On April 29, 2010, Istanbul Center was pleased to host Dr. Kemal Dervis, Vice President of The Brookings Institution and Former Minister of Economic Affairs and the Treasury of the Republic of Turkey, at 6:30 P.M. at The Jimmy Carter Presidential Museum Theatre.

Guests enjoyed a remarkable presentation by Dr. Dervis on the state of the global economy and its changing structure in the 21st century. 

Winners of the 2010 Turkish Olympiad of the Southeastern U.S.

The 3rd Annual Turkish Olympiad of the Southeastern US was held at the Ferst Center for the Arts at Georgia Tech in Atlanta, Georgia by the Istanbul Center on Saturday, March 19, 2010.The winners of the categories of singing, poetry recitation, general knowledge and proficiency in the Turkish Language and Writing will represent the Southeastern U.S. in the world-wide 8th Annual Turkish Olympiads in Istanbul, Turkey.

The winners are announced here!

Istanbul Center is pleased to announce its most recent collaboration for an exciting exhibit commemorating diplomats who issued visas to Jews during the Nazi period.

Istanbul Center joins with the Israeli Consulate and the MLK, Jr. National Historic Site, among many others, to commemorate several diplomats who issued visas for Jews during the Nazi period.

Of note is the Turkish diplomat, Mr. Necdet Kent, who issued visas to Jews from his post in Marseilles, France. Mr. Kent's connection is also local to Atlanta as his son, Muhtar Kent, is the President and CEO of Coca-Cola.

Please click here to view your full invitation.

Istanbul Center invites you to join its monthly Book Club!

Sit, relax, and enjoy discussion with others at our Norcross branch. On April 17th, Istanbul Center's Book Club will review Nobel Laureate Orhan Pamuk's The White Castle. Pamuk is one of Turkey's most renowned authors. From the Publisher: "One of Turkey's foremost novelists explores the ambivalent relationship between master and slave in this elegant, postmodernist twist on the theme of the doppelganger. During the 17th century, a young Italian is captured by the Turkish fleet and brought to Istanbul, where he becomes the slave of an erudite man who could pass for his twin...."

Istanbul Center is pleased to announce that the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations posted an announcement about its involvement in the Art and Essay Contest on its website at http://www.unaoc.org/content/view/468/200/lang,english/.

Also posted from the Awards Ceremony on March 5, 2010 are the remarks from The High Representative, President Jorge Sampaio, which were delivered by Dr. Thomas Uthup.

A copy of President Sampaio's remarks can be found here.

Turkish Cultural Day at the Georgia State Capitol

March 10, 2010 – (Atlanta, GA) Istanbul Center was honored on Monday, March 8, 2010 on the Senate floor of the Georgia Legislature with Senate Resolution 919 (2010), which recognized Istanbul Center for its contributions to Georgia.

Resolution 919 was sponsored by Senator Renee Unterman (R) of the State of Georgia’s 45^th district. Istanbul Center was introduced to the Senate floor by Senator Judson Hill of the 32^nd district.

Click here to donate to the victims in Haiti! Istanbul Center would like to encourage citizens of Metro Atlanta communities to donate any amount possible to one or all of these notable charities below.

For example, using your cell phone, one may send automatic donations:  Text 'HAITI' to 90999: This service was established by the U.S. State Department. This will donate $10 to the American Red Cross, and appear as a charge on your bill.

A new session began for the 2009-2010 season. Please join us in savoring Turkish cuisine at Istanbul Center in Norcross.

Red lentil soup with butter, baklava, Turkish tea, and more!  Bereket Turkish Grocery, right next door in Norcross, makes things easier for buying ingredients. Sample our Turkish cuisine at this and other Istanbul Center programs today!

Ongoing and future trade with Gwinnett County's Chamber of Commerce began with the Chamber hosting a recent Turkish delegation, building bridges of trade and commerce.

At an 1818 Club luncheon on October 20th, the Gwinnett Chamber economic development along with local leaders in government hosted an eight-person Turkish delegation looking to identify business development opportunities in the United States, and in particular, the State of Georgia. The luncheon is one of many events in direct response to Gwinnett’s global business recruitment strategy launched just this year.

Discover the history of Jews in Istanbul. This historical exhibition tours the Southeast through 2011.

Many people know the term ‘Latino,’ but few have heard the term ‘Ladino.’ The Judeo-Spanish heritage of the Ladino community belongs to a group of descendants of Jews expelled from Spain in the 15th century in contemporary Istanbul.

Istanbul Center and its co-sponsors present an historical exhibition of images commemorating over 500 years of Jewish-Turkish history, courtesy of The Quincentennial Foundation Museum of Turkish Jews in Istanbul, Turkey. Known in Turkish as the “500. Yil Vakfi Türk Musevileri Müzesi,” this official museum archives objects and images documenting Jewish life in Turkey since the 15th century.

We've got a new website! We hope you pardon our progress as we seek to improve!

THE WINNERS ARE ANNOUNCED HERE.

Many thanks to Georgia's students, teachers, parents, and administrators!

Istanbul Center is very pleased with the increase of participation this year. We received double the amount of submissions you sent in last year! 

The Awards Ceremony was held on March 5, 2010 at 3:00 pm at Oglethorpe University's Conant Performing Arts Center.

Why Turkish?  Turkish is spoken by hundred of millions of people in the Near East, the former Soviet Union, China, and the Balkans.  More than 200 million people speak Turkish, and it is one of the 10 critical languages identified by the US Government.

If you are interested in learning Turkish, the Istanbul Center is where you can find several different levels of classes. The classes are taught in a warm atmosphere by our professional, volunteer Turkish Language teachers.