voice-over: this is bbc news. we will have the headlines for you at the top of the hour, which is straight after this programme. as an art critic and ajournalist, ifeel like a very lucky man indeed, because i get to spend tonnes of time inside museums, places i've loved ever

since i was a boy. and during my working life, i've witnessed something astonishing — how radically they've changed. the days of museums as grand, intimidating treasuries for dusty objects are long gone. they're becoming much more dynamic and inclusive places — less solemn, less elitist, and less west—centric too. museums, i believe, are really having a moment, and that's what i want to explore. this is amazing. so this is his studio. i can walk around, can i? he was painting the orient within the orient. when you see my work, you can easily link the concepts, let's say, or the technique, anything from them, as inspiring. i think that's rather wonderful. i'm in istanbul, that great, entrancing, ancient megalopolis, once the capital of the byzantine and ottoman empires. lying on either side of the bosphorus strait, it's a city that straddles two

continents, europe and asia, so it feels like the perfect place to discover for myself the long, still—evolving story of cultural exchange between east and west. i'm starting at the pera museum, once an exclusive hotel in the heart of istanbul's diplomatic district. i can't think of anywhere else quite like it, a unique, privately run museum, with a collection exploring the relationship between east and west — a centuries—long exchange that culminated in a controversial art movement known as orientalism. i'm here, though, to find out how people in turkey feel about orientalism today. for art historians, orientalism is quite a specific concept

that draws upon the argument of this very famous book published in 1978 by the intellectual edward said. and it refers to a period, principally during the 19th century, when western artists relished depicting subjects from the near east, including turkey. to make their compositions convincing, these artists, who sometimes didn't even travel outside europe, stuffed them full of supposedly authentic details. yet often, they ended up painting these opulent fantasies that said and others later criticised for a colonialist mindset. it almost feels unfair to single out one work in particular to exemplify orientalism. but this is quite an interesting example. it dates from the late 19th century. it's by a british artist, and it's very gorgeous. it has this wonderful golden late—day light, which suffuses the whole scene.

and in the foreground, you have this boat where a well—to—do young lady is being rowed along the golden horn. and i think to me, why it feels quite orientalist is that the people who are moving that boat, they're made to seem quite subservient. so the underlying idea is that the islamic peoples it depicts are seen as somehow being inferior. this othering by western artists can be insidious, and it often occurred unconsciously. the special collection at the pera museum allows us to trace the evolution of this world view, and i've been excited for a while about coming face—to—face with this sumptuous, pastel portrait which has been taken out of storage for me. it's by a wonderful 18th century swiss artist who i think deserves to be much better known, jean—etienne liotard.

looking at it with me is pera museum curator, baris kibris. baris, i'm really happy that you could bring this out of the stores for us, because it's stunning. it's such a ravishing work of art. tell me a little bit about the artist. he was a swiss artist. he was one of the first masters of pastel painting in the 18th century. in fact, he lived here in turkey for four years. he starts dressing, right, in turkish costume? exactly. he grows a very long beard. i think he was even known as �*the turk�*. it was kind of a marketing, and it worked. he was enormously successful, wasn't he? he was. he painted lots of aristocrats in different cities of europe. there is a story that when he's in constantinople, there is a particular model, very beautiful, who catches his eye. he draws her in various poses. this is one picture which is made from one of those drawings, and then that's a sort of source for later on, when he returns to europe,

and with various clients, he can say, "look, if you dress up in this, i've brought this "as well, i've got the dress here. "you could look as beautiful as mimica." is that sort of the idea? exactly. european people, everybody was interested in ottoman culture, and everything related with it. it's interesting to sort of think that this was almost like a very high, classy advertisement for what he could do. this is an image which is projecting status, fashionability — the elite taste of the time. i mean, ok, cosplay may be not quite the art—historically appropriate term, but there's a sort of sense of dressing up that clearly, his clients, they wanted that. yeah, exactly. the beginnings of all of that fantastical side, if you like, of orientalism. i feel there's glimmerings of that here. so fundamentally, orientalism is about the west's imagined vision of the east, but the pera is also home to work by a fascinating artist, long considered a turkish orientalist —

osman hamdi bey. his masterpiece is the tortoise trainer. but before we look at it, baris wants to show me something that brings the world depicted within the painting to life. so what have you got here? this is a vr headset. so i'm becoming osman hamdi bey for the day? kind of. you visit his studio. just put it on. carefully put it on like that. and here are my hands. ok, that's really quite weird. this is amazing. so this is his studio. it's wonderful seeing the actual room. i can walk around, can i? you're going to tell me if i'm going to walk into a priceless work of art in a museum, right? oh, here's the painting. right. ah! i'm inside. i can hear some birds. there's a tortoise. ooh, look! pick up the lettuce leaf and then he can eat it. and at this high point in my career as an art critic... ..i think maybe i should come back into the real world. great. how are you?

