LM Staff - (From left to right) Julie Mardin, Mehmet Dede, Buket Sahin, Bircan Unver, Ozgur Madak, Erol Israfil, Mert Yesildag, and Burak Akten (sitting-left)

"Light Millennium" (LM) Project Celebrates its 2nd Anniversary
Acar: "Bircan believes in you more than you believe yourself. That is the reason behind the success of this"
The Turkish Times-"Light Millennium & Isik Binyili" in English & Turkish, an Internet-based innovative platform for cultural expression and exploration has reached its 8th issue and Second Anniversary since January 2000.

LM dedicated the Second Anniversary Special Issue (www.lightmillennium.org) to such distinguished artists and authors as Nazim HIKMET & Ilhan MIMAROGLU.

The Light Millennium e-platform has been visited by approximately 55,000 thousand people in 86 countries including an average daily login of 350 people last week of March.

"This is a great achievement to compare to last year," said LM Founder & President Bircan Unver. "During our "First Anniversary" issue publiation date, in Februay 2001, the platform was visited by 6,000 people. The difference is very obvious... Our aim to reach several hundred-thousands of people with each new issue and in most countries globally."

"With each new issue, we have gained new representatives in the US, Europe as well as in Turkey. Still, we need some technical supports and a constant seed crew in order to improve this platform much better, activate other projects soon, avoid all delays, and structure and produce this project much more effectively and powerfully... For this purpose, we have worked very hard to continue and improve this platform with the global participation and expansion. Still, we need to accomplish much more some of which are announced in the PROJECTS and the SPONSORS pages," Unver said.

The Light Millennium & Isik Binyili e-magazine, Turkish & Greek Synergy web site (www.turkishgreeksynergy.net) and Light Millennium TV series (QPTV channel #34 &35) are under the umbrella of The Light Millennium, Inc., which is a NOT-FOR-PROFIT organization based in New York since July 17, 2001.

The Light Millennium's publishing policy does not discriminate against any age group; written or visual product submissions ranging from any age group, creed, race, ethnic background, whether one is an amateur writer or a professional one, are encouraged. The Light Millennium's magazine encompasses many unique characteristics involving people from all walks of life; professionals, publishing, literature, poetry, artists and others.

"We also encourage people from different religions and people who speak different languages to join us on this diverse platform promoting peace and understanding among peoples. In each issue of our magazine, there will be two main subjects we will deal with "Freedom" and "Global Understanding" " Unver said.

Cigdem Acar's Remarks
Speaking at the Light Millennium's 2nd Anniversary Celebration, Attorney and sponsor Cigdem Acar said "The Light Millennium is made possible against all possible odds. It really is hard to believe that it has come so far and created such a dedicated following. Bircan Unver is the light behind the shadow play that we see on the screen. She does not manipulate, she does not dictate and she does not make a penny from all this! She simply talks to you long enough that you simply give and write & draw & send in your piece of shadow. Bircan believes in you more than you believe yourself. That is the reason behind the success of this."

Webpage:www.lightmillennium.org, E-Mail:contact@lightmillennium.org. 87-82 115th Street, Richmond Hill, NY 11418, USA, Tel: +1-718-846-5776, Fax: +1-718-441-8811

The Ottoman World-Sotheby's to Sell £4 Million Library
The Turkish Times-THE FINEST library of its kind to come to auction in two decades will be offered for sale at Sotheby's London on Tuesday, May 28 to Thursday, May 30, 2002. The spectacular collection of books, manuscripts and watercolors relating to the Ottoman Empire is expected to raise £4 million. The library, rich in striking color-plate books, handsome bindings and much sought-after titles, was amassed with the greatest tenacity and discernment over a period of some 40 years by Sefik E. Atabey, a bibliophile with a fascination for the Ottomans. The library has subsequently been added to by the present owner.

Charting the Empire's genesis in the 14th century through to its demise in the 20th century, the collection encompasses much of the Near and Middle East from Persia to the gates of Vienna and Arabia to North Africa, incorporating the great civilizations of Greece, Mesopotamia and Egypt. The Ottomans held center-stage in world history for half a millennium and the collection documents the topography, history, achievement and splendor of the Ottoman world from which the collection takes its theme.

The 1,600 lot sale comprises many of the greatest books relating to the empire by authors and artists such as Melling, Dodwell, Cassas, Young, Flandin, La Chapelle, Preziosi, Dupré, Le Hay, Choiseul-Gouffier, Tatikian, Layard, Brindesi and Thevenot. Other highlights include rare historical accounts of battles, stunning color-plates depicting magnificently attired emperors, landscapes and the exotic costumes of the Empire.

The reigns of Fatih Sultan Mehmed and Kanuni Sultan Süleyman are chronicled throughout much Sotheby's sale with one of the most notable commentaries featuring in John Young's Portraits of the Emperors of Turkey. Depicting Sultans of the Ottoman dynasty from its foundation in the 13th century to 1815, this magnificent work was commissioned by Selim III. Production was halted in 1807 when the Sultan was assassinated and it was not until 1810 that his successor, Mahmud II, gave Young permission to continue publication. The book with its fine color-plates executed after paintings by a Greek artist working in Constantinople, is estimated at £50,000-70,000.

A copy of Louis Dupré's "Voyage à Athènes et à Constantinople," one of the most beautiful books ever produced on Greece and Turkey, is estimated at £50,000-70,000. In this celebrated work, Dupré records his experiences in the Levant in 1819, providing a fascinating insight into the characters of the people he met on his travels. The text serves as a commentary to the spectacularly vibrant color-plates depicting personalities such as Ali Pasha of Ioannina (Yanya), princes and dignitaries as well as Greeks, Turks and Albanians who acted as guides, hosts or patrons.

The sale is rich in books relating both to the mainland Greece and its islands. A notable highlight is Edward Dodwell's "Views in Greece," a large first edition folio of the finest colored aquatint work on Greece. It is estimated at £20,000-30,000.

The history of Cyprus is documented in Dominique Jauna's History of Cyprus, housed in a beautiful 18th century binding and estimated at £10,000-15,000.

Clashes between the Ottomans and the Mamluke kingdom resulted in the defeat of the Mamlukes in SYRIA and EGYPT and subsequent Ottoman occupation of Egypt in 1517. Their rule in Egypt lasted until Napoleon's French Campaign in 1798, which provided the background for the monumental "Description de l'Egyptè" the great scientific legacy of the French invasion of Egypt (est: £50,000-70,000). Louis François Cassas' "Voyage Pittoresque de la Syrie" is expected to fetch £12,000-18,000.

The same year as the Mamlukes were defeated in Egypt, holy Muslim sites in "Arabia" came under the control of the Ottomans. Relevant highlights in the sale include Julien Claude Galland's account of the rituals surrounding the pilgrimage to Mecca providing descriptions of many important shrines within the city. His account includes extensive footnotes concerning the history and physical appearance of the Kaaba, the Black Stone and Mount Agri (Ararat). Finely bound in contemporary French red morocco with gilt arms of Jerome Bignon, royal librarian to the French court, "Galland's Recueil des rits et ceremonies du pelerinage de la Mecque" is estimated at £4,000-6,000.

Every region of the Ottoman empire is represented in this vast library, including works on Lebanon, Palestine, Malta, the Greek Islands, Armenia, Albania, Tartary and, of course, Vienna - the Hapsburg stronghold that famously withstood the Ottoman siege of 1683.