The new mayor of Istanbul said Friday he was prepared against any attempts by the government to restrict his powers while emphasising his willingness to work with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

In a news conference to international media in Istanbul, Ekrem Imamoglu said the government had already put into practice new regulations to bypass the mayor in appointments to municipal companies and give authority to municipal assemblies where Erdogan's party has majority.

The mayor said such practices were against the current local governance laws.

"We are prepared even for the most risky situations," Imamoglu said.

Days before the elections, Erdogan hinted that the judiciary could investigate Imamoglu, who belongs to the opposition Republican People's Party.

The mayor said he'd chart his path calmly if an investigation were launched.

But the president quickly congratulated the mayor on election night and struck a somewhat cooperative tone in a speech from Japan Thursday, saying his party would support "realistic projects to the benefit of Istanbul."

"Right now I am the Metropolitan Mayor of Istanbul and Mr. Erdogan is President. I think we can contribute great things to this country and the city by coming to an agreement," Imamoglu said.

The newly-minted mayor also said that top on his agenda were plans to address the issues of refugees living in Istanbul.

Over half a million Syrian refugees live in the city.

Imamoglu was elected mayor for a second time Sunday after Turkey's electoral board annulled the results of the March 31 polls in Turkey's largest city.

He beat his opponent, the government candidate Binali Yildirim, with more than 806,000 votes.

Istanbul - 28 June 2019

1. Ekrem Imamoglu, Istanbul's mayor, arriving at news conference

2. Cutaway of camera

3. SOUNDBITE (Turkish) Ekrem Imamoglu, Istanbul Mayor:

"We are prepared, we are prepared even for the most risky situations. But let me express this: I am hoping that they don't. My expectation is that the quality of politics in Turkey is experienced in the highest way."

4. Cutaway of reporters

5. SOUNDBITE (Turkish) Ekrem Imamoglu, Istanbul Mayor:

"We have the capacity to announce to the public at every moment and every situation that we demand to work and produce together. I don't think it's rational to reject this without necessity or reason. Right now I am the Metropolitan Mayor of Istanbul and Mr. Erdogan is President. I think we can contribute great things to this country and the city by coming to an agreement."

6. Wide of news conference

7. SOUNDBITE (Turkish) Ekrem Imamoglu, Istanbul Mayor:

"We will look at the humanitarian aspect, we will look at the peace aspect and at the end of the day, we will work hard on the issue that refugees return home."

8. Cutaway of reporters

9. Wide of news conference

TURKEY ART

SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS

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LENGTH: 4:29

SHOTLIST:

++FIRST AVAILABLE WEDNESDAY 20 SEPTEMBER 2017++

ASSOCIATED PRESS - AP CLIENTS ONLY

Istanbul - 20 September 2017

1. Various of gnome and rubber dinghy, part of work by American artist Stephen G. Rhodes focusing on migrant crisis

2. Various of exhibition visitor viewing artwork titled "Wilkommen Assumption: Or the Private Propertylessness" by Rhodes installed in an historic Turkish bath

3. Pan to the artwork which is about the migrant crisis

4. Wide of the dome of the bath, artwork beneath it

5. Close of water falling as part of installation

6. Visitor walking through installation

7. Mid of plastic child heads installation being exhibited in historic Turkish bath

8. Wide of the entrance of one of the exhibitions

9. Close of black bags reading (Turkish and English) "A good neighbour"

10. Wide of Bige Orer, Istanbul Biennial's director, in Istanbul Modern Art Museum

11. SOUNDBITE (Turkish) Bige Orer, Istanbul Biennial's director:

"The 15th Istanbul Biennial is curated by duo artists Elmgreen and Dragset. And we are celebrating 30 years and the 15th edition of Istanbul Biennial in 2017. This Biennial titled "a good neighbour", it brings together the different art practices from different regions and different generations. We have 56 artists in total and 30 of them produced new works for the Biennial. They came to Istanbul many times, both for their research and the production and installation of their work."

12. Wide of South African artist Kemang Wa Lehulere's artwork titled "Conference of the Birds"

13. Close of papers on ground as part of Lehulere's installation

14. Mid of Lehulere's work, visitors passing

15. Various of Turkish artist Ali Taptik's photo work titled "Friends and Strangers" being exhibited during Istanbul Biennial

16. Close of sign reading (Turkish) "Ali Taptik, on each stairwell, Friends and Strangers, 2017"

17. SOUNDBITE (Turkish) Ali Taptik, Turkish artist:

"As I said, being a part of Istanbul Biennial is very important, especially to be able to work with the support of an institution is very important. Istanbul is the city where I was born, raised and live, so I have been dreaming about being invited to Istanbul Biennial for years. I am very happy that this happened this year."

18. Wide of the exhibition in Istanbul Modern Art Museum

19. Tracking view of a visitor taking a picture and walking around the exhibition

20. Wide of the exhibition

21. SOUNDBITE (English) Gary Simmons, visitor:

"It's a breath of fresh air, I love it. I just enjoyed being in the space, and experiencing the colour and the diversity of materials that people used, that's fantastic. I loved the one with the post-it notes, and I think, I have been taking photos of the man hole covers and I used the same for that piece of art which I thought was fantastic."

22. Various of artwork titled "Continuouslessness by British-Polish artist Kasia Fudakowski's, being exhibited in a former Greek Primary School, one of the exhibition locations

23. SOUNDBITE (Turkish) Bige Orer, Istanbul Biennial's director:

"Who is the good neighbour? Does a good neighbour have a more extended family than yours? Is a good neighbour your friend on social media? Is a good neighbour somebody from a neighbouring country? We asked those questions with the aim of having different approaches to the concept of the neighbour. Basically, everyone is a neighbour and everyone has a neighbour. So we believe that both the topic of this Biennial and the exhibition can interact with us easily."

24. Various of exhibition

25. Mid of the door to the exhibition in historic Turkish bath

26. Wide of the exhibition in historic Turkish bath

LEADIN:

Istanbul is hosting Turkey's most important contemporary art event.

This year the Istanbul Biennial is running under the theme of 'a good neighbour' with art that explores the migrant crisis, cultural diversity and environmental changes.

STORYLINE:

The nightmarish artwork of American artist Stephen Rhodes' is on display at this historic Turkish bath.

Titled "Wilkommen Assumption: Or the Private Propertylessness", it focuses on the migrant crisis.

The installation is part of the Istanbul Biennial.

It's Turkey's most important contemporary art event and this year has attracted 56 artists from 32 different countries.

Their work is being exhibited at six different locations across the city including the Istanbul Modern Art Museum, a former Greek primary school, and the Turkish bath.

This is the 15th edition of the Biennial and the artists are bound together with one idea: the concept of "home", "belonging" and "neighbour".

South African artist Kemang Wa Lehulere is one of a number of international artists showing at the event.

But there is home-grown talent too.

Ali Taptik's photo work titled "Friends and Strangers" is here.

He says being part of the Biennial is very important for him.

"Istanbul is the city where I was born, raised and live, so I have been dreaming about being invited to Istanbul Biennial for years. I am very happy that this happened this year," he says.

Around half-a-million Turkish and international visitors are expected to see the exhibitions in 2017.

"It's a breath of fresh air, I love it. I just enjoyed being in the space, and experiencing the colour and the diversity of materials that people used," says Australian visitor Gary Simmons.

The theme is "a good neighbour" and the artists involved have many different interpretations of that idea.

The migrant crisis, environmental changes, and cultural diversity are among the topics they have explored.

"Who is the good neighbour? Does a good neighbour have a more extended family than yours? Is a good neighbour your friend on social media? Is a good neighbour somebody from a neighbouring country?" asks Bige Orer, Istanbul Biennial's director.

"We asked those questions with the aim of having different approaches to the concept of neighbour."

The Istanbul Biennial opened on 16 September and runs until 12 November 2017.

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Istanbul residents on Friday had mixed reactions to their country's refusal to change its anti-terror laws, as required by the European Union in order to secure visa-free travel for Turkish citizens.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday dismissed European officials' insistence that Turkey change its anti-terror laws, suggesting his country may go its own way if the European Union didn't back down.

The visa waiver is an incentive - along with up to 6 billion euros (6.8 billion US dollars) and fast-track EU membership talks - for Turkey to stop migrants reaching Europe and take back thousands more.

Turkish European Affairs Minister Volkan Bozkir on Friday held talks with senior European Union officials to try to end the impasse over part of the EU's migrant deal with Turkey.

Istanbul residents on Friday had mixed reactions to their country's refusal to change its anti-terror laws, as required by the European Union in order to secure visa-free travel for Turkish citizens.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday dismissed European officials' insistence that Turkey change its anti-terror laws, suggesting his country may go its own way if the European Union didn't back down.

The visa waiver is an incentive - along with up to 6 billion euros (6.8 billion US dollars) and fast-track EU membership talks - for Turkey to stop migrants reaching Europe and take back thousands more.

Turkish European Affairs Minister Volkan Bozkir on Friday held talks with senior European Union officials to try to end the impasse over part of the EU's migrant deal with Turkey.

Istanbul - 13 May 2016

1. Various of people outside visa application centre

2. Close of visa application centre sign reading (English) "Joint Visa Application Centre. Holland, Ireland, Spain, Sweden, Latvia"

3. Various of people entering visa application centre

4. Close of passports

5. Various of people queuing to enter visa application centre

6. SOUNDBITE (Turkish) Merve Avci, student:

"I was delighted when I heard that visas would be lifted because it takes a lot of effort (to apply for a visa). For example, for today, I prepared about 20 pages of documents. It's not easy to prepare those. We rejoiced in the beginning, but they (the EU) want a change in anti-terror laws. It shouldn't be changed. Let us not go to their countries, it's not that important."

7. Various of people on the streets

8. Exterior of visa application centre

9. People walking in and out of application centre

10. Close of visa application centre sign reading (English/Turkish) "Visa application centre Italy/ Germany"

11. Muharrem Karatas, local resident, typing on the phone

12. SOUNDBITE (Turkish) Muharrem Karatas, works in tourism sector:

"Europe does not want Muslim countries (in the EU). This is the first rule. Our country can not meet their demands (change in anti-terror law). It is impossible to change the anti-terror law. I would be against it even if it was being changed. I don't want a change in this law. Of course our government has also made mistakes. I wasn't expecting it (visas to be lifted) therefore I am not disappointed."

13. Various of traffic

14. Exteriors of visa application center

15. Close of visa application center sign reading (Turkish): "Greece Visa Application Centre"

16. Close of sign reading (Turkish): "Goktug visa application bureau, travel health insurance can be organized, flight-hotel reservations can be made, visa application procedures can be tracked"

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Istanbul - 8 March 2016

1. Various of Syrian refugees in a park, sitting and waiting with their belongings

STORYLINE:

Dozens of Syrian refugees were waiting with their belongings in a park in Istanbul's Aksaray neighbourhood on Tuesday, a day after a crucial meeting between Turkey and the European Union (EU).