well, i'm completely disorientated, and that was a lot of fun. it certainly got me in the right zone for considering the painting, but without any lettuce props, perhaps. baris, this is a really imposing painting, which i think i'm right in saying comes from towards the end of osman hamdi's life, right? yes. yes, exactly. can you just tell me a bit more about the artist, because he's a really important figure here in turkey? yes, he was important because he did lots of things in arts and culture. he was a museologist and he was the head of the first art school. he was an archaeologist and he wanted to become a painter. i guess the big picture idea is that he actually travels to paris and he encounters painting there including, of course, orientalist painting by european artists, which inspires him. and when he returns to turkey, he starts to make his own version of orientalism.

yes, we can say that even when he was in paris, people saw him as an orientalfigure. so he was the best man to paint these subjects. so his calling card, if you like, was, "if you want orientalist pictures, "well, i'm an oriental man. "i'm the guy to do it." yes. let's talk about the actual picture itself. what's going on? there's this figure associated with music who's really contemplating a group of tortoises at his feet. some people think that these tortoises are representing the bureaucracy, which is difficult to change, slowly changing bureaucracy of ottoman times. but this is painted for a european audience, and i don't expect they could understand the meaning. that's interesting you say that, because i've certainly come across this interpretation where, if you look at the background, you can see all of this peeling off plaster. the brickwork is exposed. quite clearly, there are cobwebs running up

the interior of the arch, and lots of people have thought "ah, painted 1906 — the very final years "of the ottoman empire". and they've put all of these things together and given a sort of subversive political reading to this painting. but i'm sensing it's not one that you buy. chuckles. no, i don't buy that. but i buy this. he wasn't a typical orientalist. i mean, orientalism liked idle figures doing nothing. but he painted people reading or making music. what's really attractive is this idea that here is someone from turkey who's engaging with this quite problematic tradition of orientalism and somehow, what? he's subtly transforming it, he's — he's reclaiming it? yes, we can say that. he was painting the orient within the orient. whether you think that hamdi in the tortoise trainer was not so covertly criticising ottoman power, he was, at least, i believe,

still operating within the parameters of western orientalism, while, if not subtly resisting or subverting them, then at least raising a wry eyebrow. but of course, orientalism, in the hands of western artists during the 19th century, wasn't just about politics and power. it was also about sex. i'm meeting istanbul—based artist ardan ozmenoglu, who's inspired by orientalism. she wants to show me the works here that captivate her the most. ardan, i think this is an unbelievably intriguing picture. in part, that's because of its date, which is very prominently painted in the top left hand corner. 1654. so this is a 17th century painting of an oriental scene. but one thing that strikes me immediately is that you've got these two bands to the painting. do you have a sense how

we're meant to read it? yeah. at the bottom part of it is welcoming scene. a guest is coming to the harem, and up side of the painting is more like what they do in the harem. at the corner, the painter wrote that ottoman ladies are not allowed to leave their houses. that's why they invite friends to their homes, and they spend their time in their houses. i see. so i guess it stands at the start of this tradition where western artists have heard about the harem as this sort of forbidden realm, where turkish women would — well, this is an entertainment with guests, and it somehow has immediately fired the imagination, and it's what they want to paint. exactly, yeah. the allure of what went on behind closed doors later stimulated a somewhat different vision of a female—only space. by the 19th century, western artists were happily producing work for an audience eager to see their fantasies exposed. until turkey's own orientalist

osman hamdi had his say. he opted to depict women in his society in a more respectful, less voyeuristic fashion than the western painters he'd learnt from. and he's something of a local hero. there's a novel depiction of ottoman women here. they're not passive objects for the pleasure of a western male viewer's eye.

