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BBC Radio 3 is a radio channel that started transmitting on the 30th September 1967. It replaced Third Programme.

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The Essay Podcast

The Essay

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Factual: Arts, Culture & the Media

Essays from leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond.

Leading writers on arts, history, philosophy, science, religion and beyond, themed across a week - insight, opinion and intellectual surprise.

The Essay: Postcards from Istanbul

The Essay: Postcards from Istanbul: Episode 2: Elif Shafak

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Postcards from Istanbul

Episode 2

Episode 2: Elif Shafak

Elif Shafak

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Turkish author Elif Shafak casts a writer's eye over Istanbul and its many identities.

Turkish author Elif Shafak casts a writer's eye over Istanbul, considering the city's many identities and its many inhabitants, from the ghosts of the past to the real Istanbulites.

Acclaimed Turkish author Elif Shafak casts a writer's eye over the unique and very diverse city of Istanbul, a place she still calls home.

"Istanbul is like a huge, colorful Matrushka - you open it and find another doll inside. You open that, only to see a new doll nesting. It is a hall of mirrors where nothing is quite what it seems. One should be cautious when using categories to talk about Istanbul. If there is one thing the city doesn't like, it is clichés."

Carefully avoiding all cliches, Elif Shafak looks at Istanbul's many identities, and its many inhabitants, from the ghosts of the past, to the real Istanbulites, the recent arrivals, to the visitors. Along the way she explains why Istanbul, to her, is a 'She City', a city of women, of widows, mothers and young girls, whose beat and heart is decidedly feminine.

Istanbul, historically also known as Byzantium and Constantinople, is the largest city in Turkey, and uniquely straddles both the continents of Europe and Asia. These essays paint very different and very personal views of this extraordinary city.

Elif Shafak is the best-selling female author in Turkey. Her controversial novel 'The Bastard of Istanbul' was nominated for the Orange Prize for fiction.

Live music and the arts: broadcasts more live music than any other radio network. Classical music is its core. Genres include world and new music, jazz, speech and drama.

Five writers and intellectuals give their views on Istanbul, Turkey's largest city

Celebrating Istanbul's year as European Capital of Culture in 2010, five writers and intellectuals give their views on Turkey's largest city

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Episode 2: Elif Shafak

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