Heritage Türkiye

In this episode of Heritage Türkiye, we speak with Dr. Gül Pulhan, an archaeologist and heritage professional whose work spans salvage excavations, museum practice, and cultural heritage protection in Türkiye and beyond. From salvage excavations at Gre Amer, Batman during the Ilısu Dam campaigns to directing the SARAT (Safeguarding Archaeological Assets of Turkey, 2017–2020) project at the British Institute at Ankara, Dr. Pulhan reflects on the challenges of managing archaeological heritage in times of rapid change. Drawing on long-term experience across academia, museums, and civil society, the conversation explores education, policy, and practice, and asks what responsible heritage protection looks like today — and what lessons SARAT leaves for the future for institutions, professionals, and communities alike.

In this episode of Heritage Türkiye, we stroll through Istanbul's Sultanahmet neighbourhood with Dr. Janine Su, a social anthropologist whose work explores socio-spatial mobility and contemporary masculinities in Türkiye. Drawing on over a decade of ethnographic engagement in Istanbul's Old City, Dr. Su reflects on the early experiences that first brought her to Istanbul and how Sultanahmet became the heart of her doctoral research at UCL. Dr. Su takes us behind the scenes of her fieldwork, sharing how she builds relationships, navigates changing urban dynamics, and follows the everyday lives of the young men who became central to her research. We discuss how her focus on masculinities emerged, the current conversations shaping this rapidly growing interdisciplinary field, and how concepts such as sıla, gurbet, and garip help illuminate questions of belonging, displacement, and identity in Turkey today.

In this episode of Heritage Türkiye, we speak with Professor Andrew Fairbairn from the University of Queensland, a leading archaeologist and archaeobotanist whose work has transformed our understanding of early farming societies in the ancient Near East. Drawing on his long-term research in Türkiye, including major excavations at Boncuklu Höyük in Central Anatolia, Professor Fairbairn reflects on what ancient plant remains can reveal about the origins of agriculture and human adaptation to changing environments. The conversation also explores the BIAA's central role in advancing archaeobotanical research in Anatolia, including the development of the "Ankara method" and the Institute's temperature-controlled herbarium, which preserves valuable seed and plant specimens. Fairbairn reflects on the importance of institutional support, mentorship, and collaboration across borders, and shares his hopes for the BIAA's continued contribution to the study and protection of Türkiye's archaeological heritage.

In this episode of Heritage Türkiye, we welcome Dr. Leonidas Karakatsanis, Assistant Professor at the University of Macedonia and former Assistant Director of the BIAA. Drawing on his extensive research into nationalism, reconciliation and the politics of culture and emotion, Dr. Karakatsanis discusses the role of civil society in Turkish–Greek relations, the challenges and rewards of multi-disciplinary research and the meaning of "cultural extimacy" beyond debates over shared cuisines. We also explore how discourse analysis functions in a post-truth era, the politics of hope and the shifting perspectives he has gained from teaching and researching across Türkiye, Greece and the UK.

Season Two of Heritage Türkiye launches with a compelling new episode featuring award-winning historian, broadcaster and BIAA patron Bettany Hughes. Renowned for her deep connection to Türkiye's past, especially Istanbul, Bettany joins Dr. Işılay Gürsu and Dr. Peter Cherry to discuss life on and off camera, how she communicates research to the general public and her passion for bringing the ancient past to life through television and writing. The multilayered history of Istanbul is a central part of the conversation, revealing why the city continues to inspire her work and imagination. As Patron of the British Institute at Ankara, Bettany also reflects on the institute's vital role in supporting and enriching her research. Works Cited in the Podcast: Bettany Hughes, The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2024. Bettany Hughes, Venus & Aphrodite: History of a Goddess. Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2019. Bettany Hughes, A Tale of Three Cities: Istanbul. Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2017. Bettany Hughes, Helen of Troy. Pimlico, 2006.

