With John Wilson.
As part of Radio 4's MINT Season, John reports on the arts and culture of modern Istanbul.
Turkey's most famous cultural figure, the Nobel Prize winning novelist Orhan Pamuk, has created a museum full of objects from his latest novel, the Museum of Innocence. He takes John round this museum and discusses the huge changes taking place in Istanbul.
Magnificent Century, a television drama about Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, has become Turkey's most successful cultural export, with 200 million viewers in 45 countries. John meets Selin Arat from production company Tims at Topkapi Palace, the epicentre of the Ottoman Empire for over 300 years and the setting for the show.
John talks to Azize Tan, Director of the Istanbul International Film Festival, about the films that top the Turkish box office, including a stand-up show by the comedian Cem Yilmaz, and reports on the controversy surrounding Turkey's oldest cinema which was knocked down last year after 3 years of protest.
Baba Zula is Istanbul's most popular alternative music act. John meets founder Murat Ertel, who plays an electric version of the traditional Turkish plucked instrument the Saz.
Producer: Timothy Prosser.