EU leaders announced earlier on Tuesday they had reached the outlines of a possible deal with Ankara to return thousands of migrants to Turkey.

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Afghanistan has given 1 million US dollars to the main U.N. programme for Palestinian refugees.

Afghanistan's ambassador to Turkey, presented the donation on Sunday to Pierre Krähenbühl, commissioner of the U.N. Relief and Works Agency, or UNRWA, in an Istanbul ceremony.

Turkey's foreign minister, who hosted the meeting, congratulated Afghanistan for the donation.

Last August, the Trump administration announced it was cutting US funding for the agency.

Istanbul - 3 March 2019

1. Various of United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) commissioner Pierre Krahenbuhl receiving an aid cheque from the Afghan ambassador to Ankara Abdul Rahim Sayed Jan, joined on stage with Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad Al-Malki and Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Riyad Al-Malki, Palestinian Foreign Minister:

"Maybe the Afghani people needs the one milion dollar more than the Palestinians, but you have decided to put it aside and give it to UNRWA in order for it to spend it to provide basic services for the Palestinian refugees."

3. Wide of Al Malki speaking at podium

4. SOUNDBITE (English) Riyad Al-Malki, Palestinian Foreign Minister:

"UNRWA has really kept the half million Palestinian students inside the school rooms, studying, as they should be."

5. Mid of Cavusoglu at podium

6. SOUNDBITE (Turkish) Mevlut Cavusoglu, Turkish Foreign Minister:

"We know that United States forces its ideals and plans on Palestinians and the Palestinian refugees living in difficult situations, applying economic pressure as a disciplinary tool."

7. Mid of camera operators

8. Mid of Krahenbuhl at podium

9. SOUNDBITE (English) Pierre Krahenbuhl, Commissioner for United Nations Relief and Works Agency:

"Nothing symbolises the strength of our partnership more than the extraordinary steps that were taken last year at a time of existential crisis for our organisation when we lost the funding from United States of America."

10. Wide of Krahenbuhl at podium

11. Various of Al Malki, Cavusoglu and Palestinian ambassadors serving in European countries posing for a group photograph

LEADIN:

Syrian refugees living in Turkey fear they could be sent back home following recent mayoral elections.

Over three million Syrians, who fled Syria due to the ongoing conflict, now call Turkey home.

STORYLINE:

Although Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan remains in power in Turkey, recent mayoral elections saw his power slip in

two major cities.

Erdogan's party, The Justice and Development Party (AKP), and its nationalist ally won a majority of local election votes across Turkey but lost in the capital, Ankara. The opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) candidate Mansur Yavas won with 51 percent of the vote.

In Istanbul, Erdogan lost to the main opposition party's mayoral candidate, Ekrem Imamoglu.

Both Ankara and Istanbul had been held by Erdogan's conservative, religious-based party and its predecessor for 25 years.

Erdogan's rise to power began as Istanbul mayor in 1994 and he has repeated numerous times in pre-election rallies: "Whoever wins Istanbul, wins Turkey" and "Whoever loses Istanbul, loses Turkey."

The results are worrying some of the 3.5 million Syrians living in Turkey, who view President Erdogan as their protector.

Some fear that if another leader were to gain a foothold in Turkey their precarious residency status may not offer them enough protection against deportation.

Essam Natour, who works in a Syrian restaurant, hopes President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will stay in power.

He used to own a sweet shop in Aleppo, but the 55-year-old, who has been in Turkey for six years, now works in Istanbul to make ends meet.

"We are grateful to the Turkish people, and we congratulate them for having such as great president as (Recep Tayyip) Erdogan," he says.

Syrians who have set up businesses such as barber shops and coffee shops in the city fear that a political change in Turkey could mean millions of refugees are sent home.

Most of the Syrians are reluctant to talk politics, given their fragile legal status in Turkey. Many do not have official permits to stay.

Nassif Mohammad is one of them.

The 23-year-old waiter was studying Fine Arts in Damascus when the war started. He says he wants to go back to his country when the crisis is over.

"I always take into account that there is the possibility that we will go back. Whoever is in power, our aim is to go back to Syria. Why? Because Syria is our country. Honestly, Turkey is not our country," he says.

Ammar Al-Jalab, a 42-year-old from Damascus who manages Al Rayan Restaurant in Taksim, has an official residence and work permit.

He says Syrians whose homes have been destroyed, in the bombing of opposition areas by the regime of Bashar Al-Assad and Russia, fear returning to the conflicted country the most.

A waiter from Algeria, Haide Degaichia, explains that the majority of Syrian customers are Erdogan supporters, as they believe a new president may threaten their fragile safety.

"Yes they want (Turkey's President Recep Tayyip) Erdogan to stay here. Why? Because they have a good picture (vision) about Erdogan, that's the problem. We don't know the intentions of  the new (potential) president."

Turkish researcher on cultural anthropology, Şenay Özden, believes the reason for their fears is that Turkey does not grant refugee status to refugees who are not Europeans, so millions of Syrians living in the country are left in limbo.

"They don't have long term legal status in Turkey," she says.

"This is why they are fearful. If Syrians actually had refugee status or any long term legal status in Turkey, which should mean refugee status, then they wouldn't have to have this fear."

According to international humanitarian law, refugees cannot be sent back to their country if their safety is at risk.

Although the war in Syria is coming to an end, there are several reasons why these refugees cannot return, explains Özden.

"People fled Syria due to political reasons," she says.

"It is true that many people fled from ISIS control regions or other Islamic armed forces, but the majority of the people actually ran away from the Assad regime.

Therefore, many people indicate that as long as the regime is in power, if they go back to Syria it means they are risking being arrested by the regime, and this is why they came in the first place, you know, why they left Syria.

So if they go back it is basically, you know, putting themselves back under the same risk. This is one. Two: many people are not going to go back to Syria because they don't want to be enlisted in the military."

Istanbul – 11 April 2019

1. Wide of election banner showing Turkey's president Recep Tayyip Erdogan (right) and his Istanbul candidate Binali Yildirim

2. Wide of election banner in Taksim square

Istanbul – 13 April 2019

3. Various of election banners showing People's Republican Party CHP Istanbul mayoral candidate Ekrem Imamoglu

4. Mid of a Syrian chef preparing kebab

5. Mid of waiter taking the kebab to a table

6. Close of kebabs on barbecue

7. Pan of street where restaurant is located in Istanbul Aksaray's neighbourhood, also called "Little Syria"

8. Wide of owner and employee of Syrian restaurant Beit Alezz in Istanbul

9. Close up of employee

10. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Essam Natour, 55-year-old from Aleppo, working in a restaurant:

"We are grateful to the Turkish people, and we congratulate them for having such as great president as (Recep Tayyip) Erdogan. God willing, God will let him win. God willing, we will see this country succeed. God willing, God will also bring peace to our country."

11. Wide of Syrian barbershop in Istanbul's Aksaray neighbourhood

12. Mid of Syrian barber shaving a customer

13. Close up of hands shaving customer

14. Close of shisha pipes outside a Syrian coffee shop in Aksaray

15. Wide of Syrian coffee shop in Aksaray

16. Close of waiter  coffee shop

17. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Nassif Mohammad, 23-year-old waiter from Damascus:

"On this topic (Turkey's politics) it's not my place to speak, but I always take into account that there is the possibility that we will go back. Whoever is in power, our aim is to go back to Syria. Why? Because Syria is our country. Honestly, Turkey is not our country."

18. Wide of people walking in street in Aksaray

19. Wide of mosque in Aksaray

20. Wide of tramway driving through Yusufpasa station

Istanbul – 11 April 2019

21. Wide of Istiklal Avenue and tramway passing through

22. Wide of people walking in Istiklal Avenue

23. Wide of Istiklal Avenue side alley where Syrian restaurants are located

24. Mid of Syrian cook cutting Syrian shawarma from a skewer

25. Close up to hands cutting shawarma

26. Pan to right of workers and manager outside Syrian restaurant

27. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Ammar Al-Jalabi, 42-year-old restaurant manager from Damascus:

"I am not afraid that they would send me back to Syria. The people who are afraid are the people whose homes have been destroyed."

28. Close of cat

29. Wide of manager and workers feeding cat

30. SOUNDBITE (English) Haider Degaichia, 30-year-old waiter from Algeria working in a Syrian restaurant in Istanbul:

(Referring to Syrian customers) "Yes they want (Turkey's President Recep Tayyip) Erdogan to stay here. Why? Because they have a good picture (vision) about Erdogan, that's the problem. So we don't know the intention about the new (potential) president, the new incoming president."

Istanbul – 14 April 2019

31. Wide of ships crossing the Bosphorus River and seagulls flying

32. Wide of ships crossing under bridge in Bosphorus River

33. Mid of Turkey's flag and vehicles driving over bridge

34. Wide of Turkish anthropologist Şenay Özden working in her office

35. Pan to left of Turkish anthropologist Şenay Özden

36. Close up to Özden

37. SOUNDBITE (English) Şenay Özden, Researcher on Cultural Anthropology of refugees:

"It is not new that Syrians get afraid of being sent back to Syria, obviously, and you know this is an issue that comes up each time before each election, mainly because actually politicians from all sides use this issue, you know, as part of their political campaign. I believe the main reason actually of this fear is that, you know, they don't have a long term legal status in Turkey. This is why they have the fear.  If Syrians actually had refugee status or any long term legal status in Turkey, which would mean a refugee status, then they wouldn't have to have this fear."

38. Close up of books on the table

39. High angle of Şenay Özden working on her laptop

40. SOUNDBITE (English) Şenay Özden, Researcher on Cultural Anthropology of refugees:

"People fled Syria due to political reasons. It is true that many people fled from ISIS controlled regions or other Islamic armed forces, but majority of the people actually ran away from the Assad regime. Therefore, many people indicate that as long as the regime is in power, if they go back to Syria it means they are risking being arrested by the regime, and this is in the first place why they came, you know, why they left Syria. So if they go back it is basically, you know, putting themselves back under the same risk. This is one. Two: many people are not going to go back to Syria because they don't want to be enlisted in the military."

41. Various of call to prayer at sunset at the Blue Mosque, Sultanahmet Mosque

LEAD IN

Amid the wave of Syrian refugees fleeing their troubled country towards Europe, many have decided to stay and open businesses in Turkey.

It's not big business, but it's enough to live on.

STORY-LINE

Chicken Fatte is a Damascene favourite made of cubed chicken, yoghurt and fresh herbs.

In the last two years, this dish has become a staple for many customers of 'Sahtin' (Bon Appetit), a restaurant opened in 2013 by two Syrians.

It is located in Istanbul's Aksaray neighbourhood, known as "Little Syria" for the number of Syrian people and businesses located there.