The BIAA Heritage Türkiye Podcast has been a huge success: 13 episodes, 2 hosts, 12 guest speakers, and over 400 minutes of fascinating discussion. Thanks to everyone who tuned in! In this final episode, Dr. Işılay Gürsu and Dr. Peter Cherry reflect on the season and share key takeaways and look forward to season two.

In this episode, we speak with Dr. Natalie Martin — a former BBC journalist and now Assistant Professor at the University of Nottingham — about the current state of journalism and politics in Türkiye and beyond. Our conversation explored Turkey–EU and UK relations, the impact of Brexit on the Turkish-British relationship and the emergence of new media forms reshaping the journalism landscape. We also delve into the concepts of misinformation, disinformationand malinformation, and explore how they are affecting the health of democracy today. Finally, as a former BIAA Council member, Dr. Martin reflects on the evolving role of the British Institute at Ankara in fostering academic collaboration between the UK and Türkiye.

In this episode of Heritage Türkiye, Mark Jackson (Professor of Byzantine Archaeology at Newcastle University and Honorary Secretary at the British Institute at Ankara) joins us to explore the enduring legacy of explorer, writer, archaeologist and diplomat Gertrude Bell and his role in the project to digitalise Bell's extensive archive, recently added to the UNESCO International Memory of the World register, which draws on her travels across Türkiye and West Asia. We also delve into the evolving role of digital archiving in historical research, examining how technology is transforming access to and interpretation of the past. The conversation also takes us into Professor Jackson's work in the field of Byzantine archaeology. Dr Mark Jackson is Professor of Byzantine Archaeology at Newcastle University and honorary secretary of the BIAA. Dr. Jackson is also co-curator of the Gertrude Bell Photographic Archive, a UNESCO International Memory of the World archive, which includes over 8000 images mostly taken by Gertrude Bell during her travels across the Ottoman Empire as a writer, archaeologist, and colonial diplomat before World War I.

In this episode, former BIAA Assistant Director Dr Daniel Joseph MacArthur Seal (now postdoctoral research fellow at the Scuola Superiore Meridionale, Napoli) talks us through his research on every day life and night life in Istanbul during the early to mid twentieth century. Tune in to hear a wide ranging conversation in which Daniel talks about his work on the British occupation of Istanbul from 1918-1923, the From Enemies to Allies project which traced the evolving relationship between the UK and Türkiye from World War I to NATO allies, and his recent work on histories of the opium trade and sex work in early to mid-twentieth century Istanbul.

In this episode, Dr. Benjamin Irvine (former BIAA Postdoctoral fellow and now Assistant Professor at Bilkent University) discusses his research on bones and what bones can tell us about how people lived in the past. The conversation takes surprising and fascinating turns drawing on irregular burials, dietary habits and whether bones can tell us about instances of murder. Dr. Irvine also makes a case for how archaeologists can be useful in crime investigations.

In this episode, we are joined by Bert Smith, Emeritus Lincoln Professor of Classical Archaeology and Art at the University of Oxford, Visiting Professor of Archaeology at Bilkent University, and director of the New York University managed and BIAA-sponsored excavations at Aphrodisias: a site in southwestern Türkiye. Famous for its marble workshops in anquity, Aphrodisias and its quarries were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2017. Professor Smith talks about what makes the ruinscape of Aphrodisias special and outlines everyday life in this site, both in antiquity and in recent past. Professor Smith also discusses the celebrated photographer Ara Güler's evocative images of site and how they have shaped archaeological research into the site.

In this episode Professor Jim Crow, chair of the British Institute at Ankara and Emeritus Professor of Roman and Byzantine Archaeology at the University of Edinburgh talks about his research on ancient water structures and their significance for today in the Türkiye and Black Sea region. Professor Crow underlines some key issues such as the continued use of these structures throughout the centuries, their outstanding engineering and the workforce that these ambitious building projects relied on. Among the examples that Professor Crow draws on include familiar landmarks of Istanbul, such as Aqueduct of Valens (Bozdoğan Kemeri), and the Underground Cistern (Yerebatan Sarayı).    

