The exhibition of the Arts of the Book and Calligraphy at Sakıp Sabancı Museum (SSM), which features over 200 works of well-known calligraphers and book artists from the 14th to the 20th century, consists of illuminated Qurans, prayer books, calligraphic compositions, albums and panels written by well-known calligraphers, illuminated official documents bearing the imperial cipher of the Ottoman sultans, as well as calligraphers’ tools. As the collections and archives of SSM have been transferred onto a digital platform, the rare manuscripts of Turkish and Islamic arts can be studied page by page. Visitors are able to access these applications with iPads given to them for use by the museum.

Read More: An Extensive Calligraphy and Book Arts Collection at Sabanci Museum

One of the most important events in Istanbul to commemorate the anniversary of 600 years of diplomatic relations between Turkey and Poland is the Distant Neighbour, Close Memories exhibition, which opened at the Sakıp Sabancı Museum last Friday [March 7th, 2014]. As the museum’s director, Dr Nazan Ölçer put it, ‘The documents, maps, paintings, personal possessions, trade goods, textiles, weapons, armour, costumes and ceramics on display aim to act as reminders of the memories that have been created between the two countries in the past 600 years.’

Read More: Eastern Memories

See also: Exhibition Documents 600 Years of Dialogue Between Turkey and Poland

To arrange a meeting with a close friend of your great-great-grandfather in order to learn about his life is one of the opportunities which is nearly impossible to seize in your lifetime, even though many of us have a deep thirst to obtain knowledge about the past experiences of our relatives. But now, a similar experience awaits both Turkish and Polish citizens in İstanbul’s Sakıp Sabancı Museum (SSM) which is presenting its most recent historical exhibition, Distant Neighbor, Close Memories: 600 Years of Turkish-Polish Relations, from March 7th to June 15th, 2014.

Read More: Exhibition Documents 600 Years of Dialogue Between Turkey and Poland

An exhibition of a selection of the most exquisite works of the Islamic art of calligraphy will open in April in Istanbul, and in Ankara, the Turkish capital. The Sultans of Calligraphy exhibition is part of a series of events to celebrate the 1443rd anniversary of the birth of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad, and is organized by the Turkish Directorate of Religious Affairs.

Read More: Islamic Calligraphy Exhibition in Ankara and Istanbul

Khalid Khreis, a Jordanian artist, is on a mission to fight reductionist notions of contemporary Middle Eastern art. As curator of an exhibition at the Pera Museum in Istanbul, running through April 21st, 2013 he has included paintings, sculptures, engravings and ceramics by 44 artists spanning different styles and generations.

Read More: Istanbul Exhibition

Istanbul Modern’s new exhibition Modernity? Perspectives from France and Turkey explores the effects of modernity on contemporary art. Sponsored by the Comité Colbert, the show will be on view until May 16th 2013, focusing on how artists have come to a reckoning with the phenomenon of modernity, a concept that is still valid today.

Read More: Questioning Modernity

The Topkapı Museum, Istanbul, is hosting an exhibit on Bayezıd II showcasing clothes, armories and accessories of the sultan as well as information on his era.

Read More: Exhibition on Sultan Bayazid II