" data-original-title="" title="">Sun Ra parade in Istiklal Caddesi, backed by the major bank AkBank— hence the name. Its relationships with local and national governments have been at best distant, and no public, much less governmental, funds ever supported it, so the idea that the cancellation of the concert could be interpreted as an oppositional political act by the Turkish audience lacked any factual base.

Under the "eternal" veneer, useful to bring tourism to the Ottoman and Byzantine monuments increasingly used as selfie background, the city was ongoing profound renovations, as always. Part of the Bosphorus coast obscured by cranes building the Galataport development project; debate about the future usage of the two historical railway stations, one on the Asian and one on the European side; the mental geography of the city transformed by the new Marmaray tunnel, connecting undersea the two sides of Istanbul, Asia and Europe. From Uskudar to Sirkeci it became a few minutes quick and comfortable trip—less romantic than the ferry, but for a commuter, a major improvement. The impact of the new mayor—after many years the ruling AKP party lost the local election and now a man coming from the opposition ranks is governing the city—has been felt, but any major change in a centuries old metropolis of more than 15 millions people will come slowly. Keeping the metro open 24 hours a day on weekends, one of his first actions, has been widely approved, and talks with different cultural promoters confirm that the municipality is giving due attention to cultural events.

The cancellation of the Art Ensemble concert brought me to a newish venue in the area of Beyo?lu—a few steps from the Gezi Park that became famous five years ago for the protests that took place there against a development project. A giant mosque still in construction dominated Taksim, the square near to Gezi, a deeply symbolic act after the Ataturk Cultural Centre was torn down. After the Gezi protest most of the cultural scene and live music venues moved to the Asian side in Kadikoy, but this new venue—called Bova—maybe signaled that the neighborhood might be able to sustain a jazz scene again. The concert there was part of the AkBank Festival program and provided a pleasant surprise. Called B'r ?eyler Eks'k (could be translated in Someth'ng M'ss'ng) the group featured magnetic vocalist/performer Ça??l Kaya with a sax section (