In Alsace, Turks reconnect with their heritage: 'It's hard to part with these objects, but I'm glad they'll be in a museum'
Canan Özgül gazed fondly at her grandmother's semaver (samovar in Turkish), which she brought to Strasbourg after her grandmother died in the late 1990s. The round-bodied copper and tin vessel plugged into a wall socket – a rarity at the time, which, according to her granddaughter, "shows the thirst for modernity of this staunch republican." Now 63 years old, Özgül had long used it to prepare tea before switching to a more modern appliance.
The Istanbul native was 18 when she arrived in the Alsatian capital in 1980 to study medicine. After a series of adventures, including a return to Istanbul, she ultimately became an architect and had two children. About 10 years ago, she moved with her partner into a house in Stockfeld, a garden city in northern Strasbourg. On the doorstep, a decorated copper water pitcher holds a flower pot: "I used to wash with it when I was a student. I heated water with an immersion heater because my apartment didn't have a bathroom."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
LeMonde
10-06-2025
- LeMonde
In Alsace, Turks reconnect with their heritage: 'It's hard to part with these objects, but I'm glad they'll be in a museum'
Canan Özgül gazed fondly at her grandmother's semaver (samovar in Turkish), which she brought to Strasbourg after her grandmother died in the late 1990s. The round-bodied copper and tin vessel plugged into a wall socket – a rarity at the time, which, according to her granddaughter, "shows the thirst for modernity of this staunch republican." Now 63 years old, Özgül had long used it to prepare tea before switching to a more modern appliance. The Istanbul native was 18 when she arrived in the Alsatian capital in 1980 to study medicine. After a series of adventures, including a return to Istanbul, she ultimately became an architect and had two children. About 10 years ago, she moved with her partner into a house in Stockfeld, a garden city in northern Strasbourg. On the doorstep, a decorated copper water pitcher holds a flower pot: "I used to wash with it when I was a student. I heated water with an immersion heater because my apartment didn't have a bathroom."
France 24
05-06-2025
- France 24
Albania town where everything's coming up roses
"Here everything revolves around roses, from cooking with them to their medicinal virtues" -- everything is seen through rose-tinted glasses, joked biology teacher Ariana Nikolla. Since she was little, the 57-year-old has been delicately picking the petals of her favourite variety, "the Groom's Rose", named for its delicate scent. In Permet roses are a ritual -- the first gift to a would-be lover. And they have to be pink, symbolising love and fidelity. Every family cultivates dozens of rose varieties in their garden, including the highly perfumed Damask and Provence roses, making the town famous across the Balkans for its artisanal rose water. Yet it is almost impossible to buy -- it is just too valuable, say locals, who gift a few drops from time to time and jealously guard their reserves. 'Rose water is like love' "Rose water is like love, it must be carefully tended," said veteran maker Resmie Tuci. "The process of making high-quality rose water is difficult and meticulous. It requires very particular copper containers and you also have to use the right roses and select the ones with the most fragrant petals," said the 70-year-old. The traditional method, passed from one generation to the next, is listed in Albania's national inventory of intangible cultural heritage. First you stretch a cloth over a copper bowl laced with thread, itself placed inside a large, flat-bottomed basin filled with water. Then the hand-picked rose petals are carefully placed on the cloth and covered with a flat stone topped with hot ashes from a fire. The petals sweat underneath and yield up their precious rose water through condensation. "It's a process that takes hours," Tuci told AFP. "But every drop is precious," chimes in Nikolla, filling a small bottle with rose water, which she will put in a sunny spot for several weeks before it is ready. "It's as precious as gold," she added. - Sweet delights - Locals use it for its supposed benefits, from soothing irritated eyes to an anti-inflammatory cream to help calm itching. And, of course, in cooking. Eftali Qerimi, 63, swears by it. The almond rose water cakes she bakes in her workshop are unlike any other local "llokums". Made with only almond powder, sugar and rosewater, the rose-shaped fancies mark important events for families in the region. Considered lucky charms, they are served at birthdays, weddings and baby showers. With the women in her workshop, Qerimi produces up to 10 kilos of Turkish delights a day, which she sells at 50 euros a kilo. Occasionally she makes small ones shaped like baby feet -- a way, according to tradition, to wish newborns a long life. Between batches, the women make rose petal jam, its fragrance filling the workshop. "The rose is everything for us; it symbolises the heart, love and life's happiness," said Qerimi, who is hard at work with the tourism high season about to begin. "Tourists flock to the town and after the natural beauties" of the valley, with its famous gorges and natural park, "they also want to taste its culinary delights", she smiled.
Euronews
04-06-2025
- Euronews
Zelenskyy wants face-to-face talks with Putin to end Ukraine war
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dismissed Russia's latest ceasefire proposal on Wednesday, calling it "an ultimatum" and renewed his call for direct talks with Russian leader Vladimir Putin. Zelenskyy said Monday's peace talks in Istanbul, led by Ukraine's Defence Minister Rustem Umerov and Russian presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky, amounted to "a political performance" with no real progress towards a ceasefire made. Both sides exchanged written ceasefire proposals for how they see a peace deal, but key differences remain. Zelenskyy accused Moscow of using negotiations to play for time and said the Kremlin's proposal contained demands that Kyiv and its Western allies have already rejected. "Honestly, this document looks like spam," said Zelenskyy. He described the negotiations in Istanbul as "artificial diplomacy" designed to delay sanctions and convince the US that Russia is committed to dialogue. The Ukrainian leader said the talks carry "the same content and spirit" as the fruitless negotiations held in the Turkish city during the early days of Russia's full-scale invasion. Zelenskyy said he sees little value in continuing the current format of talks and said he wants a ceasefire with Russia before a potential meeting with Putin, possibly also including US President Donald Trump. Ukraine is ready to hold talks at any venue, including Istanbul, the Vatican or Switzerland starting as early as next Monday, according to Zelenskyy, who warned the continued deadlock risks prolonging Russia's war, which is now in its fourth year. Putin was previously invited by Zelenskyy in May to meet for a face-to-face meeting in Istanbul but showed no willingness to attend, instead sending a lower-level delegation. On Wednesday, Putin spoke via video call with top officials and expressed anger over what he described as Ukrainian "terrorist acts" against Russian infrastructure in the border regions of Kursk and Bryansk and on the annexed Crimean Peninsula. Putin accused Ukraine of seeking a truce only to replenish weapons and troops. The 2024/25 European football season will forever be remembered by fans as the year that long trophy droughts were finally broken all across the continent. Paris Saint-Germain won their first ever UEFA Champions League title, dismantling Inter Milan 5-0 in the final. Tottenham ended their 39 year wait for a European trophy, securing the Europa League. In Germany, former Spurs player Harry Kane also lifted silverware, leading Bayern Munich to the Bundesliga title.