Sami Kayali is one of the three partners.

Before the war, the 41-year-old from Aleppo used to have a trade and real estate business with Russians customers.

But after the conflict blew up he decided to move to Turkey, first to Gaziantep - not far from the Syrian border - where he opened his first restaurant and then to Istanbul.

Kayali says that his restaurant business is just a way of survival.

"Here we can't make big business, like factories, like in Syria, because we have money difficulties here, you know. Small business is enough for us to live. You know, Istanbul and outside Syria is too expensive for us."

As with many other Syrians, he hopes the war in his country ends one day so he can go back, but the uncertainty about when this might happen was one of the reasons he opened a business in Turkey.

Holding a Russian passport, it would have been easier for Kayali compared to other refugees to move to Russia, but he says he decided to stay in Turkey because of cultural and religious similarities.

"I visited Europe before. I visited Spain, I visited Italy, but I more love Istanbul. Turkey is same culture for us", says Kayali.

Sahtin does well and, including takeaways, they say they have around a thousand customers a day, most of them Arabs, but also Russians and Turks, as its cuisine includes international dishes.

He and his two partners employ 22 workers, most of them from Syria.

One of them, Gayis Alazi, arrived in Turkey last month, via Lebanon.

"I've worked as a chef since the year 2000. I used to work in several places in Aleppo. Then I moved to Lebanon, and a month ago I moved here to Istanbul," says Alazi, who is 30 years-old.

Turkey's employers' associations and Chambers of Commerce are working on reports to figure out the total number of businesses opened by Syrians since the crisis started, but they face the challenge that many of them are unregistered.

The Chamber of Commerce in Gaziantep, a bordering city where many refugees are initially settled when they move to Turkey, published that the number of businesses founded by Syrians in October 2014 was 209, compared to 60 before the Syrian crisis started in 2011.

A few hundred metres away from Sahtin is located 'Mandy Hadramout', the first restaurant which opened in Turkey offering this Yemeni tandoor spiced meat dish which is very popular in Syria.

Moamin Haj Biram owns the establishment together with his brother-in-law.

The former 51 year-old architect had four restaurants offering the same speciality in Syria when the war started, but he had to close them one by one due to the wave of destruction and moved first to Jordan and after that to Turkey in 2012.

After arriving in Istanbul, he realised that many his former customers had also moved there with a dwindling hope of returning to Syria, so he decided to relaunch his business here.

"We were afraid we will not be able to go back. Until that we have to live. It's not a commercial matter, it's a way of living. We have to feed our children, we have to pay for them, for their schools, for their living. That's it," says Biram, who belongs to the Circassian minority from Quneitra, in eastern Syria.

Mandy Hadramout has two branches in Istanbul, the second one being in Taksim. There is also a third one in Sapanca, a city 84 miles (135 kilometres) east of Istanbul.

In Summer time they employ up to 30 workers, mostly Syrians, and they say their customers amount to 300 a day including takeaways, most of them being Arabs, Asians and Africans.

Like other refugees, he says he hopes to go back to Syria, but it depends on the military situation there.

Meanwhile, Biram says he feels comfortable in Turkey, where he is not treated as a refugee but as a guest, so he has no plans to move to Europe.

"Turkey government, they help us more than the Europeans. They don't treat us as refugees, they treat us just as their people, they call us guests. They don't call us as refugees here. And they deal with us very kindly," he says.

Turkey hosts more refugees than any other country in the world, more than two million, with 600,000 new arrivals this year alone, according to Turkish government figures.

LEAD IN

Amid the wave of Syrian refugees fleeing their troubled country towards Europe, many have decided to stay and open businesses in Turkey.

It's not big business, but it's enough to live on.

STORY-LINE

Chicken Fatte is a Damascene favourite made of cubed chicken, yoghurt and fresh herbs.

In the last two years, this dish has become a staple for many customers of 'Sahtin' (Bon Appetit), a restaurant opened in 2013 by two Syrians.

It is located in Istanbul's Aksaray neighbourhood, known as "Little Syria" for the number of Syrian people and businesses located there.

Sami Kayali is one of the three partners.

Before the war, the 41-year-old from Aleppo used to have a trade and real estate business with Russians customers.

But after the conflict blew up he decided to move to Turkey, first to Gaziantep - not far from the Syrian border - where he opened his first restaurant and then to Istanbul.

Kayali says that his restaurant business is just a way of survival.

"Here we can't make big business, like factories, like in Syria, because we have money difficulties here, you know. Small business is enough for us to live. You know, Istanbul and outside Syria is too expensive for us."

As with many other Syrians, he hopes the war in his country ends one day so he can go back, but the uncertainty about when this might happen was one of the reasons he opened a business in Turkey.

Holding a Russian passport, it would have been easier for Kayali compared to other refugees to move to Russia, but he says he decided to stay in Turkey because of cultural and religious similarities.

"I visited Europe before. I visited Spain, I visited Italy, but I more love Istanbul. Turkey is same culture for us", says Kayali.

Sahtin does well and, including takeaways, they say they have around a thousand customers a day, most of them Arabs, but also Russians and Turks, as its cuisine includes international dishes.

He and his two partners employ 22 workers, most of them from Syria.

One of them, Gayis Alazi, arrived in Turkey last month, via Lebanon.

"I've worked as a chef since the year 2000. I used to work in several places in Aleppo. Then I moved to Lebanon, and a month ago I moved here to Istanbul," says Alazi, who is 30 years-old.

Turkey's employers' associations and Chambers of Commerce are working on reports to figure out the total number of businesses opened by Syrians since the crisis started, but they face the challenge that many of them are unregistered.

The Chamber of Commerce in Gaziantep, a bordering city where many refugees are initially settled when they move to Turkey, published that the number of businesses founded by Syrians in October 2014 was 209, compared to 60 before the Syrian crisis started in 2011.

A few hundred metres away from Sahtin is located 'Mandy Hadramout', the first restaurant which opened in Turkey offering this Yemeni tandoor spiced meat dish which is very popular in Syria.

Moamin Haj Biram owns the establishment together with his brother-in-law.

The former 51 year-old architect had four restaurants offering the same speciality in Syria when the war started, but he had to close them one by one due to the wave of destruction and moved first to Jordan and after that to Turkey in 2012.

After arriving in Istanbul, he realised that many his former customers had also moved there with a dwindling hope of returning to Syria, so he decided to relaunch his business here.

"We were afraid we will not be able to go back. Until that we have to live. It's not a commercial matter, it's a way of living. We have to feed our children, we have to pay for them, for their schools, for their living. That's it," says Biram, who belongs to the Circassian minority from Quneitra, in eastern Syria.

Mandy Hadramout has two branches in Istanbul, the second one being in Taksim. There is also a third one in Sapanca, a city 84 miles (135 kilometres) east of Istanbul.

In Summer time they employ up to 30 workers, mostly Syrians, and they say their customers amount to 300 a day including takeaways, most of them being Arabs, Asians and Africans.

Like other refugees, he says he hopes to go back to Syria, but it depends on the military situation there.

Meanwhile, Biram says he feels comfortable in Turkey, where he is not treated as a refugee but as a guest, so he has no plans to move to Europe.

"Turkey government, they help us more than the Europeans. They don't treat us as refugees, they treat us just as their people, they call us guests. They don't call us as refugees here. And they deal with us very kindly," he says.

Turkey hosts more refugees than any other country in the world, more than two million, with 600,000 new arrivals this year alone, according to Turkish government figures.

AP TELEVISION

Istanbul - 12 October 2015

1. Close up of diced chicken and vegetables in a frying pan

2. Tilt up from ingredients to chef cooking

3. Close up of frying pan where Chicken Fatte is being cooked

4. Mid of waiters picking up dishes to be taken to customers' tables

5. Mid of 'Sahtin' restaurant owner Sami Kayali drinking water

6. Close up of Kayali's eyes

7. SOUNDBITE (English) Sami Kayali, Sahtin Restaurant partner, from Aleppo, 41 years-old:

"Here we can't make big business, like factories, like in Syria, because we have money difficulties here, you know. Small business is enough for us to live. You know, Istanbul and outside Syria is too expensive for us."

8. Wide of Syrian restaurant Sahtin

9. Mid of customers having lunch on restaurant terrace

10. Close of dish with chicken and rice

11. Close of waiter and kebab meat on the spit

12. Wide of kebab meat on the spit inside restaurant

13. Mid of customers inside restaurant

14. Wide of waiter passing by with dishes and restaurant owner sitting down

15. SOUNDBITE (English) Sami Kayali, Sahtin Restaurant partner from Aleppo, 41 years old:

"I visited Europe before. I visited Spain, I visited Italy, but I more love Istanbul. Turkey is same culture for us."

16. Close up of hummus on a plate

17. Mid of waiter taking dishes away

18. Mid of trays with food on display

19. Mid of chef filling trays

20. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Gayis Alazi, chef from Aleppo working in Syrian restaurant Sahtin, 30 years old:

"I've worked as a chef since the year 2000. I used to work in several places in Aleppo. Then I moved to Lebanon, and a month ago I moved here to Istanbul."

AP TELEVISION

Istanbul - 10 October 2015

21. Wide of Selcuk Sultan Mosque in Fatih district

22. Mid of Selcuk Sultan Mosque dome

23. Wide of pedestrians passing by

24. Wide of Syrian restaurant Mandy Hadramout

24. Wide of restaurant partner Moamin Haj Biram with customers on the restaurant terrace

25. Wide of Haj Biram at restaurant counter

26. Close up of Haj Biram

27. SOUNDBITE (English) Moamin Haj Biram, Mandy Hadramout Restaurant partner, 51 years old:

"We were afraid we will not be able to go back. And for that we have to live. It's not a commercial matter; it's a way of living. We have to feed our children, we have to pay for them, for their schools, for their living. That's it."

28. Chefs preparing ingredients for cooking

29. Close up of mushrooms being sliced

30. Tilt down from chefs to ingredients

31. Close up of Yemeni dish called "Mandy" on a table

32. Mid of customers eating Mandy

33. Wide of customers inside restaurant

34. Moamin Haj Biram, Mandy Hadramout Restaurant partner, 51 years old:

"Turkey government, they help us, I think, more than the Europeans. They don't treat us as refugees, they treat us just as their people, they call us guests. They don't call us refugees here. And they deal with us very kindly."

35. Wide of Istanbul skyline across Galata Bridge

36. Wide of Hidayet Mosque (left) and Yeni Mosque (right)

LEAD IN:

New regulations implemented at the beginning of 2016 for Syrians visiting Turkey are having a negative impact on businesses run by Syrians whose main customers are fellow newcomers.

STORY-LINE:

Syrian chefs are rolling out dough and baking delicious Syrian pizza called "safiha" at Saruja restaurant, which opened its doors in January.

The eatery is located in Aksaray neighbourhood, known in Istanbul as "Little Syria" for the high number of refugees opening businesses here.