In this episode, Dr. Ender Peker (Middle East Technical University and former BIAA Postdoctoral Fellow) talks about his research into sustainable water management across Türkiye. In an episode drawing on examples from Istanbul, Mardin and Ankara, Dr. Peker identifies some of the key challenges to ensure water security and sustainability in a society increasingly seeing some of the effects of climate change. He also makes a strong case for the use of academic research in developing policy.

In this episode, Dr. Işılay Gürsu and Dr. Peter Cherry talk with Dr. Aylin Orbaşlı, the current deputy chair of the BIAA. Dr. Orbaşlı is a researcher and a lecturer at the Oxford Brookes University with extensive experience on heritage management. As an architect and an independent consultant specialising on the historic built environment, Dr. Orbaşlı works internationally advising on the protection, conservation and management of historic places and sites. In this episode she talks about her experiences in historic site management from different geographies including Türkiye, the Middle Eastern and European countries. She underlines the similar challenges and opportunities that historic sites face in contemporary times, touching upon issues such as conservation, tourism, and local communities.

In this episode, Dr. Işılay Gürsu and Dr. Peter Cherry talk with Dr. Emma L. Baysal, associate professor at Bilkent University and former BIAA Postdoctoral Fellow, about her National Geographic Society-supported project Small Things, Big Stories.  Dr. Baysal focuses on how 'small things' like, ornaments, beads, bracelets, laborers and pedants, found close to the human body in burial grounds, offer a uniquely personal window onto the lives of settled hunter-gatherers as they were dealing with the challenges of a new way of life that still affects us today. Dr. Baysal talks about how these objects, whether given as gifts in death or closely treasured during life, give us insight into how neolithic societies symbolised identity factors such as achievement, status, belonging and gender.

In this episode, Dr. Işılay Gürsu and Dr. Peter Cherry talk with social anthropologist Dr. John McManus, Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral fellow at the Maecenata Foundation in Berlin and former BIAA Postdoctoral Fellow, about his book Welcome to Hell? In Search of the Real Turkish Football (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2018) and researching Turkish football. In a wide-reaching conversation, Dr. McManus talks about how football fandom draws on ties of family, class, ethnicity and community belonging in Türkiye, the role football plays in constructions of masculinity and gender performance, efforts to make football more inclusive to women and marginalised groups, and concludes by offering tips on writing books aimed at popular audiences and how academics can reach out more to public audiences.

In this episode Dr. Işılay Gürsu and Dr. Peter Cherry talk with Dr. Michele Rüzgar Massa, assistant professor at Bilkent University Archaeology department, about the Türkmen-Karahöyük excavations: a new archaeological project in central Anatolia.  Dr. Massa explains the significance of the project, how it builds on the BIAA's research legacy and contextualises the excavation within the ancient history of the Konya region and the different civilisations that called this area home. Dr. Massa ends by reflecting on how archaeology can provide insight into key contemporary issues.

In this episode, BIAA Director Dr Lutgarde Vandeput and Dr Işılay Gürsu are hosted by Dr Peter Cherry to discuss the archaeological heritage of Pisidia, an ancient region located in Southwest Türkiye. The BIAA has conducted several projects to understand the ancient past of the region, such as the Pisidia Survey Project. A long distance hiking trail, the Pisidia Heritage Trail, was created to promote this beautiful region to wider audiences and to create social and economic benefits for its residents. You can order a copy of the Pisidia Heritage Trail guidebook, in English or Turkish, via the BIAA's website: https://biaa.ac.uk/publication/pisidia-heritage-trail-guidebook/ Learn more about the Pisidia Heritage Trail: https://biaa.ac.uk/research/pisidia-heritage-trail/

https://biaa.ac.uk/publication/heritage-turkiye-podcast/ In this episode, Dr. Işılay Gürsu and Dr. Peter Cherry talk about the work of the British Institute at Ankara and introduce the BIAA's new podcast, Heritage Türkiye. Join them to hear about the BIAA's work across a range of fields: archaeology, cultural heritage management, history, sociology, literature, culture, and a lot more!