Italian diaspora

Turkey on Aug. 31 will take on Poland in the quarter-finals of the Women's European Volleyball Championship after making six wins in six games with a win over the Czech Republic.

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The Turkish women defeated the Czechs 3-1 (25 - 13, 22 - 25, 25 - 14 and 25 - 13) on Aug. 29 in front of more than 2,000 Turkish fans in Kolodruma Sports Hall in Plovdiv, Bulgaria.

The Mediterranean basin is the cradle of civilizations, no doubt about it. Sea trade has been connecting Europe, the Middle East and Africa since ages, creating a cornucopia of diverse cultures interacting and contributing to each other.

It is difficult to carry a rather unknown name when you are a child. I started getting used to my rather uncommon name as I got older. Both my name and surname are rare in Turkey, and I occasionally come across people who ask if I'm a foreigner.

The Levantine Heritage Foundation will organize its second interdisciplinary conference, "The Levant and Europe: Shipping and Trade - Networks of People and Knowledge," between Nov. 2 and 4 in London's Europe House and the Hellenic Center.

The Catoni Group is a company which has been active in these lands in the maritime sector since 1846.

Jonathan Beard, the head of the board, is the fifth generation.

"My great-grandfathers did not go to Alaska to look for gold but they came to Ottoman lands," said Beard, while speaking last weekend at the conference titled "Levantines of Beyoğlu," organized in Istanbul.

Istanbul is hosting a very interesting conference, which started yesterday and will continue until tomorrow: The first international Levantine conference named “The Levantines: Commerce and Diplomacy.”

More than 30 scientists are participating in the conference with keynote speaker Philip Mansel, the author of the book, “Constantinople: City of the World’s Desire.”

The first international conference focused on the Levantine communities of the Eastern Mediterranean is kicking off in Istanbul today and will remain in the city until Nov. 5.

Titled “The Levantines: Commerce and Diplomacy,” the conference features keynote speeches by prominent scholars