Sezen

Turkish singer Sezen Aksu performing in Amsterdam December 2005. Photo: EPA/RICK NEDERSTIGT

"Sezen Aksu will never walk alone," the intellectuals said in an open letter and added that they were watching President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's targeting of Sezen Aksu, which violated freedom of expression.

Rome-based Turkish director Ferzan Özpetek's latest film "La Dea Fortuna" (The Fortune Goddess) was promoted at a press screening.

A special screening was held at the Quattro Fontane cinemas in the Italian capital Rome for the 13th feature film in Özpetek's career, which is a romantic drama.

Ceyl'an Ertem, one of the most prominent alternative singers in Turkey, has released four studio albums full of original songs, and her authentic style has attracted many listeners for years, resulting in sold-out concerts and pretty good album sales, too. 

Veteran Turkish musician and composer Atilla Özdemiro?lu died on April 20 at the age of 73 in an Istanbul hospital where he had been receiving lung cancer treatment.

In a career spanning five decades, Özdemiro?lu worked with a number of Turkish groups and singers. He is best known for his award winning film scores in the 1970s and 1980s. 

Iconic Turkish pop star Sezen Aksu has called for the release of three jailed academics - Esra Mungan, Muzaffer Kaya and K?vanç Ersoy - who were arrested by an Istanbul court on March 15 for "making terrorism propaganda" when they read out a much debated petition that angered the government and President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an. 

The world-renowned British Royal Philharmonic Orchestra interpreted the songs of Sezen Aksu, known as the diva of Turkish pop music, for an exclusive concert accompanied by the Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra on Dec. 10.

The orchestra, directed by famous Italian maestro Marcello Rota, interpreted Aksu's songs as her journey through the music world marks its 40th anniversary. 

Turkish pop icon Sezen Aksu will take the stage at Istanbul's Cemil Topuzlu Open Air Theater on July 14 and 15 with her project "Sezen'li Y?llar."

Aksu's performance will be an interactive gig, according to the organizer, Most Production, which said that the audience would have the chance to use social media and join Aksu's performance on stage.

British celebrity chef Jamie Oliver, a.k.a. the ?Naked Chef,? has not found what he had hoped for with his ?Jamie?s Italian? restaurant in Istanbul, which is seeking a suspension of bankruptcy from a court that has ruled for an injunction, according to sources.