The business is not going badly, but the new regulations have deterred the Syrian owner from opening a second outlet. Much like other businesses in the area, a good deal of revenue comes from Syrians visiting their relatives in Turkey and newcomers from the border.

In January, Turkey implemented visa restrictions for Syrians and other Arab nationals entering the country by air or sea as part of its efforts to curb the flow of migrants to the country.

Although the regulation does not apply for those entering by land, the border with the war-torn country has been closed since the beginning of 2015.

Since 2011 Turkey has received nearly three million Syrians out of a total of almost five million refugees, according to UNCHR figures.

About half a million Syrians live in Istanbul, Turkey's financial hub.

But visas are scarcely being issued.

Saruja's owner Bilal Khalaf left his country in 2012 to relocate in Dubai, and in mid-2014 moved to Turkey.

The 39 year-old decided to open this restaurant together with a partner at the beginning of this year.

He says the new visa policy has not only an economical impact, but also psychological:

"The social effect is bigger than the economical one, that is my personal opinion. A lot of my employees who are working with me are distanced from their wives or husbands because of the visa issue, and for all of this period since the new visa laws came into action haven't seen their families, their children."

Lawyer Wassim Kassab Bashi has been helping thousands of Syrians to register legally in Turkey since he opened his legal services company in 2014 in Aksaray.

Turkey doesn't give refugee status to nationals other than Europeans, so the Syrians are living here under a temporary guest system.

In addition to the visa regulation and the closing of the border, a new law for residence permits requires Syrians to apply from a Turkish consulate abroad, a trip that many of them cannot afford.

So many of the residence permits that are being processed are from Syrians and other Arabs already living abroad, but the approval is slow and so far only a few of them have been successful.

Wassim Kassab Bashi, a lawyer from Damascus and owner of legal services company Vatan Unlimited, moved to Turkey in 2012.

He says that compared to last year, his company has processed far fewer residence permits for Syrians and other Arab nationalities.

"Our company processed in 2015 through our three offices in Istanbul around 150,000 residence permits for foreign citizens from Iraq, Yemen, Libya and Syria and some other nationalities. But now we're almost in October 2016 and we have only delivered 1,200 or 1,500 residence permits," he says.

Under this administrative situation, other businesses cashing in on new comers are also experiencing a negative impact.

This is the case for vocational training companies teaching Syrians skills such as IT, languages and business.

Ahmad Yassin from Banyas moved to Istanbul in 2014 and opened his International Training Academy in 2015, where Syrians learn computer skills, management and media.

According to company figures, a year ago they used to have a hundred students per month, but the figure has decreased.

"The negative effect (on our business) is no more than 20 per cent, although it is not very big it is affecting the business cycle in Istanbul, no matter what sector," says Yassin.

Even the lawyer Kassab Bashi is suffering the negative impact of the new regulations. As Syrian customers decrease, he has had to adjust to the new situation and focus more on Turkish sectors. And that has meant cutting the number of Syrian lawyers in his company.

AP Television

Istanbul - 29 September 2016

1. Mid of two Syrian chefs cooking Syrian "pizza" called "safiha"

2. Close of chef's hands cooking "safiha" and putting it into oven

3. Tilt-up of chef rolling dough

4. Mid of Syrian chef cooking kebabs

5. Close of kebabs

6. Close of kebab with pitta bread on it and chef cooking in background

7. Mid of two customers inside Syrian restaurant

8. Close up to salad and "safiha"

9. Mid of Syrian family eating in restaurant

10. Wide of restaurant and owner Bilal Khalaf greeting customers

11. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Bilal Khalaf, owner of Syrian restaurant Saruja, from Damascus:

"We have been economically affected a lot by the visa law. For example, me in my restaurant I have been affected by the absence of Syrians and specially the Syrians who are living in Saudi Arabia and UAE. But according to what I've noticed, the social effect is bigger than the economical one, that is my personal opinion. A lot of my employees who are working with me are distanced from their wives or husbands because of the visa issue, and for all of this period since the new visa laws came into action haven't seen their families, their children."

12. Wide of people walking on the streets of Fatih district in Istanbul

13. Mid of people walking in Fatih

14. Mid of entrance to legal services business in Fatih district

15. Wide of legal services owner Wassim Kassab Bashi talking to a customer

16. Close of Turkish flag with Kassab Bashi in the background

17. Close of Kassab Bashi's hands

18. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Wassim Kassab Bashi, lawyer from Damascus and owner of legal services company Vatan Unlimited:

"For example, our company processed in 2015 through our three offices in Istanbul around 150,000 residence permits for foreign citizens from Iraq, Yemen, Libya and Syria and some other nationalities. But now we're almost in October 2016 and we have only delivered 1,200 or 1,500 residence permits."

19. Wide of Turkish flags on a street in Fatih district

20. Pan from right to left of Syrian refugees attending computer training

21. Close up of teacher explaining internet lesson

22. Mid of two Syrian students

23. Close of hand writing in a notepad

24. Wide of International Training Academy manager Ahmad Yassin chatting with one of his teachers

25. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Ahmad Yassin, General Manager of International Training Academy:

"Of course the people who are entering and exiting Istanbul were giving a big added value to the economical and financial cycle for business in Istanbul. But this has been strongly and negatively affected by the visa law. After that, our market target has become only the (Arab) communities who are currently living in Istanbul. Their budget for spending is related to their income that changes from one day to another. But little by little (their budget) has stabilised, and the situation has completely been stopped at this point. The negative effect (on our business) is no more than 20 per cent, although it is not very big it is affecting the business cycle in Istanbul, no matter what sector."

26. Wide of people walking on the street

27. Wide of Bashi in his office

28. Close of Bashi

29. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Wassim Kassab Bashi, lawyer from Damascus and owner of legal services company Vatan Unlimited:

"(Last year) we were eight Syrian and two Turkish lawyers working in our office. But now we are increasing the number of Turks and decreasing the Syrians in order to make a balance, as we knew that those who are (applying for visa) from Saudi Arabia are coming, from Sudan are coming, from Lebanon are coming, but after a long time. So we raised the number of Turks to three and decreased the number of Syrians (lawyers) to three."

30. Various of minaret of Piri Mehmet Pasha mosque in Fatih district at sunset

LENGTH: 3:56

RESTRICTION SUMMARY: AP CLIENTS ONLY

SHOTLIST:

AP TELEVISION - AP CLIENTS ONLY

Istanbul - 3 June 2016

1. Syrian flag on the Syrian consulate

2. Syrian consulate

3. Sign on entrance of Syrian Consulate reading (Turkish): "Syrian Arab Republic Consul General"

4. Syrian families standing outside the consulate

5. Amnesty International logo on wall inside Amnesty International office in Istanbul

6. Set up of Andrew Gardner working on his laptop inside Amnesty International office

7. SOUNDBITE (English) Andrew Gardner, Amnesty International Turkey researcher:

"This whole EU-Turkey deal is based on the fiction that Turkey is a safe country to send refugees and asylum seekers back to. Turkey already has the biggest refugee population in the world - more than three million refugees in the country already - and quite frankly the refugees and asylum seekers who are here in Turkey are struggling to access their rights."

8. Syrian family waiting outside the Syrian consulate

9. Syrian consulate

10. Syrian family waiting outside the Syrian consulate

11. SOUNDBITE (English) Andrew Gardner, Amnesty International Turkey researcher:

"Turkey doesn't accept refugees from outside Europe, which means there is no long-term future for refugees in the country. They can't be integrated. But also, most fundamentally, refugees are living in pretty appalling conditions in the country. We spoke to refugees, some of them children as young as nine were working to support their families, we spoke to refugees who were homeless, who were living under bridges in Istanbul."

Istanbul - 2 June 2016

12. People walking on street in Istanbul with Syrian shops and restaurants known as little Syria

13. Various of Syrians eating in Syrian restaurant in Aksaray area in Istanbul known as little Syria

Istanbul - 3 June 2016

14. SOUNDBITE (English) Andrew Gardner, Amnesty International Turkey researcher

"Turkey has got generally a very positive attitude towards accommodating refugees since 2011 when the Syrian crisis started. But what we've seen is that as Turkey began to negotiate this, series of deals with the EU, we've seen first and foremost there has been a problem of forced returns, of refugees and asylum seekers from Turkey. We've documented the forced returns of Syrians, back to Syria, you know, a war zone and also one of the world's worst humanitarian crises but also to Iraq and to Afghanistan as well."

Istanbul - 2 June 2016

15. Various of Syrian women smoking water pipe in area in Istanbul known as little Syria

Istanbul - 3 June 2016

16. SOUNDBITE (English) Andrew Gardner, Amnesty International Turkey researcher

"What's required is a credible resettlement programme to take refugees and asylum seekers from countries like Turkey but also Lebanon and Jordan - countries which are on the frontline and are receiving the vast majority of refugees from Syria, for example - and for those people to be accommodated and protected within the European Union."

Istanbul - 2 June 2016

17. Various of street in Aksaray

STORYLINE

Amnesty International on Friday urged the European Union to stop plans to return asylum-seekers back to Turkey.

The rights group issued a 35-page briefing saying the EU-Turkey deal to curb irregular migration was "illegal" and "reckless."

Turkey is hosting 3 million refugees, including 2.75 million Syrians, and expected to receive more as part of the deal with the EU.

Under the agreement, irregular migrants who arrived to the Greek islands from Turkey after March 20 will be sent back to Turkey.

The EU, in turn, will resettle one Syrian refugee from Turkey to the bloc for each Syrian that Greece returns back to Turkey.

Turkey also stands to receive up to six (b) billion euros (6.71 (b) billion US dollars), visa-free travel and fast track negotiations on EU accession.

The deal, according to Amnesty, is unlawful because asylum-seekers don't access "effective protection" in Turkey.

Amnesty argued that Turkey lacks the capacity to process asylum applications and falls short on key criteria to be deemed a "safe third country."

The organization also repeated its assertion that Syrians in Turkey are at risk of being forcibly sent back to their war-torn nation.

Turkish officials have rejected prior Amnesty International reports on the issue of forced returns.

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LEAD-IN:

With some half a million displaced Syrians living in Istanbul, there is a huge need for language training to help these adults and children get by in the Turkish city.

A new NGO venture in the Fatih district is offering a range of courses for all age-groups - including classes for young children to help them prepare to enter the Turkish school system.

STORY-LINE:

A group of young Syrian children practise drawing and writing Turkish words.

Volunteers help them to write the poignant phrase: "I want to go back to Syria".

But these young boys and girls will not be going back to their home country any time soon.

This is the Olive Tree Community Education Centre located at the heart of Fatih, an area that is home to many of Istanbul's half a million displaced Syrians, according to Turkish government figures.

The Olive Tree was set up in September to help people displaced by the war in Syria by the Small Projects Istanbul (SPI) NGO.

