AKM to reopen with Mimar Sinan Opera 

The Atatürk Cultural Center (AKM), a landmark of Istanbul, will reopen its doors on the 98th anniversary of the Turkish Republic on Oct. 29, with the "Mimar Sinan Opera," a two-act work composed by Hasan Uçarsu.

According to Turkish media reports, the Mimar Sinan Opera and its composer have unique features. 
The "Mimar Sinan Opera" breaks ground by being the first opera in 85 years requested by a Turkish president. "President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan ordered the Mimar Sinan Opera in 2019 to be composed and performed at the opening of AKM," daily Milliyet reported on Oct. 27.

In 1936, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the Turkish Republic, had requested Ahmet Adnan Saygun to compose the "Özsoy Opera" in honor of Iran's then-leader Ahmad Reza Pahlavi's visit to Turkey. 
More than eight decades later, Uçarsu, one of Saygun's pupils, composed the "Mimar Sinan Opera."

"Mimar Sinan is a very special man who gave characteristics, soul and identity to Istanbul, the city I was born, raised and still live in," Uçarsa told daily Hürriyet on Oct. 27. 

Mimar Sinan, also known as "The Grand Architect" or "Grand Sinan," was a 16th-century Ottoman architect and civil engineer for three Ottoman sultans: Suleiman the Magnificent, Selim II and Murat III. The Süleymaniye Mosque and the Selimiye Mosque were the two world-renowned works out of at least 374 structures he had built. 
Another coincidence uniting Uçarsu and the AKM dates back to 13 years.

One of Uçarsu's works, called Lamento, was performed at the AKM in 2008, just before it was closed down. 
"Uçarsu is the man who closed the AKM and is now reopening it," daily Hürriyet said.

"As a resident of Istanbul and someone who visited AKM since my childhood, I am happy like...