia News Agency, a new Turkish Civilization Museum is to be built in the Turkish capital Ankara. The new museum will gather archaeological artifacts from around Turkey.
  Turkey's minister of culture Ertuğrul Günay says that they are planning to build the largest museum of the World.
  There are currently more than 100 museums under Turkey's Culture and Tourism Ministry’s auspices, said Mr. Günay, adding that they had so many artifacts that there was no space to display them all.
  "World museums always try to contact us to display the inventory artifacts. But we think that we can display the excavation works in our new civilization museum,” he said.
  The museum will be built over 250,000 square feet of land.

* !f Istanbul International Independent Film Festival, which annually brings together independent films and directors from around the World for Turkish audiences, will hit screens starting Feb 16 in Istanbul.
  The festival will also go to Ankara and İzmir, reports the Hurriyet Daily News.
  The competition program will be judged by a jury headed by Turkish director Yeşim Ustaoğlu and also includes the Egyptian filmmaker, actor and activist Khaled Abol Naga, chief critic for Screen International Mark Adams, American writer-director Jonathan Cauoette, and curator of the Wavelengths section of the Toronto Film Festival Andrea Picard.
  The acclaimed British actor Rupert Everett will also attend the 11th !f Istanbul International Independent Film Festival, where he will be honored for his contributions to cinema.
  Further information about the festival is at http://www.ifistanbul.com.

* According to the Hurriyet Daily News, the Istanbul Music Festival, organized by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts, will be celebrating 40th anniversary this year between May 31 and June 29.
  Featuring two World and three Turkish premieres, the festival will feature 23 concerts including symphonic and chamber orchestras, vocal concerts and recitals.
  See more at Istanbul Fest

* Can Bonomo of Turkey will compete against singers from 18 countries in the first semi-finals and 19 countries in the second semi-finals of the Eurovision Song Contest, reports the Hurriyet Daily News.
  This year Eurovision will take place in the Azerbaijani capital Baku in May.

* According to the Hurriyet Daily News, Jazz singer Carmen Lundy took the stage at the Akbank Art Center on Jan. 24 and 25.
  Ms. Lundy began her professional career as a jazz vocalist and composer when there were very few young, gifted and aspiring jazz vocalists on the horizon. Three decades later, Ms. Lundy is celebrated throughout the World for her vocal artistry and is highly regarded for her jazz innovation.
  Ms. Lundy’s work as a vocalist and composer has been critically acclaimed by The New York Times, The Village Voice, The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, as well as numerous foreign publications.
  See more about Ms. Lundy at Carmen Lundy

* Turkey’s government is not doing enough to aid the arts in the country, according to Republican People’s Party deputy and folk singer Tolga Çandar, reports the Anatolia News Agency.
  “The most important problem in Turkey is cultural imperialism,” he said. “People living in Anatolia have a rich culture – it doesn’t matter which ethnic root they have,” he said, adding that more must be done to take care of Anatolia’s culture. Mr. Çandar, who was elected as a deputy for the Aegean province of Muğla in last year’s election, said Parliament had so far disappointed him.
  Commenting on Turkish Aegean folk songs, Çandar said: “People in Turkey are listening to Aegean folk songs.
  Hear Mr. Candar sing a folk song Youtube Video

* According to the Hurriyet Daily News, Pompidou Museum in Paris and Museum of Modern Art in Salzburg added video work of Turkish artist Ferhat Özgür to their permanent collection.
  While the Museum of Modern Art in Salzburg bought Ferhat Özgür’s 2009 video “Testament or Ten Commandments,” Pompidou Museum also bought one copy of the same video, the 2009 work titled “Metamorphosis Chat,” which was exhibited at the sixth Berlin Biennial.
  Mr. Özgür was invited for an artist presentation at “Prospective Cinema” organized at Pompidou Museum as a side event of the exhibition titled “Dance Through Life.” Curated by Christine Macel, the exhibition will run through April. In his artist presentation, Özgür will screen his 2008 video work titled “It’s Time To Dance Now” and will speak about his works.
  See one of Mr. Ozgur's videos You Tube video

* Doğan News Agency reports that the city of Denizli in southwestern Turkey is set to host in May the Cross-cultural Painting Camp, organized as part of the Turkey and European Union program.
  A total of 10 Turkish artists will travel to Denizli for the project, while 18 artists from European Union countries will also visit in order to participate.
  There will also be a painting competition as a part of the project.
  See more at Painting Camp

* Commemorating four centuries of cultural, diplomatic and trade relations between Turkey and the Netherlands, the Suna and İnan Kıraç Foundation Pera Museum is presenting an exhibition titled “Sultans, Merchants, Painters: The Early Years of Turkish-Dutch Relations.” reports the Hurriyet Daily News.
  The paintings, engravings and objects included in the exhibition are being shown together for the first time in centuries. The paintings, the majority of which were executed by Vanmour and his school, represent a particular point of interest for art lovers. Vanmour is renowned as an “eyewitness” to the Tulip Era of the early 18th century. (See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Baptiste_van_Mour )
  Tulip era is a period in Ottoman history from The Treaty of Passarowitz on 21 July 1718 to The Patrona Halil Rebellion on 28 September 1730. This was a relatively peaceful period, during which the Ottoman Empire can be said to have begun to orient itself towards Europe.
  The Tulip period saw a flowering of arts, culture and architecture.
  The name of the period derives from the tulip craze among the Ottoman court society
  The exhibition will be on through April 1. It will then be on display at the Amsterdam museum between April 18 and August 26.
  See more at Dutch and Turks
  Museum's website is at http://en.peramuzesi.org.tr/

* Hurriyet Daily News reports that Istanbul Modern Cinema commemorates the Star Wars legend with the documentary “The People vs. George Lucas” about the conflicting relationship between George Lucas and his fans that spread over 30 years.
  The documentary will be screened along with films by fans re-creating Star Wars using film, animation, claymation, puppets, or Lego.

* According to the Anatolia News Agency, a total of 31.5 million tourists visited Turkey in 2011.
  Germans topped the number of visitors with five million, followed by 3.4 million Russians and 2 1/2 million British.
  33% of the tourists enter Turkey via Antalya on the Mediterranean coast, 26% via Istanbul.

* According to the Anatolia News agency, Turkey has launched initiatives to take back "Seikilos Epitaph" --World's oldest surviving example of a complete musical composition.
  The epitaph is variously dated from around 200 BC to around 100 AD.
  Seikilos Epitaph, which had been unearthed at Tralleis Ancient City during Aydin-Izmir railway construction between 1881 and 1883, was smuggled out of Turkey.
  See more at Seikilos_epitaph