they're women who are cultured, sophisticated. i think what we see on this painting is the light and the geometry as more western painting. but the inside belongs to here. that's very interesting. if i've understood you correctly, it's as if the form of the painting, the way it appears, is using a visual language which is very western. but the spirit that animates the picture, that's something different, something more authentic, if you like. i think it's a great fusion between western painting and the concept of orientalism. he knows the textile. he knows the architecture. there's this rich heritage there, and he just puts them together in a really fine way. it inspires me a lot. i'm keen to see some of ardan�*s work to discover how she put some of that inspiration to use.

but first, she wants to give me a quick tour of another museum nearby to show me the kind of historical islamic artefacts that once inspired the orientalists, including osman hamdi. the museum of turkish and islamic arts, housed in a 16th century palace a stone's throw from the famous blue mosque, was founded in 1914, thanks in part to — who else? — osman hamdi. today, it boasts the richest collection of islamic art in the world — at least, that's what it says on its website — including 1,700 carpets. oh, this is a — this is a holbein rug. this is a 16th century rug, which is now known as a holbein rug, what, because presumably rugs like this feature in the work of hans holbein? yes! and so, now they're known by historians of carpets as holbein rugs — is that it? yeah. god, how fascinating. let me see if we can pull up an image. this is, you know, in the national gallery, his huge painting, the ambassadors. two westerners, and there in

the middle is an islamic rug. anyone who has looked at historical western art will find all of these quite familiar, but in a very broad, generic fashion. yes. different centuries have different motifs and different colours and they all have an idea, they all want to say something. this looks like a hummingbird. i think so. here's the beak. yeah, and the flower. yeah. but, of course, it's also just an abstract geometric motif. and there is this tension, if you like, isn't there, in islamic art, when it comes to representing living things? yeah, i think this abstraction comes out of it. you can say it's a bird but you cannot be sure of it. and such a good example of repetition, right? yeah. that's the key to it, isn't it? it's also a sort of wonderful expression somehow of society because you have all of these individual units and they seem to all be working together to do something.

so, there's this great feeling of interlocking animated togetherness. the museum is filled with so many wonderful objects, it's tempting to linger beside them all. but ardan wants to show me something that, though easily missed, is inspirationalfor her. down here? this? 0k. yeah. it's a typical example of iznik tile. what is so typical about this? the tulips — the red tulips — and also the flower in the middle, you see? yeah. it's called kara nfil. it's got a real intensity, doesn't it? particularly with those flashes of red. itjust gives it, like, this, everything's suddenly arriving. and i can imagine the whole pattern by having only the square. of course, this is repeating and repeating... yes. ..over a huge space in a building. with something like this, are there parallels with your own work? there are many similarities — not only the motif

or the pattern, but also the repetition, where you see the whole as another pattern. but when you see in a small scale, like this one tile, is another thing. now i really want to see some of ardan�*s work to understand how she draws upon and adapts traditional islamic art, as well as that orientalist world view we encountered earlier. luckily, she's invited me to her istanbul studio to show me something she'sjust finished. 0k! it's beautiful! i'm really intrigued by how this is created. are these post—it notes that you've, almost like a mosaic, you sort of tessellated them together to create the image? exactly, yes. and you can see the whole image also fragmented as well. as we talked in the museum, i can imagine the whole from one. it's very tactile, partly because you've folded some of them over. yeah. each one is what,

individually printed? i use them as a canvas, you know. yes. and then, i print one time on the top of it. for each colour. yes. clearly, it has a really pop sensibility, responding to historical art. who is this woman? let me show you the original. it is known that the woman is the wife of osman hamdi. ok! yes! we were looking at the two musician girls and it's very respectful of those two women. this is a really powerful image of a powerful woman, right? he always draws women strong, powerfuland, of course, romantic, too. it's interesting because that's your interpretation of the painting. and this is also an interpretation of that painting, to make it live and breathe in a contemporary idiom. i haven't really come across many images which are made out of composite post—it notes. it's a great idea.

it's very ephemeral. post—it notes are things that we just make jottings on and then perhaps discard, and you're using it to create a monumental picture and, actually, here playing on a very long historical tradition. i kind of love that tension. and also, the idea behind the post—it notes is you always write the things that you shouldn't forget. and every time i paint on post—it notes, i want to say that — don't forget this painting, don't forget that image. the ideas behind the paintings should not be forgotten. i certainly won't forget my visit with ardan. and before i go, there'sjust time for a memorable demo. we've got some sticking to do. the post—it covered surface is overlaid with a template of the image to be printed. now for the fun part. we're going to press together. 0k. don't push it so much. 0k. make it so soft, ok? ah! are you ready to print?