Syrians who have fled to Turkey are not recognised as refugees, but have 'guest' status in the country.

This status grants them access to public services, including education and healthcare.

But the language barrier can make it very difficult for them to get the most out of these services.

Around 20 volunteers work at the Olive Tree helping around 100 Syrians, both adults and children, to learn Turkish and adjust to their new country.

In this class, volunteers are helping a class of Syrian children to name the parts of the hand in Turkish.

The boys and girls draw outlines around their own hands and colour them in.

"I am learning Turkish, English and arts", says eight-year-old Rawaa Ayoon.

Around a fifth of the Syrians who have sought refuge in Istanbul are children, according to official Turkish government figures.

"I've been volunteering for three months. And we try to help them in many cases, not only teaching them Turkish, but also increasing their creativity, their self-confidence, their sociability," says 31-year-old volunteer teacher Mehmet Cetinkaya.

Some of the children attending lessons at the centre have been living in Turkey for two years, and have reached a good enough level of Turkish to start at local schools.

The Olive Tree also plays a role in help children to get registered.

"Going to school is very important for them because otherwise they feel alienated, but school is their really good way to make them really feel much better, says Cetinkaya.

LEAD-IN:

With some half a million displaced Syrians living in Istanbul, there is a huge need for language training to help these adults and children get by in the Turkish city.

A new NGO venture in the Fatih district is offering a range of courses for all age-groups - including classes for young children to help them prepare to enter the Turkish school system.

STORY-LINE:

A group of young Syrian children practise drawing and writing Turkish words.

Volunteers help them to write the poignant phrase: "I want to go back to Syria".

But these young boys and girls will not be going back to their home country any time soon.

This is the Olive Tree Community Education Centre located at the heart of Fatih, an area that is home to many of Istanbul's half a million displaced Syrians, according to Turkish government figures.

The Olive Tree was set up in September to help people displaced by the war in Syria by the Small Projects Istanbul (SPI) NGO.

Syrians who have fled to Turkey are not recognised as refugees, but have 'guest' status in the country.

This status grants them access to public services, including education and healthcare.

But the language barrier can make it very difficult for them to get the most out of these services.

Around 20 volunteers work at the Olive Tree helping around 100 Syrians, both adults and children, to learn Turkish and adjust to their new country.

In this class, volunteers are helping a class of Syrian children to name the parts of the hand in Turkish.

The boys and girls draw outlines around their own hands and colour them in.

"I am learning Turkish, English and arts", says eight-year-old Rawaa Ayoon.

Around a fifth of the Syrians who have sought refuge in Istanbul are children, according to official Turkish government figures.

"I've been volunteering for three months. And we try to help them in many cases, not only teaching them Turkish, but also increasing their creativity, their self-confidence, their sociability," says 31-year-old volunteer teacher Mehmet Cetinkaya.

Some of the children attending lessons at the centre have been living in Turkey for two years, and have reached a good enough level of Turkish to start at local schools.

The Olive Tree also plays a role in help children to get registered.

"Going to school is very important for them because otherwise they feel alienated, but school is their really good way to make them really feel much better, says Cetinkaya.

Istanbul, Turkey – 16 December 2015

1. Various of an Olive Tree Community Centre volunteer sitting at table with Syrian children who have been drawing with crayons

2. Close of words written on paper by a a child, reading (Turkish) "I want to go back to Syria."

3. Wide of classroom where volunteers are teaching Turkish to Syrian children

4. Two Syrian girls attending the lesson

5. Close of a drawing of a hand, with the names of its parts written in Turkish

6. Close of Syrian child Rawaa Ayoon drawing

7. Mid of Syrian child Rawaa Ayoon drawing

8. Close up of Rawaa's eyes

9. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Rawaa Ayoon, Syrian refugee from Douma:

"I am learning Turkish, English and art."

10. Wide of Istanbul skyline

11. Wide of Aya Sophia and Sultanahmet mosque

12. Wide of street where Olive Tree Community Centre is located

13. Close of sign reading (Arabic and Turkish) "The Olive Tree Community Education Centre."

14. Wide of Syrian children attending Turkish lesson at the centre

15. Mid of two volunteer teachers showing a piece of paper with word reading (Turkish) "leg"

16. Mid of volunteers and children clapping their legs

17. Low angle of volunteers and children

18. SOUNDBITE (English) Mehmet Cetinkaya, volunteer teacher, Olive Tree Community Education Centre:

"I've been volunteering for three months. And we try to help them in many cases, not only teaching them Turkish, but also increasing their creativity, their self-confidence, their sociability."

19. Syrian mother showing pictures in a book to her child

20. Close of the book

21. Wide of volunteers and children

22. High angle of children reading books

23. Close of child's hands holding a book and a tangerine

24. Various of children drawing around their hands

25. Volunteer standing next to whiteboard, which has hand drawn on it

26. Close of the hand drawing on the whiteboard

27. Child showing his hand drawing to camera

28. SOUNDBITE (English) Mehmet Cetinkaya, volunteer teacher, Olive Tree Community Education Centre:

"We help them also to register to Turkish schools. Some of them, they start to speak good Turkish, and they socialise on the streets, they have Turkish friends of their same age. And also going to school is very important for them because otherwise they feel alienated, but school is their really good way to make them really feel much better."

29. Tilt up of the classroom

30. Close of pieces of paper, on which two letters of Turkish alphabet have been drawn and filled in with glitter

LEAD IN:

Indian street food takes centre stage during an Istanbul community centre's fundraising campaign to help Syrian refugee children.

Volunteers cook up traditional Indian fare for sale at events across the city.

STORY-LINE:

Shahla Raza prepares Indian snacks and pastries in the historical Istanbul neighbourhood of Balat.

The delicacies are being for an event organised by the Yusra Community Centre, which works to help Syrian refugee children in the city.

A filmmaker and volunteer who hails from India, Raza is the driving force behind the fundraising project.

A group of expat, local and Syrian volunteers help prepare the dishes.

It is all Indian vegetarian street food, such as Papri Chaat snacks, Rabri Jaleebi pastries and Punjabi samosas - quite a rarity in Turkey.

Attendees gather at the Hara Yoga Vedanta Centre, paying 80 Turkish Lira (25 US Dollars) to enjoy the Indian delicacies.

All proceeds from the event evening will go to Yusra Community Centre's food and education programmes for Syrian children.

Somesh Krishnamurthy, from India, has been living in Istanbul for 17 years.

He attends yoga lessons in the Hara Yoga Vedanta Centre that is offering its space for the event, and is delighted to be feasting on the food of his homeland for a good cause.

"I come here for classes from Hamza and Gayatri (two yoga teachers), so that's how I got to know about this event, yes. And of course, you know, getting to eat Indian food in Istanbul is a once in a life time opportunity actually," says Krishnamurthy.

The Yusra centre opened its doors in April 2016 and has been given support to more than 70 children.

The centre offers Turkish lessons and other activities to Syrian children.

Yusra programmes mostly support young children from four to seven years old, and around 50 have gone on to enter the school system.

The children coming to Yusra also receive food during the lessons, as many of their families cannot afford to pay for food.

"Some of them don't even have breakfast, they just come hungry, so we give them a hot meal, we give them soup and bread and we also give them fruit and fruits. And for the older children who come in the evening after school, after our club, we give them hot dinner before they go home. So we feed a lot of children, and that needs a lot of funding," says founder Shahla Razan.

Apart from pre-schooling classes, this centre also offers English, photography, art and computer lessons.

For many, the process of learning must start right at the beginning.

"A lot of them coming they don't know how to hold a pencil. We started of by teaching them how to hold a pencil," says Razan.

Istanbul, Turkey - 10 December 2016

1. Close of Yusra Community Centre founder Shahla Raza's hands as she prepares Papri Chaat Indian snacks

2. Various of Shahla Raza preparing Indian snacks

3. Tilt up of volunteer cooking Indian pastries called Rabri Jaleebi

4. Close of pastries in tin

5. Wide of volunteer frying Indian chickpea patties called Channa Pattice

6. Close of saucepan in which patties are being cooked

7. Mid of Raza cooking and talking to Syrian volunteer Osman

8. SOUNDBITE: (English) Osman Osman, Syrian volunteer at Yusra Community Centre

"We help in Yusra for example to translate. For everything, we can help. For example today, we can bring what to show, bring what we need for this thing, for anything - we can help."

9. Raza talking to event attendees

10. Wide of founder Raza in yoga room where event attendees are gathering

11. Various of attendees helping themselves to Indian food

12. Various of attendees eating the Indian food

13. SOUNDBITE: (English) Somesh Krishnamurthy, Indian resident in Istanbul

"So I come here for classes from Hamza and Gayatri (two yoga teachers), so that's how I got to know about this event, yes. And of course, you know, getting to eat Indian food in Istanbul is a once in a life time opportunity actually."

Istanbul, Turkey - 9 December 2016

14. Wide of Galata Tower from Balat neighbourhood

15. Wide of Istanbul skyline from Balat neighbourhood

16. Wide of locals walking in the street in Balat neighbourhood

17. Close of hands of a Syrian child writing his name "Hasan" on a paper

18. Mid of children's hands writing and drawing on papers

19. Close of colouring pencils

20. High angle of Syrian children drawing and volunteers handing them apple pieces

21. Tilt up from apple pieces to Yusra founder Razan

22. SOUNDBITE: (English) Shahla Razan, Yusra Community Centre founder:

"Some of them (Syrian children attending the programme) don't even have breakfast, they just come hungry, so we give them a hot meal, we give them soup and bread and we also give them milk and fruits. And for the older children who come in the evening after school, after our club, we give them a hot dinner before they go home. So we feed a lot of children and that needs a lot of funding. So we are constantly fundraising for our programme, and the evening tomorrow (Saturday) is a fundraising (event) for our food programme and for some of our other educational programmes. So we are going to have Indian street food, because I haven't had Indian street food in some time, since I left India."

23. Wide of the classroom at Yusra centre where Syrian children are drawing

24. Mid of Syrian teachers and foreign volunteers

25. Close of a child's hand drawing

26. Wide of classroom where Syrian children are playing games with volunteers

27. SOUNDBITE: (English) Shahla Razan, Yusra Community Centre founder:

"Most of them (Syrian children) have not been exposed to even writing because they've been through a very bad situation where they haven't really had access to schooling or even for their parents to buy them a pencil or a book is too much of an expense at this point when the families are struggling even to buy food. So, you know, the children of course have no access to any of these learning equipments. So a lot of them come and they don't know how to hold a pencil. So we started off by teaching them how to hold a pencil."

28. Mid of volunteer playing with children

29. Wide of classroom

A bookstore in Istanbul founded by a Syrian refugee last year is becoming increasingly popular with the Syrians living in Turkey.

