The southern dome of the inner narthex of the Chora Church in Istanbul, Turkey, features stunning Byzantine mosaics depicting Christ, Istanbul, Turkey

Erdal İnci and the Kariye: preserving a Byzantine legacy

A contemporary artist's perspective on the historical layers of the Chora

13 APRIL 2025, 

IDIL BURKUTOGLU

The Kariye Church, the main surviving church of the Khora Monastery, dates back to the sixth century and is one of the most important monuments of Byzantine art due to its magnificent mosaics and frescoes. It is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites of the Historic Areas of Istanbul. The name "Khora" possibly refers to the area's rural nature, as "Khora" means "country" or "outskirts." In the Ottoman period, it was known as Kariye, which could relate to the word "karye," meaning "village." Some of the representations of the Virgin Mary and Christ inside the church carry the "Khora" attribute, suggesting possible mystical meanings beyond the word’s literal meaning.

Sacred bones / The macabre beauty of San Bernardino alle Ossa

Embedded skull and bones details, Ossuary Chapel, Church of San Bernardino alle Ossa, Milan, Italy

Sacred bones: the macabre beauty of San Bernardino alle Ossa

Milan’s haunting chapel of bones and the deep reflection on mortality

13 MARCH 2025, 

IDIL BURKUTOGLU

Nestled in the heart of Milan, Italy, the Santuario di San Bernardino alle Ossa is a striking testament to both the macabre and artistic ingenuity. The origins of both the ossuary and the Church of St. Bernardino date back to the 13th century. In 1145, a hospital was built near the basilica of St. Stefano at what is now Via Brolo. A cemetery was created in front of the basilica to bury those who died in the hospital, but after a few years, the available space became insufficient. 

Ai Weiwei / In search of humanity

 

Ai Weiwei, In search of humanity, exhibition view (detail). Courtesy of Kunsthal Rotterdam

The power of intersection

30 Sep 2023 — 3 Mar 2024 at the Kunsthal Rotterdam in Rotterdam, Netherlands

IDIL BURKUTOGLU

Typically, when the term "intersection" is mentioned, people often think of it as a point — a singular moment where two or more objects meet or cross. This could be a place where two lines intersect, or where a car reaches an intersection in the road. It’s easy to imagine it as a specific, single event, a point of interaction or connection. However, the concept of "intersection" can be much broader, especially in three-dimensional space. While the intersection of two lines will always be a point, when it comes to planes, the intersection becomes more complex. For instance, when two flat planes (such as a wall and a floor) meet, they don't just meet at a point; they create a line of intersection. This is where the planes continuously meet, forming a line that extends across the planes, rather than being confined to a single spot.

 

Elizabeth Strout

Where to start with: Elizabeth Strout

This article is more than 10 months old

A guide to the Pulitzer-winning novelist’s tales of small-town life, family secrets, and fraught relationships

American author Elizabeth Strout has captured millions of readers’ imaginations with her small-town stories of ordinary people with rich inner lives. Her novels – often set in Maine, where she grew up – have won her a Pulitzer and got her shortlisted for the Booker and, this year, the Women’s prize for fiction. Joe Stone gives us a tour of her interconnected oeuvre.

 

The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout review – readers will delight in these new characters

The Olive Kitteridge and Lucy Barton author branches out with the tale of a Massachusetts teacher haunted by trauma

Claire Adam

Monday 27 April 2026

The American author Elizabeth Stroutfamously persisted throughout years of rejection to publish her first novel when she was in her 40s, and the hard work has certainly paid off. She won a Pulitzer prize in 2009, and has been nominated multiple times for the Booker and Women’s prizes. The Things We Never Say is her 11th book.

Books to look out for in 2026 – fiction

 

Books to look out for in 2026 – fiction

This article is more than 4 months old

Maggie O’Farrell, Yann Martel and Julian Barnes are among the authors publishing new novels this year

Justin Jordan

Saturday 27 December 2025

The beginning of the books calendar is usually dominated by debuts, but January 2026 sees releases from some of the year’s biggest authors. Known for his surreally bittersweet short stories, George Saunders has written only one novel so far – but that one won the Booker prize. The follow-up to 2017’s Lincoln in the Bardo, Vigil (Bloomsbury) focuses on an unquiet spirit called Jill who helps others pass over from life to whatever comes next. She is called to the deathbed of an oil tycoon who is rapidly running out of time to face up to his ecological crimes, in a rallying cry for human connection and environmental action. Ali Smith’s Glyph (Hamish Hamilton) is a companion to 2024’s Gliff, and promises to tell a story initially hidden in that previous novel. Expect fables, siblings, phantoms and horses in a typically playful shout of resistance against war, genocide and the increasingly hostile social discourse. And in Departure(s) (Jonathan Cape), Julian Barnes announces his own – this blend of memoir and fiction, exploring memory, illness, mortality and love across the decades, will be his last book. “Your presence has delighted me,” he assures the reader. “Indeed, I would be nothing without you.”

Into the Light by Rachel Cusk

Illustration by Damien Cuypers

FICTION

Into the Light

by Rachel cusk

THE ARTIST B was married three times, two of them to the same man, though on the latter occasion his right leg was missing. In the years of their separation an accident had occurred that required the leg to be amputated. For social events he used a prosthetic limb that was awkward and uncomfortable to wear. It was at one of these that their second meeting, after fifteen years of absence, had taken place.

