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Out of Armenia

Out of Armenia: Episode 4: Istanbul

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Istanbul

Episode 4

Episode 4: Istanbul

BBC Radio 4 Extra - Out of Armenia, Istanbul

Charles explores how a Turkish-Armenian journalist's assassination is changing Istanbul.

The impact of an assassination in 2007. Charles Emmerson journeys through the Armenian diaspora of Europe. From January 2015.

"I see them, I see them myself, I see them all the time."

Charles Emmerson continues to Istanbul on his journey through the Armenian diaspora communities of Europe. He learns how the murder of Turkish-Armenian newspaper editor Hrant Dink in 2007 - reported and condemned worldwide - has changed relations between the city's Turks and Armenians. Long suppressed or hidden, Istanbul's Armenian life is seeping back to the surface. Subjects long taboo are now discussed openly.

Armenians have lived in Istanbul for centuries - jewellers, porters, businessmen and architects. They have had a patriarch in the city since just a few years after the Turkish conquest.

Yet when Hrant Dink was shot dead by a radical Turkish nationalist outside his office one Friday afternoon, many outside Turkey were surprised to learn that Armenians still lived in Istanbul at all.

The moment became a watershed. Turks appeared on the streets of Istanbul bearing banners reading 'We are all Armenians'.

Istanbul Armenians tell Charles of their pride in their culture and their city, and of their determination to continue Hrant Dink's legacy, building a new relationship with their Turkish friends and compatriots. Rober Koptas, Agos' current editor, takes Charles to the paper's cramped first floor offices. The paper's purpose now, he says, is to be "a playground, not a castle".

In a bustling Armenian restaurant - the city's only Armenian restaurant - Charles runs into Turkish-Armenian photographer Ara Güler, Istanbul's Cartier-Bresson, and hears the story of his most famous photograph. Speaking to a publisher we discover how literature is drawing Turks and Armenians closer together.

Produced by Cicely Fell
An Above The Title production for BBC Radio 4.

BBC Radio 4 Extra

Your digital radio entertainment station showcasing the best in comedy and drama

Your digital radio entertainment station showcasing the best in comedy and drama. With recent favourites from BBC Radio 4.

Writer and historian Charles Emmerson explores Europe's Armenian communities.

Writer and historian Charles Emmerson traces the history of the Armenian diaspora through Europe's Armenian communities today.

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Episode 4: Istanbul

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