Eric Clapton & Steve Winwood
Two legends, one live experience!

19 Grammy Award winner guitar legend Eric Clapton will be performing with Steve Winwood in Istanbul as part of their European Tour. It’s a union of giants: guitar hero Eric Clapton meets Steve Winwood, one of the most distinctive voices of rock history.
Eric Clapton's solo career has seen him become, arguably, the UK's most influential and commercially successful guitarist after his formative years as a member of classic groups The Yardbirds, John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, Cream and Blind Faith.
is touring band always includes some of the most highly respected and sought after musicians in the world. His hit singles include original songs such as Tears in Heaven (for which he won six Grammies), Wonderful Tonight and Layla together with classic versions of tracks such as, I Shot the Sheriff, Knockin on Heaven's Door and Cocaine

U2 360 Tour
The legendary rock group U2 will be performing in Turkey for the first time with 360º Tour!

Tour! Live Nation in collaboration with Pozitif and Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts presents the biggest event of 2010, with the support of Istanbul 2010 European Capital of Culture Agency. Legendary rock group U2 will perform in Turkey for the very first time, on 6th of September 2010, as part of its 360º Tour.
This concert will be the biggest stadium concert to be held in Turkey. Long-time U2 Show Director Willie Williams has worked again with architect Mark Fisher (ZooTV, PopMart, Elevation and Vertigo), to create an innovative 360º design which affords an unobstructed view for the audience. U2 360º also marks the first time a band has toured in stadiums with such a unique and original structure (which can be viewed at U2.com). With a cylindrical video system of interlocking LED panels, and a steel structure rising 150 feet from the floor over a massive stage with rotating bridges, the band has truly created a intimate 360º experience for concert goers.

Event date: 06 September 2010
Venue: Ataturk Olympic Stadium
Time: 21.00

Pera Palas Hotel Opening
Agatha Christie's favourite!
The Historic Pera Palas Hotel will re-open its doors in June 2010…

The Pera Palace Hotel is a world-famous historic hotel located in the Beyoğlu district in Istanbul. It holds the title of "the oldest European hotel of Turkey". The hotel has been closed from 2006, undergoing a major renovation and restoration project and will re-open its doors in June 2010.
The Pera Palace officially opened in 1892. A Belgian rail travel company, the "Compagnie Internationale dés Wagons et des Grands Express Européens", built the hotel to host passengers of the Orient Express, a luxury train with non-stop service from Paris to Istanbul. A French-Arab architect designed the Pera Palace using a mixture of orientalist, rococo, and neoclassical styles reminiscent of other late Ottoman buildings. The hotel has six floors and approximately 145 guest rooms, many of which offer a spectacular view of the Golden Horn.

The hotel has entertained many kings, queens, statesmen and artists from all over the world since its establishment. Notable guests include Atatürk, the founder of the Turkish Republic, whose room is now kept as a museum with the original furniture and objects. British mystery novelist Agatha Christie was in fact one of the hotel's most ardent visitors. The "Agatha Christie Room", number 411, is now preserved in her honor. It is rumored that she wrote the 1933 classic Murder on the Orient Express at the Pera Palace.
The long list of prominent visitors includes Franz Joseph I of Austria, Czar Nicholas II of Russia, King George V of England, Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany, Franz Josef I Emperor of Austria and King Ferdinand I of Bulgaria. The long list of historically notable people includes Ernest Hemingway, Alfred Hitchcock, Jackie Kennedy, Rita Hayworth, Mata Hari, Jacqueline Onassis, Sarah Bernhardt.

2010 FIBA World Championship
Turkey is welcoming you to this joyous and exciting event where the greatest of the world basketball will be determined.
Watch the draw live in TURKEY!!!

Turkey will be the host for the most important basketball event on the globe. The 2010 FIBA World Championship for Men will be hosted by Turkey between August 28 and September 12, 2010 in the cities of Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir and Kayseri.
For the third time since 1986, the World Championship will have 24 competing nations, an increase from 16. As a result, the groups are each playing in different cities, with the knockout round being hosted by Istanbul. The Championship will be played in Turkey in the cities of Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir and Kayseri where where 80 games will be played and followed from all around the world.
Turkey is working with the utmost energy to host 24 countries from 5 continents. The basketball fans travelling to Turkey to be a part of the World Championship will be watching the basketball stars live as well as they will blend with the basketball fans who will gather around from other countries. The guests will taste all the gorgeousness of basketball and have the opportunity to

experience the famous natural beauties and historical wonders in place at the same time.

