Event: Turkey - Istanbul

International Istanbul Music Festival

When:	6 - 30 Jun 2008 (annual)
Where:	Topkapi Palace
Costs:	TL15-TL300
Opening Hours:	Various

With its series of arts festivals, Istanbul is a great festival city. For the International Istanbul Music Festival - first held in 1973 - several historical venues are used, including the Hagia Eirene Museum and the Topkapý Palace.

Many amazing heritage sites come into their own during the event - visitors should make sure to attend a classical or traditional music concert inside the 4th-century St Irene's Church (Hagia Eirene), the first ever to be built by Emperor Constantine.

There seems a definite middle-Europe theme running through the 2008 festival, with visits from the Vienna Chamber Philharmonic, Camerata Bern, Zurich Chamber Orchestra and Kremerata Baltica. German counter-tenor Andreas Scholl is accompanied by, appropriately given Istanbul's earlier name, the Accademia Bizantina. Pianist Hélène Grimaud and violinist Frank Peter Zimmermann also appear in recitals.

There are also a number of home-grown artists featured, including the Milli Reasürans Chamber Orchestra, Tekfen Philharmonic Orchestra and Turkey's first national children's orchestra, the Dogus Kids Symphony Orchestra (in a special kids' concert conducted by Rengim Gökmen).

The Topkapi Palace is the venue for Musennâ - a combination of Baroque Carnival and Ottoman Festivals, illustrating the surprising links between Eastern and Western music, while the closing concert features Latvian mezzo Elina Garanca singing romantic arias, accompanied by the Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra with conductor Karel Chichon.

Throughout the summer the other Istanbul festivals incorporate theatre, film and jazz as well as several other special projects that run simultaneously. The Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts is responsible for this cultural overload and has been recognised with the Trophée Internationale des Arts et de la Culture by the Institut International de Promotion et de Prestige of UNESCO.

Full festival details are released at the end of April. There couldn't be a better time to be in this ancient city.