Inside The Middle East

SHOW #78

Hosted by Rima Maktabi in Istanbul

DRAWINGS ON A MOUNTAINSIDE

The lava-rock moonscapes, fairy chimneys and cave dwellings and ancient Christian chapels of Turkey's Cappadocia region have long been a fascinating destination for backpackers and tourists. Now an Australian artist named Andrew Rodgers has unveiled a man-made addition to the region's remarkable landscape: a statue park called "Rhythms of Life." Best seen from the vantage point of a hot air balloon, the park consists of enormous sketches made of stone walls built in the shape of a horse, an ancient grinding mill and an ancient Hittite symbol. More then 1,000 locals worked on the ambitious project, one of eight Andrew Rodgers has constructed across continents and countries. Ivan Watson reports from Turkey's interior.

ISTABUL'S SOHO

Like Soho in New York or Montmartre in Paris, Istanbul's Cihangir neighborhood has become a cultural hub, becoming a draw for artists, writers, and intellectuals. Rima speaks to Turkish author Buket Uzuner to find out more about this up and coming neighborhood.

MAWAZINE MUSIC FESTIVAL

Festival Mawazine is a celebration of world music, its diversity and rhythms hosted every year in Rabat, Morocco. Nearly 1500 concerts, street performances and art exhibitions attract millions of spectators to venues across Rabat. Elton John, Carlos Santana and Sting and many other European, African and North American music stars lit up this year's festival. The theme of this years event "universalism, tolerance, openness to others" promoted through the diversity of music. IME's camera was there.

ISTANBUL'S "OSCARS" OF HOMOPHOBIA

As Istanbul celebrated its 8th LGBT Pride events, we were there for a unique award ceremony: the "Genetically Modified Tomato Awards" where gay rights activists name politicians, media personalities, educational institutions and others who have made public homophobic remarks or actions over the year. We speak to an activist about the challenges facing Turkey's gay rights movement.

FIRST ALL-FEMALE PALESTINIAN RACE CAR DRIVERS

It's not your usual scene you expect to see in Ramallah on a Saturday afternoon from eight Palestinian women, where wheels are spinning and turning, smoke billowing from underneath their cars and screeching tires marking the race course track with black marks. These eight women who have become beloved Palestinian celebrities breaking every stereotype of male dominated world of car racing. Paula Hancocks follows Noor at 21 years of age during a training session in Ramallah, she has always wanted to become a race driver from the age of 10 to her third race of the season.