Aspendos International Opera and Ballet Festival

Between 08 June – 01 July 2010
Every summer, operas and ballets are performed in the 20,000 capacity Aspendos Amphitheatre in Antalya as part of the Aspendos International Opera and Ballet Festival. Overlooking the Mediterranean Sea, the 2000-year-old amphitheatre resounds to classical tunes, attracting thousands of spectators.
Organised by the Turkish Culture Ministry's State Opera and Ballet Directorate, the programme has included Verdi's Aida, Orff's Carmina Burana and Puccini's Tosca, with the participation of prominent companies such as Istanbul's State Opera and Ballet Company and Antalya's State Opera and Ballet Company.
Aspendos is renowned throughout the world for its magnificent ancient amphitheatre. It was designed during the 2nd century

A.D. by the architect Zeno, son of Theodore. The theatre at Aspendos is also famous for its magnificent accoustics. Even the slightest sound made at the centre of the stage can be easily heard as far as the uppermost galleries.

Whirling Dervishes Festival

The Commemorative Ceremony for Mevlana, the great Sufic saint (1207-1273), is one of the world's greatest spectacles. Become entranced at the origins of the Whirling Dervishes in Konya, the ancient Selçuk capital, home to Mevlana Jelaleddin Rumi, a revered 13th-century scholar. Every December on the anniversary of Rumi’s death known as Seb-i Aruz, thousands of pilgrims flood Konya to witness the ritualized whirling at his Mausoleum.
Mevlana taught complete tolerance, positive thinking, awareness of God through love and union with God through dance. At his Mausoleum in Konya, centuries-old mystical dances are performed in his honour by his Sufi followers.
The dance, music, listening and spiritual experience fuse together during the dance of the Dervishes, and the religious leader and the leader of the dance also become one. The final night commemorates the death of Mevlana and his union with God.

The dancers are accompanied by the ney (the title of one of Mevlana's longer poems) reed pipe, a reference to the mythological trumpet sur that will be blown on the Day of Judgement.
The dancers' conical hat represents a gravestone, their cloak a coffin and their white skirt a shroud, while the leader represents the sun and the spinning dancers the orbits of the stars and moon. The four dances symbolise the four seasons, the four elements and the four ages of man.
The dancers begin by marching around the hall three times, representing the knowledge of God, the seeing of God and the truth of unity. Then, as each phase of the performance starts, the Dervishes kiss the right hand of the Sheikh (Mevlevi religious leader) and begin to whirl. The head twists to one side, the arms are crossed and the hands are clasped. The upturned palm is said to receive influence from Heaven, which is handed down to the world below by the other hand. With downcast eyes, the dancers spin faster, their long white skirts spinning open like umbrellas.

International Istanbul Music Festival

The 38th International Istanbul Music Festival will take place between June 03-30, 2010.
Organized by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts, this annual event is one of the biggest festivals of its kind in Turkey. Since it was first held in 1973, the popular International Istanbul Music Festival has presented an exciting programme of opera and classical musical performances by artists and groups of regional, national and international repute.
With a selection of various historic sites in Istanbul like the Hagia Eirene, the Archeological Museum, Topkapı Palace, Lütfi Kırdar Convention & Exhibition Centre and the Süreyya Opera House as concert venues; 38th International Istanbul Music Festival contributes to the growing appreciation for cultural heritage in Turkey. In 1992, the Foundation was awarded the "Trophée Internationale des Arts et de la Culture" by Institut International de Promotion et de Prestige of UNESCO.

International Istanbul Jazz Festival

The 17th International Istanbul Jazz Festival will take place between July 1-20, 2010. Each year the International Istanbul Jazz Festival treats music lovers to a packed two-week programme of jazz concerts. Taking place in various venues around the city, the festival always attracts large crowds made up of jazz fans from Turkey and beyond. Each year, the festival awards a “'Lifetime Achievement Award' to one of the old jazz masters for their contribution to the world of music. Over the years, the festival has welcomed many jazz legends to the stage with past performers including such greats as Ray Charles, Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, the Modern Jazz Quartet, Stan Getz, Ornette Coleman and Youssou N'Dour.
The International Istanbul Jazz Festival presents a remarkable variety of music, ranging from traditional and contemporary jazz to rock, electronica and world music. But, it's jazz in particular that is performed by big names at venues all over the city