T-VINE: T-VINE’s biggest stories of 2014

Near East University founder Dr Suat Günsel tops the T-VINE news poll for 2014

NEWS/UK

Here are the T-VINE stories which received the most number of online reads last year.

Turkish Cypriot billionaire to give talk on higher education in British Parliament next week, 27 Nov. 2014.
Dr Suat Günsel, founder of Near East University, in advance of his keynote address to select audience at the House of Lords and other engagements in London in early December.

The Queen’s representatives ordered to stay away from Cyprus police memorial, 30 Oct. 2014
A snub by British officials of the unveiling ceremony of a memorial dedicated to British and Cypriot policemen murdered by EOKA during The Troubles in the 1950s causes fury among Cypriots, peers and relatives of the fallen servicemen.

Turkish Weddings, 27 Aug. 2014
The cover story for issue 6, we asked two recently wed couples and key service-providers to give their insights into what makes a great British Turkish wedding, from the venue to the dress and photography.

Cyprus’ ghost town Maraş on ITV tonight, 24 Sep. 14
Veteran newscaster Alastair Stewart visits the abandoned town for ITV’s On Assignment current affairs programme.

British Turkish politician receives death threat for views on Palestinian-Israeli conflict, 29 July 2014
Baroness Meral Hussein-Ece OBE, the UK’s highest ranking politician of Turkish origin, was threatened with beheading by a poster on Twitter following her comments on social media about the Israeli assault on Palestinians.

Tamer Hassan helps launch new Cyprus film festival, 29 May 2014
British actor Tamer Hassan travelled to Cyprus to launch the Golden Island International Film Festival (GIIFF) through a series of events in Girne and Lefkoşa.

Tamer Hassan & Baroness Meral Hussein Ece (c), patrons of Cyprus' new Golden Island International Film Festival

British Kebab Awards – recognising the importance of kebabs to UK culture and the economy, 14 Jan. 2014
An insight into the phenomenal rise of the popularity of kebabs in Britain, now honoured with their own annual Awards ceremony. The industry is annually worth £2.2 billion to the British economy.

Pharmacist Feriha Ibrahim joins the T-VINE editorial team, 28 Apr. 2014
From a family of pharmacists, Woodside Pharmacy’s Feriha Ibrahim starts a regular Wellbeing column for T-VINE.

B-boy dancer Alper Nafioğlu

Turkish B-Boy dancer Alper Nafioğlu competing to represent Britain in world streetdance festival, 5 Feb. 2014
For the past 10 years British-born Turkish Cypriot Alper Nafioğlu has been training to be a top B-Boy dancer. Coached by one of the top names in the world and with a clutch of victories under his belt, including a quarterfinal placing in the 2013 B-Boy World Championships, the 28-year-old dancer is hoping 2014 will be a year to savour.

Controversial businessmanreturns as head of North Cyprus Constructors Union, 23 Mar. 2014
Cafer Gürcafer was surprisingly voted back in as the head of the TRNC’s Constructors Union. He vacated the post in August 2012 when he fled to South Cyprus following the collapse of several business ventures and then started legal proceedings against Turkey, claiming he had been “duped” into developing land he was not aware was formerly owned by Greek Cypriots – an offense in South Cyprus.

Our 10 most popular stories on social media (most likes / shares / tweets):

Turkish Cypriot billionaire to give talk on higher education in British Parliament next week, 27 Nov. 2014

Cyprus’ ghost town Maraş on ITV tonight, 24 Sep. 14

Alistair Stewart's On Assignment report about Maraş the second most popular T-VINE story on social media

3. We remember: ‘Bloody Christmas’, Cyprus 21-31 December 1963, 21 Dec. 2014
Recalling one of the darkest chapters in Cyprus' recent history, when 133 Turkish Cypriots were murdered or abducted, while thousands more were made homeless in a period dubbed Bloody Christmas.

My World: Ali ‘Babutsa’ Sönmez, 7 Dec. 2014
A legend of the Turkish wedding circuit who hit the big time with Babutsa gives T-VINE readers an exclusive insight into his world, from how he entered the music world to his success with Babutsa and his favourite dinner.

Ali Sönmez

Turkish Cypriot chief negotiator Kudret Özersay to brief the public during UK visit next week, 3 June 2014
Dr. Kudret Özersay is flying to the UK next week to meet high-level British politicians to discuss the latest political developments in Cyprus and also to give an update on the Cyprus issue through two public events.

Remembering the Tochni Massacre, 15 Aug. 2014
Forty years ago today the war in Cyprus ended, but not before the gruesome discovery of mass graves containing the bodies of Turkish Cypriots. One of the worst was the Tochni Massacre: 85 of its inhabitants, a mainly Turkish village located halfway between Larnaca and Limassol, were killed by members of Greek Cypriot terror group EOKA-B.

Turkish businessman completes marathon swim, shows the world how close Turkey and Cyprus are, 26 July 2014
One of North Cyprus’ most successful businessmen completed the 86 km swim from Mersin to Girne to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Turkey’s peace operation. 55-year-old Vakkas Altınbaş, chairman of Altınbaş Holding, set off at Anamur in Turkey with his trainer Mert Karabetça on 18 July and reached Cyprus’ northern shores on 20 July.