Atatürk Cultural Center

A U.K.-based culture magazine has picked the world's best 53 cities, ranking Türkiye's largest city Istanbul in the list.

Out of the 53 ranked cities chosen by the Time Out magazine, Edinburgh made it to the top of the list and was followed by Chicago and Medellin, while Istanbul was listed 50th.

Thousands of fans bid farewell to Turkish legendary actor Cüneyt Arkın, who died at the age of 85, in a funeral service held in Istanbul's Teşvikiye Mosque.

The actor was then laid to rest in Zincirlikuyu cemetery in the Beşiktaş district on June 30.

Early on June 30, a ceremony was held in Atatürk Cultural Center, one of the metropolis' iconic art centers.

Istanbul's major renovation project Galataport will be operational as of April, said the Turkish president on Feb. 26. 

"Galataport is a worldwide project with the potential of drawing 25 million visitors, 7 million tourists, and 1.5 million cruise passengers," said Recep Tayyip Erdoğan during the inauguration of a historical movie theater and cinema museum. 

Within the scope of a restoration project, a historical theater in Istanbul, along with a cinema museum, opened its doors on Feb. 26 at a ceremony in the presence of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and many prominent figures from the culture and art world.

Restaurants and offices inside the Galata Tower will be evacuated and the historical tower will be turned into a museum, Turkey's culture and tourism minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy announced on June 8. 

Nuriye Gülmen and Semih Özakça have been on hunger strike for 90 days for their jobs. The former is an academic and the latter is a teacher. Despite all the statements from the interior minister, Süleyman Soylu, they are not terrorists, and not members of the Revolutionary People's Liberation Party-Front (DHKP-C).

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davuto?lu has revealed the government's program on sustainable cultural development, which includes a series of plans extending from the Atatürk Culture Center in Istanbul's Taksim Square to making Ankara a capital with Turkey's best cultural venues. 

A cultural construction project for an unused arts and cultural center in central Istanbul has been announced on the website of U.S.-based company Adrian Smith & Gordon Gill Architecture.