The majority of them decided to settle down in Turkey, after fleeing violence at home, rather than embarking on a perilous journey to Western Europe.

The shelves in the store are filled with Arabic books flown in from Lebanon.

There are about 2.7 million Syrian refugees currently living in Turkey.

Istanbul alone hosts at least 366,000 Syrians, according to The International Rescue Committee.

And among them is the store's founder, 42-year-old Samer al-Kadri, who saw it a good enough reason to open Pages bookstore last July.

Many Syrians come to the store, that is set over three floors, not only to buy books, but also to study, work, read and have a coffee.

Al-Kadri says that Syrians often find their new lives in Turkey very difficult due to the language barrier as well as lack of job opportunities and laws that would protect foreign workers' rights.

One day he hopes to return home, that's why he picked Syria's northern neighbour as his temporary new home.

The are four Syrians working in Pages, and among them Ola Suleiman, who fled her home country three years ago.

She also said that more needs to be done to help Syrians that sought refuge abroad.

Arabic books might help to ease the pain of being away from home for some, Suleiman said.

When asked about the EU's deal with Turkey over migrants, which goes into effect on Monday, al-Kadri was very sceptical it would stem the flow of migrants into Europe.

The EU-Turkey deal stipulates that those who reach the shores of Greece unlawfully will be turned back to Turkey unless they qualify for asylum.

It also sets out that for every Syrian returned, another Syrian in Turkey will be relocated to a European country.

The deal aims to break the lucrative smuggling operations now in Turkey.

But al-Kadri says that a refugee will always try to reach Europe, seeking safety. "He will find a thousand ways."

A bookstore in Istanbul founded by a Syrian refugee last year is becoming increasingly popular with the Syrians living in Turkey.

The majority of them decided to settle down in Turkey, after fleeing violence at home, rather than embarking on a perilous journey to Western Europe.

The shelves in the store are filled with Arabic books flown in from Lebanon.

There are about 2.7 million Syrian refugees currently living in Turkey.

Istanbul alone hosts at least 366,000 Syrians, according to The International Rescue Committee.

And among them is the store's founder, 42-year-old Samer al-Kadri, who saw it a good enough reason to open Pages bookstore last July.

Many Syrians come to the store, that is set over three floors, not only to buy books, but also to study, work, read and have a coffee.

Al-Kadri says that Syrians often find their new lives in Turkey very difficult due to the language barrier as well as lack of job opportunities and laws that would protect foreign workers' rights.

One day he hopes to return home, that's why he picked Syria's northern neighbour as his temporary new home.

The are four Syrians working in Pages, and among them Ola Suleiman, who fled her home country three years ago.

She also said that more needs to be done to help Syrians that sought refuge abroad.

Arabic books might help to ease the pain of being away from home for some, Suleiman said.

When asked about the EU's deal with Turkey over migrants, which goes into effect on Monday, al-Kadri was very sceptical it would stem the flow of migrants into Europe.

The EU-Turkey deal stipulates that those who reach the shores of Greece unlawfully will be turned back to Turkey unless they qualify for asylum.

It also sets out that for every Syrian returned, another Syrian in Turkey will be relocated to a European country.

The deal aims to break the lucrative smuggling operations now in Turkey.

But al-Kadri says that a refugee will always try to reach Europe, seeking safety. "He will find a thousand ways."

Istanbul - 31 March 2016

1. Syrian refugee Ola Suleiman, who works in Pages bookstore, taking book from shelf

2. Interior of Pages bookstore

3. Various of Arabic books inside the bookstore

4. Various of bookstore owner Samer al-Kadri working on his laptop inside the bookstore

5. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Samer al-Kadri, 42, owner of Pages bookstore:

"We decided to do this because the Syrian community has become very large here and they needed this. And at the same time to act as a bridge between us and the Turks."

Istanbul - 2 April 2016

6. Exterior of Pages bookstore

7. Pages bookstore logo

8. People reading and working inside the bookstore

9. Various of Syrian girl reading book

10. Man working on his laptop

Istanbul - 31 March 2016

11. Al-Kadri talking to customers inside the bookstore

12. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Samer al-Kadri, 42, owner of Pages bookstore:

"For example, we don't have the right to work, permission to work. We don't have, education is somewhat difficult. Language. The issue of language has made it difficult for Syrians to really integrate into the society."

13. Man working inside the bookstore

14. Al-Kadri working inside the bookstore

15. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Samer al-Kadri, 42, owner of Pages bookstore:

"In my opinion, this isn't a solution that will stop the flow of refugees (the EU's deal with Turkey over Syrian refugees). This might be a short-term solution. A refugee will reach Europe. He will find a thousand ways."

16. Various of Suleiman working, registering books

Istanbul - 2 April 2016

17. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Ola Suleiman, Syrian refugee working in Pages bookstore:

"Now, as refugees in Turkey, our situation is okay but there is a need for more help, there is a need for more job opportunities. It requires laws to protect workers. For example, I worked for three years without any health insurance, without any contract."

18. Various of woman packing books for customer

19. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Ola Suleiman, Syrian refugee working in Pages bookstore:

"Books are a missing part of our a life. As an Arabic reader, I read during my studies. I would have liked to keep on reading but the war that happened in Syria and the crisis that is still going on, forced us to leave everything behind in our homes."

20. Interior of bookstore

21. Various of Faiz Dakhil, 35, Syrian refugee reading book inside store

22. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Faiz Dakhil,35, Syrian refugee:

"Maybe it makes us feel at home, irrespective of it being a bookstore, but especially because it is a bookstore. But if we had an Arabic cultural centre, an Arabic cultural centre in Istanbul, it would be more all-encompassing and would include everyone."

23. Syrian flag inside the bookstore

24. Interior of bookstore

TURKEY SYRIA ARTISTS

SOURCE: AP TELEVISION

RESTRICTIONS: MIDDLE EAST EXTRA CLIENTS ONLY

LENGTH: 3:47

SHOTLIST:

AP Television

Istanbul, Turkey - 29 January 2016

1. Various of Syrian artist Zolfaqar Shaarani working on canvas

2. Close of paint

3. Various of Shaarani using hairdryer to dry canvas

4. Close of Shaarani

5. Mid of Shaarani working on canvas

6. SOUNDBITE (English) Zolfaqar Shaarani, artist and musician from Damascus:

"How can I fight without killing? So I chose my weapon, actually. I have chosen my weapon. So when I feel something, how can I say it, really hurts, I push the colours outside of me, from me I mean."

7. Wide of Shaarani talking to musician friend, Burhan

8. Sharaani splashing paint onto canvas

9. Tilt down of Shaarani washing his hands

10. Shaarani moving one of his canvases to an easel

11. Mid of Shaarani checking the dryness of the canvas

12. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Zolfaqar Shaarani, artist and musician from Damascus:

"Before I left, life there became too hard for me and definitely in general, depending on the standard of living, not only to make art, even the standard of living in terms of earning enough money to stay alive became so hard."

13. Wide of Istanbul skyline showing Topkapi Palace and Hagia Sophia Museum from Karakoy

14. Wide of Hagia Sophia Museum

15. Low angle of Arthere Istanbul studio and cafe main door

16. Pan of Arthere cafe area

17. Mid of customers working on their laptops in the cafe area

18. Close of one painting by Shaarani exhibited in cafe

19. Various of artwork

20. Mid of Arthere Istanbul founder Omar Berakdar talking to a customer

21. Close of cat

22. High angle of Berakdar stroking cat

23. SOUNDBITE (Arabic), Omar Berakdar, Syrian artist and founder of Arthere Istanbul:

"The main goal of creating Arthere is to have a place to put Syrian artists together with Turkish and other foreign artists, to make a kind of interaction or swap and to learn from each other."

24. Close of cake for sale in cafe

25. Mid of cafe customer serving himself a piece of cake

26. Various of Berakdar talking to Turkish performing artist Fatih Genckal

27. SOUNDBITE (Turkish) Fatih Genckal, Turkish art performer and art director of 'A Corner In The World' performance festival:

"Actually the goal of organising this festival is not only to perform Syrian and other artists' arts and works, but also to put Turkish and Syrian artists together and create a bridge between them."

28. Wide of customers sitting at a table at the cafe area

29. Various of paintings

LEADIN:

An independent art initiative is building links between Syrian and Turkish artists.

Arthere Istanbul provides gallery space and workshops for both refugees and local people.

STORYLINE

Lilac, salmon pink and dark blue: Zolfaqar Shaarani is working on his latest painting.

The 35-year-old is an artist and musician who hails from Damascus.

But he's fled the ongoing civil war of his homeland for the safety of Istanbul.

And he uses art to express his feelings for the violence back in Syria.

"How can I fight without killing? So I chose my weapon, actually. I have chosen my weapon. So when I feel something, how can I say it, really hurts, I push the colours outside of me."

Shaarani graduated from the Faculty of Art of Damascus University in 2013, but the fighting and shelling drove him out of the city and he arrived in Istanbul at the end of 2014.

"Before I left, life there became too hard for me," he says,

"Not only to make art, even the standard of living in terms of earning enough money to stay alive became so hard," he adds.

More than 2.5 million Syrian refugees are registered with the United Nations in Turkey.

And Shaarani is one of 20 artists who work at Arthere Istanbul.

The venue houses artist studios, a gallery and a cafe and was founded by and for Syrian artists.

Shaarani's paintings join the work of other artists on the walls of the cafe.

This creative hub offers workshop space for free.

Expenses are covered by cafe profits, art lessons and by taking a 30 percent cut of artwork sales.

Founder Omar Berakdar is a Syrian artist, photographer and chemist and says refugees can make links with local people here.

"The main goal of creating Arthere is to have a place to put Syrian artists together with Turkish and other foreign artists, to make a kind of interaction or swap and to learn from each other," he explains.

Half of the artists here are Syrian and the other half Turkish.

Fatih Genckal is Turkish and is the artistic director for 'A Corner of the World, a festival of dancers from across the region.

He's working with Arthere to recruit performers from Syria,

"The goal of organising this festival is not only to perform Syrian and other artists' arts and works, but also to put Turkish and Syrian artists together and create a bridge between them."

Arthere hosts regular workshops on darkroom techniques, photography, drawing and calligraphy.

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LEAD IN

A volunteer group in Turkey is teaching Syrian refugee children English.

It also gives financial support to their families so they don't send them out to work or force them into early marriage.

STORY-LINE

This is 13 year-old Ari Habash, a young girl from a Kurdish area in northern Syria who is now living in Turkey.

She is taking English lessons. Today she is learning the meaning of "curly hair", and other parts of the body, together with a group of Syrian refugee children.

This education, organised by a group of volunteers, could be a lifeline for Ari - so she's not forced to work in Turkish factories or enter into early marriage.

When introducing herself, Ari doesn't deny the fact she sometimes has to work to support her family.