i'm — i'm ready. not bad, huh? that isn't bad. that's cool! and look, look — the signature ardan moments. i think that's rather wonderful. i like it. yeah. thank you so much for showing me all of that. shall i tell you what i find quite surprising? orientalism — it feels like something that today people are so critical of but you're engaging with some orientalist paintings in a reallyjoyful way. you're like, "these are great paintings!" yeah, because as an artist, i believe my eye. then, ifound myself in the world of orientalist or the patterns or the tiles or the carpets as a piece of an artwork, as already so important as it is. genuinely, you're sort of like, there's a respect for that tradition which you feel deeply. i do. i respect arts — that's why, maybe, yeah.

i love the playfulness of ardan�*s work. there's a real coming together of worlds here, of different layers — her fascination with the repetition and abstraction of islamic art, the way she embraces and evolves that vexed orientalist world view by looking at it through the warholian lens of a pop art sensibility. all that, for me, really encapsulates what i've been discovering — the complexity of the exchange between east and west. before i came here, orientalism — in my mind, at least — was almost this dirty word that was synonymous somehow with western exploitation of the islamic world. what i hadn't realised, though, was the extent to which turkish artists, both historical and contemporary, have really engaged with that tradition — reclaiming it, transforming it, making it their own. spending time in istanbul has reminded me why museums like the pera matter, because the past isn't remote. it's always enmeshed

with the present. hello there. there was a lot of dry weather around on friday, but cloud varied quite a bit from place to place. southern england had some lovely sunshine, with temperatures reaching 12 celsius in hampshire, 13 celsius in wiggonholt, in sussex — which was the warmest spot in the country — whereas eastern scotland, with all this cloud around, temperatures struggled to around six celsius. we also had something called

the helm wind that blew across northern england. this is the uk's only named wind — prevailing winds 20—30mph across northern england. but look at that, 71mph up over the top of great dun fell, and those strong, gusty winds were pulled down into the eden valley, with gusts reaching 55mph there. that is the helm wind, the uk's only named wind. now, at the moment, we've got still a lot of cloud across the country, still with gusty winds — that's keeping the temperatures up at around li—s celsius as we head into saturday. but the weekend really is dominated by this area of low pressure to our south. these weather fronts get a little bit closer and start moving across the uk as we head through the weekend, so there will be some rain at times. now, the greatest risk of seeing some rain, really, saturday morning will be southwest england, wales, northern england. through the day, we'll see some thicker cloud push into northern ireland and scotland, bringing the threat of some rain, as well. the rain is likely to be quite light and patchy. eastern coasts of england and scotland will stay cold, with that chilly

north sea wind. but there should be some hazy sunshine for the midlands, east anglia, and south east england — and that will boost temperatures to around 13 celsius. on into the second half of the weekend — well, generally speaking, we're looking at further outbreaks of rain coming up from the south. this time, the will be a bit more extensive, and it'll be a bit heavier, as well. there'll be a few places that dodge the downpours — maybe south west england and southern wales doing ok. generally, temperature�*s a little bit lower and, on the whole, below average for the time of year, but feeling particularly cold around those north sea coasts once again. into next week, well, the weather becomes quieter for a time, but then we start to see some weather fronts move in off the atlantic from the west. and so, there will be something of an east—west split, i think, for eastern areas. computer's probably a bit pessimistic, really — there will be some days that are dry and generally bright, probably tuesday and wednesday not looking bad at all. whereas across the western side of the uk, yes, you are more likely to see outbreaks of rain, and the rain will be quite heavy at times, especially towards southern wales and south west england.

live from washington, this is bbc news. five people were reportedly killed in gaza when a parachute delivering aid failed. separately, countries agree to a new humanitarian sea corridorfor the area. desperate parents in nigeria call for the return of their children, after more than 200 students were kidnapped by gunmen. and we hear from a former ambassador to haiti about the unravelling situation there, as heavy gunfire is reported near the presidential palace. hello. i'm helena humphrey. glad you can join glad you canjoin me. we begin with the war in gaza. after months of warning about an impending famine,

the united nations says children and adults are now