Islamic culture

As Valentine's Day approaches, Nişantaşı, a vibrant district in Istanbul, is abuzz with a unique bazaar that offers a quirky twist on the holiday of love where individuals sell items once belonging to or gifted by their ex-lovers.

Christie's has announced the Art of the Islamic and Indian Worlds including Oriental Rugs and Carpets, a live auction at Christie's on April 27. The sale features striking examples of manuscripts, paintings, ceramics, metalwork, and carpets.

The restoration and strengthening works against possible earthquake risk in Istanbul's historic Grand Bazaar, which have been going on for about three years, have mostly come to an end.

The death toll from the previous day's suicide bombing at a mosque in northwestern Pakistani rose to 83 on Tuesday, officials said. The assault on a Sunni mosque inside a major police facility was one of the deadliest attacks on Pakistani security forces in recent years.

A suicide bomber struck Monday inside a mosque within a police compound in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar, killing at least 28 people and wounding as many as 150 worshippers, most of them policemen, officials said.

Striking geometric shapes that recall 20th century abstract art are not what you would expect to see adorning a handmade Iranian rug. But changing tastes and increased competition from Asia have forced some in the trade to redesign and resize a tradition dating back more than 2,000 years.

The German Christmas Bazaar will be opened today at 6 pm in the City Garden in the capital, Teodora Breme, manager of the company, organizer of the bazaar, told BTA.

A bazaar, which is run solely by women vendors, is set up twice a month in the Central Anatolian province of Kayseri.

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"We open the bazaar in the Talas district on the first and the third Sunday of every month," Sema Karaoğlu, the head of Women Cooperation Development Association (KİGDER), told the state-run Anadolu Agency on Aug. 6.

Located in the Central Anatolian province of Konya, the Rampalı Bazaar is famous for its second-hand booksellers and music stores as well as draws the attention of visitors with its vintage ambiance and extraordinary architecture.

The bazaar, which lies close to the city center, brings book lovers, students, academics, musicians and music lovers together under the same roof.

Mamluk style handmade carpets woven by women in Turkey's eastern Iğdır province are adorning homes in Japan.

In a joint project by the Turkish Employment Agency and Iğdır University, Turkish carpets were exported to Japan by women who are new to the profession.