"My name is Ari, I am 13 years old, I am from Syria," she explains. "Before coming to this course, I was sometimes studying and sometimes working."

One of Ari's classmates, 12 year-old Nesrin Como, also tries to introduce herself in English with the help of her teacher:

Ari and Nesrin are among the 22 students founded by a group of volunteers operating under Small Projects Istanbul NGO (SPI).

They support the children's families, so they can take summer lessons such as English, Turkish and Arts, instead of being sent out to work.

Edward Todd, a British English teacher in his early fifties, started volunteering for Syrian children four years ago, when news about the conflict was dominating the headlines.

He felt he must do something for Syrian children to prevent them losing years of education.

Todd initially raised funds for Syrian children in the Cayman Islands, where he lived for over 13 years. He's since volunteered as an English teacher in Istanbul every summer since 2014.

Money is very tight for Syrian families fleeing war in their country explains Todd:

"So there is a sense that some of the children are being encouraged to work instead of going to school. Which is a short term fix, it is not a long term fix, because at the end of the day education gives you the concrete foundation for anything you want to do in the entire world," he says.

Since the conflict erupted in 2011 in neighbouring Syria, half of its 20 million population have been internally and externally displaced. Around half a million people have been killed.

Turkey is hosting 3.7 million of these refugees as "guests" since the country doesn't recognise the refugee status. Syrians in Turkey have official access to education and medical services, but they are challenged by language barriers and economic pressures.

As a consequence Syrians, including children, can be exposed to labour exploitation and abuse, whereas young girls often end up marrying underage.

Karyn Thomas, the Australian founder of SPI, says a group of volunteers from Australia and other countries encouraged her to launch this project.

Together they realised the only way to keep the children out of factories and from getting married too early was by engaging with their families and supporting them economically.

They pay their families the rate their children would get for working in the factories:

"A marriage... in the Arabic world and when people are very desperate, gives some stability through families connecting with other families. If they have a little small payment they really want their children back in school, so if they are back in school, school kind of indicates that you don't get married till you finish school," explains Thomas.

"So the longer we keep them it's a sort of a byproduct of them going back into education. The by-product is they don't get married early, then you don't have medical problems and early births

The SPI summer programme runs three days a week during July and August and also includes art lessons.

Istanbul, Turkey - 25 July 2018

1. Mid of Syrian child writing on whiteboard

2. Close of child's hand writing in English "curly"

3. Mid of Syrian children inside classroom

4. Tilt up from papers to child's face

5. SOUNDBITE (Kurmanji) Ari Habash, 13 year old Kurdish Syrian child attending English Summer lessons:

"My name is Ari, I am 13 years old, I am from Syria. Before coming to this course, I was sometimes studying and sometimes working."

6. Close of children's hands drawing and writing

7. Pan from classroom to young student Nesrin Como going to the whiteboard

8. Close of Como writing "nose" in English on the whiteboard

9. SOUNDBITE (English) Nesrin Como, 12 year old Syrian Kurdish attending English summer lessons:

"My name is Nesrin, I am 12 years old, I am come from Syria, and I am Kurdish. (Upsound voice of teacher: "Before") Before.. I am come.. (Teacher: Before I came here) I came here, I worked and good (sic) school."

10. Pan from wall reading (English and Arabic) "Welcome" to teacher and child at whiteboard

11. Close of English teacher Edward Todd

12. SOUNDBITE (English) Edward Todd, British English teacher and fundraiser:

"Because the families are refugees, displaced persons from Syria, money is very, very tight. Money is very, very important to feed, clothe. So there is a sense that some of the children are being encouraged to work instead of going to school. Which is a short term fix, it is not a long term fix, because at the end of the day education gives you the concrete foundation for anything you want to do in the entire world."

13. Close of Turkish flag hanging from building

14. Mid of children playing with dog in the street

15. Wide of street where Small Projects Istanbul (SPI) NGO building is located

16. Wide of SPI founder Karyn Thomas in the classroom

17. Wide of Thomas leaving classroom

18. SOUNDBITE (English) Karyn Thomas, founder of Small Projects Istanbul (SPI) NGO:

"Now the child may earn maybe six or seven hundred Turkish Lira (125-145 US Dollar), eight hundred Turkish Lira (165 US Dollar) a month. (The NGO) Turkey Volunteers has 22 children, they pay their family direct five hundred a month (100 US Dollar). The family want them back in school but they don't pay the whole wage. The parent has to really want it and cooperate with Turkish Volunteers, then we know that they will show up, and they do show up, they're really amazing."

19. Tilt up from painting jars to children's faces

20. Low angle of teacher showing a canvas to students

21. Top shot of female students in art lesson

22. Wide of female students in art lesson

23. Close of student Fatima Kanju

24. SOUNDBITE (English) Fatima Kanju, 14 year-old Syrian from Aleppo taking English Summer lessons:

"Hello, my name is Fatima, I am 14 years old. I am studying in the 8th grade in Arabic school. I come from Syria, now I live in Istanbul."

25. Wide of children in classroom

26. Close of whiteboard showing drawings and reading (English) "Happy" and "Smart"

27. SOUNDBITE (English) Karyn Thomas, founder of Small Projects Istanbul (SPI) NGO:

"A marriage kind of... in the Arabic world and when people are very desperate, gives some stability through families connecting with other families. If they have a little small payment they really want their children back in school, so if they are back in school, school kind of indicates that you don't get married till you finish school. So the longer we keep them it's a sort of a byproduct of them going back into education. The by-product is they don't get married early, then you don't have medical problems and early births. Really this is something the whole world wants to finish, is 12 and 13 and 14 year old girls getting married."

28. Mid of children leaving school

29. Various of Istanbul Golden Horn skylines

LEAD IN:

Syrians in Turkey are using food to tell their stories to foreigners.

A new project is inviting tourists to have dinner with the refugees and hear about their experiences.

STORY-LINE:

Nahed is preparing a traditional Syrian-Palestinian dish.

It's the kind of food her family would eat: there is meat, aubergine, fruit, tomato and cashews in this recipe.

But the people who will be enjoying this food later are not her relatives - in fact they are foreign strangers.

Nahed has been cooking a meal for a group of tourists who will pay to eat the food and hear stories from Syrian refugees living in Turkey.

She fled her country in 2014 after moving from Damascus to Aleppo and then moving to different refugee camps.

Nahed is going to be receive 150 Turkish Lira (50 US dollars) for the meals she has cooked.

"Cooking for tourists brings me enough money to feed my family for one week," she says.

The tourists are on their way to the Olive Tree Association for dinner.

This is a new initiative started by local NGO Small Projects Istanbul (SPI)

It's partnered with an Australian tour operator to provide these meals to tourists who want to experience something a little different.

The events take place roughly once a week.

And with 2.5 million Syrian refugees now living in Turkey, SPI co-director Chris McLaren says the meals are "putting a human face on this issue".

Six tourists attend each meal and pay 50 US dollars each for the experience.

The proceeds go to the Syrian chefs as well as SPI, which is teaching Turkish, English and other activities to Syrian children and running a workshop for Syrian women.

But this is about more than raising money.

The meals also help break stereotypes.

"Refugees are represented in a pretty one-dimensional way, you know. We see kids without shoes on the streets and that's a very, very, that's a very real thing," says McLaren.

"But also we have our guys here who are university educated professionals. And they, I mean, they've been displaced obviously. And they don't fit the typical refugee image."

Most of the tourists come from the United States, Canada and Australia.

Matthew Davis is a 22 year-old MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) student from Florida.

"This tour seemed like an excellent opportunity to learn more about people's experiences within Syria, people's experiences adapting to life within Turkey," he says.

The project has been running since April.

LEAD IN:

Syrians in Turkey are using food to tell their stories to foreigners.

A new project is inviting tourists to have dinner with the refugees and hear about their experiences.

STORY-LINE:

Nahed is preparing a traditional Syrian-Palestinian dish.

It's the kind of food her family would eat: there is meat, aubergine, fruit, tomato and cashews in this recipe.

But the people who will be enjoying this food later are not her relatives - in fact they are foreign strangers.

Nahed has been cooking a meal for a group of tourists who will pay to eat the food and hear stories from Syrian refugees living in Turkey.

She fled her country in 2014 after moving from Damascus to Aleppo and then moving to different refugee camps.

Nahed is going to be receive 150 Turkish Lira (50 US dollars) for the meals she has cooked.

"Cooking for tourists brings me enough money to feed my family for one week," she says.

The tourists are on their way to the Olive Tree Association for dinner.

This is a new initiative started by local NGO Small Projects Istanbul (SPI)

It's partnered with an Australian tour operator to provide these meals to tourists who want to experience something a little different.

The events take place roughly once a week.

And with 2.5 million Syrian refugees now living in Turkey, SPI co-director Chris McLaren says the meals are "putting a human face on this issue".

Six tourists attend each meal and pay 50 US dollars each for the experience.

The proceeds go to the Syrian chefs as well as SPI, which is teaching Turkish, English and other activities to Syrian children and running a workshop for Syrian women.

But this is about more than raising money.

The meals also help break stereotypes.

"Refugees are represented in a pretty one-dimensional way, you know. We see kids without shoes on the streets and that's a very, very, that's a very real thing," says McLaren.

"But also we have our guys here who are university educated professionals. And they, I mean, they've been displaced obviously. And they don't fit the typical refugee image."

Most of the tourists come from the United States, Canada and Australia.

Matthew Davis is a 22 year-old MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) student from Florida.

"This tour seemed like an excellent opportunity to learn more about people's experiences within Syria, people's experiences adapting to life within Turkey," he says.

The project has been running since April.

Istanbul - 4 June 2016

1. Tilt up of Nahed (no surname given), Syrian-Palestinian refugee, dishing up food

2. Various of Nahed dishing upfood

3. Nahed carrying food

4. Tilt up from dish to Nahed

5. Close of cashews in Syrian food

6. Various of Nahed at dining table

7. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Nahed (no surname given), Syrian-Palestinian refugee:

"Cooking for tourists brings me enough money to feed my family for one week."

8. Tourists and Syrians walking towards the Olive Tree Association, part of Small Projects Istanbul NGO centre, to have dinner

9. Mid of tourists and Syrians entering centre

10. Low shot of feet

11. Chris McLaren, co-director of Small Projects Istanbul NGO, shaking hands with tourists

12. Tourists sitting down for dinner

13. Close of food being served

14. Various of people at dining table

15. SOUNDBITE (English) Chris McLaren, co-director of Small Projects Istanbul NGO:

"This is a weekly, roughly weekly, tour dinner where we partner with an organisation called Urban Adventures, and so people who want to see another side of the city, people who also want to have an opportunity to really, to be able to sit down and literally break bread with Syrians. This is a great opportunity for them to come and to meet some people. I mean it is putting a human face on this issue."

