Spring in London & Istanbul Issue 28 April–May 2026

No War. Two words. A wooden figure. A red background. And everything that needs to be said.

Dear Readers,

We welcome you to Issue 28 with spring in the air, and yet this is not the spring we once knew.

For generations, spring meant renewal. It meant opening windows, booking flights, and looking forward. This year, spring arrived differently. Across the world, the word circulating quietly in living rooms, newsrooms, and policy briefings is not growth or opportunity; it is caution. Stay close to home. Conserve energy. Avoid uncertain regions. The world in spring 2026 feels more like a held breath than a fresh start.

It is against this backdrop that we chose our cover. A wooden figure, anonymous, universal, almost childlike in its simplicity, holding a single sign: NO WAR. Not a slogan. Not a political statement. A human wish, expressed in the plainest possible language. We felt it needed no further explanation.

And yet, explanation is precisely what this issue offers.

Our cover feature examines the real and rising costs of conflict, not only in lives, but in oil prices, supply chains, energy bills, and the quiet economic anxiety spreading through British and Turkish households alike. When wars happen far away, the bill still arrives at your door. We follow that bill wherever it leads: from the Strait of Hormuz to the streets of Dubai, from the trading floors of London to the corridors of Ankara.

This issue also marks a milestone we are genuinely proud of. TurkishBritish Magazine enters its 28th issue as the only independent, bilingual Turkish-British media organisation in the United Kingdom. We have never accepted a brief to soften a story, a commission to overlook a fact, or a relationship that would cost us our editorial independence. That remains true today.

Among the stories we are particularly proud of in this edition: five Turkish students who beat hundreds of competitors to win one of the UK’s most prestigious technology prizes, a story that deserves far more attention than it has received. A forensic look at the Dubai property dream and what 15 days can really cost an investor. The Bilbao Effect, revisited with fresh eyes. And our ongoing analysis of the UK–Türkiye trade relationship at a pivotal moment, just as the Forum at Portland Place set out a new chapter for bilateral ambition.

We also bring you culture, as we always do, because culture is the thing that outlasts every conflict. The long-awaited screen adaptation of Macondo finally arrives. The Oscars delivered a reckoning. And closer to home, Turkish and British artists converge at 67 York Street in London for Form & Flux, a group exhibition that asks what contemporary Turkish art looks like when it refuses to be categorised.

We hope that by the time our next issue reaches you, the world will have found at least a little more reason for optimism. That the headlines will have softened. That the wooden figure’s sign will feel less urgent.

Until then, stay safe, stay curious, and keep reading.

Warm regards,

Ayla Torun, PhD

Editor-in-Chief, TurkishBritish Magazine

tbmag.co.uk