Calligraphy (from Greek, meaning
“
beautiful writing
”
) is the art of
fine handwriting. The term may refer to letters, wor
ds, pages, or
even whole documents to which aesthetic principles and skill
ed
penmanship have been applied.
In Islamic culture, calligraphic writing is accomplished by
using a
broad-edged reed, quill, or nib pen held at a slant.
In a country where Islam is practiced, calligraphy is of g
reat
importance since depictions of humans and animals are not
allowed. The copying of the Koran is considered a relig
ious act and
Islamic calligraphy is much esteemed because of its religiou
s
associations. Major styles of script are Kufi, a formal sty
le with an
angular character, Sülüs, a cursive flowing script writte
n with
rounded letters, Divani, generally used for writing t
he decrees, and
Talik. These scripts are also classified in themselves according
to
the places that they are used or their sizes.
Aesthetics, patience and imagination are key characteristi
cs of
Ottoman-Turkish calligraphy.
Calligraphy was a part of the Ottoman Book Arts togeth
er with the
Ottoman miniature painting, illumination (tezhip), b
ookbinding (cilt)
and paper marbling (ebru).
Led by a local expert artist, for all levels of intere
st and experience,
this workshop will provide -
Hands-on instruction on how to write in calligraphy
An opportunity to experience calligraphy writing, a
spiritual
geometry produced with materials.
Interaction with the local artist to learn about his/
her life
involving his art
Familiarity with the history and tradition of this a
rt
Discover the artist within!
The workshop price includes a
ll
make your own artwork, as well as compleentary tea and
Whether you’re new or a long-timer here in Istanbul, you probably love the fact that warm, fresh, wonderful-tasting bread, in endless varieties, can be bought at any time of day throughout our city.
But if you’d like to learn to make it yourself, back home, or just know more about the skills utilised to make our daily bread for us, get ready for some flour magic in the “Bakery of Istanbul.” We have persuaded them to share some of their secrets with IWI members in a special class, requiring no prior knowledge in the art of bread-making.
Ercan, the master of flour blending, will teach us the specialised skills required to produce bread, and we will make three very different products today.
-
Sour Dough ‘German’ bread, high in fibre, made with half rye (“çavdar”) and half white flour, and very little yeast
-
Dinkel Bread – made from spelt, or dinkel, a wheat which has been cultivated since around 5000BC and is now considered to be a health food.
-
Pretzels
All ingredients, and specialised equipment, will be available for us to create and bake our own breads for taking home to enjoy.
May the flour be with you!
