Multicultural Anatolia – Bringing people together

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At Multicultural Anatolia we understand that there is much shared pain in the history of different cultures, ethnicities and religions among people from Turkey and the old Ottoman Empire.

But we also know that there is a lot of shared culture and history that is positive and worth fostering. We aim to encourage harmony and dialogue fostering respect and unity among different cultural, religious and linguistic groups to strengthen equity, community harmony and opportunity. Get involved using the links provided or browse our projects and events.

Projects

Multicultural Anatolia has many projects in development. There will be oral history projects, photographic exhibitions, seminars and a host of other projects which will serve to foster dialogue and harmony among the people who have ancestors and links to Turkey and the Ottoman Empire.

My dear brother

My Dear Brother - Sireli Yeghpayris in Armenian - represents Armenians in Turkey 100 years ago with postcards from the collection of Orlando Carlo Calumeno. The exhibition comprises of 500 phot...

Stepsons of the Empire

Non-Muslim Ottomans of the Gallipoli campaign This project aims at collecting the stories of the non Muslim soldiers who fought for the Ottoman army in Gallipoli in 1915 and a project launch...

The one who saved me

An Armenian NGO, European Integration, recently carried out a project titled "The Turk who saved me" funded by the British Consulate in Yerevan. Fifty Armenians whose parents, grandparents and ancestors...

Open Table (Yeryüzü Sofrası)

yy3 During the month of Ramadan practicing Muslims fast between sunrise and sunset to empathize with the less fortunate. Sunset is time for the evening meal of the day, known as Iftar, and the final meal always shared with friends, relatives and neighbours, irrespective of their religion, much like Christmas or Thanksgiving in the west.

The protests starting in Gezi Park Istanbul against the redevelopment of the park turned into a widespread movement against authoritarianism and united many alienated segments of the Turkish society. A group interestingly named Anti-capitalist Muslims, preaching solidarity, justice, inclusion and minority rights, came up with the idea of open tables, or Iftar, in Istanbul’s major streets. People brought their own food, shared it, had a chat and went home. Some people had fasted, others hadn’t. Some were Muslims, some were not.

For the past 4 years we have been creating the same atmosphere in Sydney. If you fancy a bite and a cuppa, bring your own or just come along and share what we have. The important part is to meet the others and engage.

For more information please check the Facebook page or contact us.

My dear brother

My Dear Brother – Sireli Yeghpayris in Armenian – represents Armenians in Turkey 100 years ago with postcards from the collection of Orlando Carlo Calumeno.

The exhibition comprises of 500 photographs of postcards depicting the presence of Armenians within the Ottoman Empire at the beginning of the 20th century.

It aims to start building bridges between Turkish and Armenian communities and creating a space for peace and dialogue by referencing their common social history. It is a photo exhibition accompanied by a series of lectures by its curator Osman Köker.

This is a unique project targeting both the Armenian and Turkish communities in NSW. The grandchildren of the survivors of the 1915 deportations and the broader Turkish community in Sydney will both benefit from this work of social history depicting the times of ‘convivencia’ (living together) and allow them to rethink perceptions one another as ‘the other’.