Junk by Jenny Erpenbeck

 

Illustration by Damien Cuypers

FICTION

Junk

by Jenny Erpenbeck

Translated by 

Kurt Beals

OF COURSE IT’S NICE when the eye can be at peace, when it doesn’t get tangled up in knickknacks, when the drawers open silently and then close again as if by magic. It’s nice to have bare tables where no dust falls, only light. It’s nice when everything is made of glass and you can see through it, because nothing else is there. Emptiness is nice. Who doesn’t like to make a purchase if the salesman places a single pair of trousers on a frosted glass countertop lit from below? Then those trousers are the last thing on earth that casts a shadow, and the counter with its bluish shimmer turns out to be an altar that extends from Berlin to Vienna, from Vienna to Tokyo, from Tokyo to New York, and from New York perhaps to heaven or hell, gradually narrowing as it disappears from view.

Crossings by Bryan Washington

 

Illustration by Damien Cuypers

FICTION

Crossings

by Bryan Washington

FIRST I SPOT HIM holding hands with his husband. 

I’d have caught him anyway. PDA is so rare in broad daylight in Tokyo, let alone between men. He’s grown a beard. Clipped the hair on his head. And also, he’s more muscular than when we were together, like some kind of porn-star blow-up doll. 

Connie Converse during Christmas 1955, in Schenectady, in New York.SISTEMA NACIONAL DE PERSONAS DESAPARECIDAS DE ESTADOS UNIDOS

The mysterious life of Connie Converse, the brilliant singer who was ignored — and then vanished 

A reissue brings back the recordings of an artist who reached Greenwich Village before Bob Dylan or Joan Baez, only to disappear shortly after turning 50

Bruce Dickinson at an Iron Maiden concert in 1983. On the left, guitarist Dave Murray and bassist Steve Harris.MICHAEL OCHS ARCHIVES (GETTY IMAGES)

Iron Maiden: The heavy metal band that still drives audiences wild 50 years later

The legendary metal band is celebrating half a century at the height of their popularity, and has also just released the documentary ‘Burning Ambition’

Mark Rothko's painting 'Browns and Blacks in Red' was auctioned this Thursday at Sotheby's in New York.JOHN NACION (GETTY IMAGES)

The auction of two Rothkos and a De Kooning injects optimism into New York Art Week

The painting ‘Brown and Blacks in Reds’ sold for $86 million, close to the record for the Latvian-born American painter. Gallery owners at the Tefaf art fair highlighted the strong investor appetite despite the economic uncertainty surrounding the Iran war

Çubuklu Silos l Digital Art Museum, photo: İBB Library

Blending past and present: Çubuklu Silos' Digital Art Museum

Preserving heritage through contemporary repurposing and creating relevance against neglect

13 FEBRUARY 2025, 

IDIL BURKUTOGLU

Contemporary interventions to historical sites offer a vibrant approach to preserving and enhancing cultural heritage. These initiatives blend modern design and technology with historic architecture to create spaces that are both practical and respectful of their historical roots. Incorporating elements like new materials, creative lighting, and interactive features revitalizes landmarks that might otherwise be overlooked, making them more engaging and relevant today. When executed with care, these updates connect the past with the present, providing new perspectives on historical sites and deepening our appreciation of cultural heritage.

 

Onur Mansız's solo exhibition "era" in Art On Istanbul, 2023, photo credit: Kayhan Kaygusuz

Onur Mansız’s exploration of identity and existence

A conversation with the Turkish artist about his hyperrealistic works and their role in questioning existence and subjectivity

13 JANUARY 2025, 

IDIL BURKUTOGLU

Onur Mansız is a Turkish artist who situates the human body at the core of his artistic inquiry, using it as a lens through which to explore themes of identity, existence, and subjectivity. His hyperrealistic oil paintings present the body in an ambiguous state—neither fully clothed nor entirely naked—through the superimposition of imagery that transforms the physical form into a site for the exploration of deeper philosophical and existential questions. The deliberate isolation of these figures against monochromatic backgrounds serves to detach them from specific contexts, thereby emphasizing their role in confronting universal issues of self-realization and identity. Through this conversation, we seek to gain insight into his creative process and the intellectual and existential dimensions that underpin his art.

 

Interior, Basilica Cistern, Istanbul, Turkey

Basilica Cistern Museum: reviving Istanbul's ancient marvel

Advanced lighting design and renovation transforms the Basilica Cistern’s ambiance and highlights its architectural heritage

13 DECEMBER 2024, 

IDIL BURKUTOGLU

The Basilica Cistern Museum is a significant cultural landmark in Istanbul, built by Emperor Justinian I in the 6th century. It is the largest enclosed cistern in the city, covering 10,000 square meters and capable of holding 80,000 tons of water. Historically, the cistern supplied water to the Great Palace and nearby structures. It features 336 columns, most of which are marble, and was originally waterproofed with thick Khorasan mortar. After the Ottoman conquest in 1453, it served various purposes, including supplying water to the Topkapı Palace and later becoming a part of the local community. Rediscovered in the mid-16th century by French naturalist Petrus Gyllius, the cistern has been the subject of significant restorations, including the uncovering of Medusa head columns during a major renovation in the 1980s. These columns are notable examples of Roman sculpture and are linked to Greek mythology.