A guest.
A new question.

Işık Şahin’s announced presentation approaches Sappho through ancient figured vases. It considers limited written evidence alongside visual representations. The programme’s subjects include the poet’s social position, female students, school and the musical tradition of Lesbos.

Halil Genç’s novel Yakın Kadar Uzak is the focus of this Literary Encounters announcement. Moderated by Aysun Kara, the programme centres on the novel’s world, the writing process and the place of stories in everyday life. The announcement also includes a meeting with readers and a book signing.

Özlem Abut Otluoğlu discussed the writing of her novel Sekiz Buçuk Metrekare with readers. The conversation followed an idea’s journey into a finished book and the contribution of readers’ views to the writer’s experience. Ayvalık Book Club joined the meeting beneath olive trees. Kenan Mortan contributed to the conversation, followed by a book signing.

Stories of the Sea is an announced garden talk around Vecdi Çıracıoğlu’s Maviden – Deniz Güzeldir. Moderated by Metin Yetkin, the programme focuses on literature of the sea. The announcement includes the book’s world, the writer’s relationship with the sea, conversation with readers and a signing.

Murat Tolga Şen approached Turkish cinema through artistic production and industry dynamics. Moderated by Müge Çetinkaya, the garden conversation focused on the tensions between these two ends of national cinema. The guest’s experience in the film sector provided its starting point.

A joint AYEV and Atölye Ayvada announcement brought Kemal Anadol’s Hoşça Kal Midilli to the programme, guided by Kenan Mortan. The announced discussion concerned İzzet Kapakçı’s story, Lesvos and documentary approaches to fiction. Literature provided a way to approach the two shores of the Aegean.

Sociologist Şükrü Bilgiç addressed the effects and social consequences of substance use. The programme included addiction, prevention, treatment and recovery. Professional experience was shared with participants to support public awareness.

Zehra Esra Balkan explored the changing story of time through clocks. The conversation considered clock towers and their connections with sultans and Istanbul. An everyday object became a starting point for reading the history and culture of the region.

Özlem Abut Otluoğlu joined the programme for a shared reading of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. The session explored close reading and the construction beneath a story. It formed part of the association’s encounters devoted to less immediately visible layers of a novel.

Forest engineer Vehbi Tutmaz drew on field experience to discuss causes of fires and common misconceptions about prevention. The conversation considered protective actions citizens should know and questions about firefighting. Concrete questions connected the discussion with responsibility for Ayvalık’s natural environment.

History writer Önder Kaya shared his research and observations on Mount Athos. Monastic life, the Middle Ages, religious history and liturgy were among the subjects discussed. First-hand experience of the region was considered alongside historical research.

Murat Solmaz joined AYEV with his encyclopaedia bringing together research on Dikili. The book presentation and signing drew attention to historical connections between Dikili and Ayvalık. Taylan Köken and Turgut Baygın contributed to the preparation of this sixth book from Ayvada Publications.

Mustafa Koç’s announced presentation followed performing traditions from shadow theatre, orta oyunu and meddah storytelling to improvisational theatre. The shift towards modern theatre and early cinema formed its focus. The programme also referred to a lost Muhsin Ertuğrul film and Yakup Kadri’s novel Nur Baba.

Agricultural engineer Aylin Baydar examined common assumptions about agriculture. The discussion covered agricultural products, food and olive-related questions in particular. Knowledge about production in Ayvalık’s everyday life came into conversation with professional experience.

Zehra Esra Balkan and Ufuk Kırca brought archaeology and astronomy into the same conversation. Topics included artificial lighting and the loss of darkness, sky observation and astronomy tourism. Examples from Ayvalık, Turkey and elsewhere offered ways to reconsider our relationship with the natural environment.

Young writer Can Elbir explored the emergence of science fiction and narratives shaped by scientific developments. The discussion considered post-war writing, philosophical currents in art and relationships between science fiction and reality. Welcoming a university student as a speaker also made young people visible as contributors to the city’s cultural conversations.

Arzu Süzmen Yalçınkaya’s book provided the starting point for a discussion of social messages in fashion. The programme considered brands’ political positions, activist messages and relationships with current issues. Fashion, music and literary discussion came together, followed by a book signing.

Özlem Abut Otluoğlu joined AYEV for a close reading of Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre. The encounter focused on the construction beneath the story. Participants shared an approach to reading closely, recognising less visible layers and considering the structure the author creates.

Canan Mamak’s announced presentation approached Akira Kurosawa’s Rashomon through its narrative structure. Its subjects included different perspectives on an event, perceptions of reality and connections between Cubist thought and cinematic language. An art history perspective informed the question of how to read the film.

Mustafa Koç shared methods of urban history research through his work on Revnakoğlu’s Istanbul. The discussion considered layers of a city, traces of everyday life and ways to follow memory through sources. Istanbul offered a case through which researchers interested in Ayvalık could discuss their own methods.

Berrin Akın Akbüber and Hakan Dinç revisited the making of Kentli Ayvalık, published in 2004. The conversation focused on architecture, impressions of the city and the relationship between photography and writing. It followed the book’s research journey towards later academic work.

Canan Mamak and Nail Pelivan approached Un Chien Andalou through art history and cinema. A screening was followed by a discussion of Surrealism and the artistic approaches of Buñuel and Dalí. Questions from two disciplines opened the viewing experience to shared interpretation.

Cartoonist Kemal Ürgenç reflected on his relationship with art through his personal journey. The conversation explored humour as a way of reading society and its time, alongside Turkey’s humour magazines. The encounter continued with the artist signing his books.

Aysun Kara spoke about Ayvalık through the traces of childhood, place and geography in her writing. The conversation explored her relationship with the city through her stories and novels. Streets, personal memory and literature were approached through the writer’s experience.

Dr. Suzan Kantarcı Savaş joined the programme to examine common beliefs about olive oil. In a city where olive oil is part of everyday life, the encounter focused on getting to know it more closely. Specialist knowledge met everyday questions arising from local production culture.

Archaeologist Işık Şahin and musician-archaeologist Esra Kayıkçı explored women, music and archaeology through their book. Guided by Berrin Akın Akbüber, the conversation considered research and writing processes. Questions from the audience developed the discussion, followed by a book signing.

Pınar Kür’s Woman to Be Hanged was announced as the subject of an analytical reading with Özlem Abut Otluoğlu. The programme description focused on narrative strategies, character depth and writing techniques. Its starting point was a shared examination of the structure beneath the story.

The announced presentation by Gülbün Tuncel Keçeli introduced glass mosaic and Tiffany stained glass. Topics included glass cutting, copper foiling and soldering. The programme planned an encounter with the artist’s work, design processes and the relationship between glass and light.

An AYEV encounter with poet Turgut Baygın turned towards feelings left by time and personal memory. Poetry offered a shared space for reflecting on the traces of our own lives.