16. Wide of Nahed going inside the NGO centre with food with her daughter

17. Wide of Nahed's daughter going inside NGO centre

18. Various of women preparing bread

19. Wide of Syrians and tourists having dinner

20. SOUNDBITE (English) Chris McLaren, co-director of Small Projects Istanbul NGO:

"Refugees are represented in a pretty one-dimensional way, you know. We see kids without shoes on the streets and that's a very, very, that's a very real thing. But also we have our guys here who are university educated professionals. And they, I mean, they've been displaced obviously. And they don't fit the typical refugee image."

21. Tilt up from hands to face of a Syrian having dinner with tourists

22. Mid of Syrian having a conversation with American tourist Matthew Davis

23. SOUNDBITE (English) Matthew Davis, American tourist:

"In United States, so we read a lot about what is going on in Syria and the Syrian civil war, and we hear a lot about the Syrian refugee migration through Turkey into Europe. And this tour seemed like an excellent opportunity to learn more about people's experiences within Syria, people's experiences adapting to life within Turkey, within Istanbul specifically, which is a topic of interest because of the differing perspectives we hear about how Syrian migrants are being welcomed inside the country, how they are adapting, the humanitarian aspects of it."

24. Various of tourists and Syrians having dinner

LEAD IN:

A former Egyptian government minister has criticised the authorities' treatment of former president Mohammed Morsi.

Yehia Hamed served in Morsi's cabinet, who is on trial for espionage.

STORY-LINE:

Egypt's former Minister of Investment Yehia Hamed has been in exile here in Istanbul since 2014.

He served in Mohammed Morsi's government before the president was ousted in the summer of 2013.

Morsi is on trial for espionage, but an Egyptian court has postponed the verdict until May 7.

Prosecutors alleged that Morsi conspired with the other defendants to leak secret state documents to Qatar during his turbulent year in office.

But Hamed says the case is an example of the authorities going after the opposition.

"Now in prison we have more than 50,000 in prison from different (political) colours. Dr Morsi is one of them, he is a symbol of our revolution, he is a symbol for legitimacy," he says.

He accuses the country's army generals of "trying to penalise" the ideals of the uprising.

Hamed warns that poor treatment of prisoners is likely to radicalise people towards militant groups like the Islamic State.

In 2013 tens of thousands of Egyptians protested against Mohammed Morsi, and the Muslim Brotherhood was overthrown by Sissi in June of that year.

Since then, the Brotherhood has been accused of links to terrorism by the current Egyptian government, and similar files had been opened in the United Kingdom and the USA.

However, the former Morsi adviser says his party is moderate, democratic and has the support of the Egyptian voters.

He fears that if Egypt's political situation continues to deteriorate, Europe can expect a new wave of refugees.

"We need to stop this, we need to make sure that our country is safe, our country is progressive, and this cannot happen unless we have a democratic system, not a fascist system or a military system in Egypt," Hamed says.

The former Vodaphone executive runs different businesses in Istanbul, including a digital media outlet called Middle East Observer.

He also volunteers for the Muslim Brotherhood, officially known as the Freedom and Justice Party.

Hamed communicates fluently in Turkish with locals and meets with Turkish officials and think tank representatives in the city and around the region.

He claims his homeland is failing economically, despite billions of dollars in aid from foreign countries.

"Not one single big successful project has been introduced to Egypt during the past three years," he complains.

LEAD IN:

A former Egyptian government minister has criticised the authorities' treatment of former president Mohammed Morsi.

Yehia Hamed served in Morsi's cabinet, who is on trial for espionage.

STORY-LINE:

Egypt's former Minister of Investment Yehia Hamed has been in exile here in Istanbul since 2014.

He served in Mohammed Morsi's government before the president was ousted in the summer of 2013.

Morsi is on trial for espionage, but an Egyptian court has postponed the verdict until May 7.

Prosecutors alleged that Morsi conspired with the other defendants to leak secret state documents to Qatar during his turbulent year in office.

But Hamed says the case is an example of the authorities going after the opposition.

"Now in prison we have more than 50,000 in prison from different (political) colours. Dr Morsi is one of them, he is a symbol of our revolution, he is a symbol for legitimacy," he says.

He accuses the country's army generals of "trying to penalise" the ideals of the uprising.

Hamed warns that poor treatment of prisoners is likely to radicalise people towards militant groups like the Islamic State.

In 2013 tens of thousands of Egyptians protested against Mohammed Morsi, and the Muslim Brotherhood was overthrown by Sissi in June of that year.

Since then, the Brotherhood has been accused of links to terrorism by the current Egyptian government, and similar files had been opened in the United Kingdom and the USA.

However, the former Morsi adviser says his party is moderate, democratic and has the support of the Egyptian voters.

He fears that if Egypt's political situation continues to deteriorate, Europe can expect a new wave of refugees.

"We need to stop this, we need to make sure that our country is safe, our country is progressive, and this cannot happen unless we have a democratic system, not a fascist system or a military system in Egypt," Hamed says.

The former Vodaphone executive runs different businesses in Istanbul, including a digital media outlet called Middle East Observer.

He also volunteers for the Muslim Brotherhood, officially known as the Freedom and Justice Party.

Hamed communicates fluently in Turkish with locals and meets with Turkish officials and think tank representatives in the city and around the region.

He claims his homeland is failing economically, despite billions of dollars in aid from foreign countries.

"Not one single big successful project has been introduced to Egypt during the past three years," he complains.

Istanbul - 28 April 2016

1. Wide of former Egypt Investment minister Yehia Hamed in his new office in Istanbul

2. Various of Hamed in his office

3. SOUNDBITE (English) Yehia Hamed, former Egypt Investment minister:

"They are not doing this only for Dr Morsi, actually they are doing this for tens of thousands of other activists from all political colours. Now in prison we have more than 50,000 in prison from different colours. Dr Morsi is one of them, he is a symbol of our revolution, he is a symbol for legitimacy, but he is one of those millions who believed in the revolution. So the generals of the army are trying to penalise these ideas of going outside the norms that they have been ruling the country for the last 60 years of the agony that they have got for our country."

4. Wide of Istanbul skyline with Hagia Sophia Museum

5. Wide of Hagia Sophia Museum

6. Wide of tourists and locals around Hagia Sophia Museum

7. Two women sitting on a bench by Blue Mosque

8. Various of Hamed at his office

9. Close up to laptop screen showing internet media outlet Middle East Observer

10. SOUNDBITE (English) Yehia Hamed, former Egypt Investment minister:

"Since Giulio Regeni a horrible death in Egypt in Jan, late Jan this year, I would say than more than 30 or 40 prisoners have been kept with a very bad medical situation in the prison and they died as well. I mean, yesterday only one of them have died as well. He is someone who has got a family, he is someone who's got relatives, they will start getting more and more detached. So these things when you have radical groups like Daesh (Islamic State) for example in Sinai they have the best environment for recruitment."

11. Wide of office building where Hamed's office is located in Istanbul's Yenibosna neighbourhood

12. Close of Turkish flag

13. Mid of Hamed and office building member of staff

14. Wide of Hamed coming out of the building

15. Wide of Hamed walking in the street

16. SOUNDBITE (English) Yehia Hamed, former Egypt Investment minister:

"We just want to help rescuing our country as well as rescuing all the neighbours of our country of 90 million. If problems happened like Abdel Fattah el-Sissi wants to our country, Europe can expect I mean not less than 10 million of immigrants. We need to stop this, we need to make sure that our country is safe, our country is progressive, and this cannot happen unless we have a democratic system, not a fascist system or a military system in Egypt."

17. Mid of Hamed walking towards a restaurant terrace

18. Various of Hamed on a terrace talking on his phone

19. Wide of waiter serving meal to Hamed

20. SOUNDBITE (English) Yehia Hamed, former Egypt Investment minister:

"In economy, Egypt with Abdel Fattah el-Sissi has received aids of more than 55 billion dollars from Saudi, from Emirates, from Kuwait, and the result is null to zero. Egyptians are having more than 52 percent now under poverty line, if you calculate on the base of 2 dollars a day. Not one single big successful project has been introduced to Egypt during the past three years."

21. Wide of Blue Mosque

22. Close up to Blue Mosque dome

LEAD IN:

Capoeira trainers in Istanbul are offering classes to Syrian refugee children in the hope they can overcome bad memories.

The brothers originally trained Iraqi and Palestinian refugees back in Syria.

STORY-LINE:

Capoeira is helping these Syrian children to move on from dark memories of their war-torn country.

The workshop is run by two brothers from Damascus, Amer and Abdullah, who learned capoeira before the war in Syria and back then were helping other refugee children from Iraq and Palestine to overcome their traumas.

Parents watch their children practising capoeira in this centre in the Fatih district of Istanbul, where 500,000 of the almost 4 million Syrians living in Turkey are located.

Gulbahar is an 8 year-old Syrian girl who started the capoeira workshop four months ago in Istanbul.

The little girl is learning how to defend herself practising this Brazilian traditional martial art.

She says she is having a lot of fun.

"We started capoeira four months ago. When I come here I have so much fun and we feel so much relaxed. When we start the class everybody starts to shout, and when the teacher plays that instrument like a bow, everybody attacks the teacher like we want to eat him," says Gulbahar, smiling.

Her nine year-old brother Omar has been somersaulting for most of the two hour workshop.

He is already studying in a Turkish school and after class comes here once or twice a week to enjoy the Brazilian defence technique.

They also learn how to sing in Portuguese and play the berimbau, a Brazilian single-string percussion instrument.

Brothers Amer and Abdullah, from Damascus, have a passion for capoeira. The youngest of the two, eighteen year-old Abdullah, started capoeira in 2008, when he was just nine years old.

They started training Iraqi and Palestinian refugees in their own country before the war exploded in Syria in 2011 under the British based NGO Capoeira4Refugees.

This NGO is running capoeira projects for young refugees around the world.

Abdullah, who moved to Istanbul only a year ago to assist his brother in the training, says he has developed a passion for capoeira and helping children to move on from their traumatic war memories.

"When I train the children I feel like their personalities change completely, especially the children who have escaped from the war, because their personalities have been affected by the war, and they have so much negative energy," says Abdullah.

Twenty-nine year old Amer started training other refugees in Syria through capoeira a decade ago .

He never expected he would end up training his own people inside Syria and later, from 2014, from Turkey.

The two brothers are training refugees in several centres around Istanbul.

Istanbul, Turkey – 8 November 2016

1. Wide of children learning capoeira movements

2. Mid of capoeira trainers and children shouting "Viva Capoeira"

3. Mid of a Syrian mother watching her children practising capoeira

4. Mid of Syrian girl Gulbahar Agha practising capoeira

5. Wide of Gulbahar practising capoeira with her trainer

6. Low angle of trainer Amer singing in Portuguese and playing Brazilian instruments

7. Mid of Gulbahar laughing and fighting

8. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Gulbahar Agha, 8 year old Syrian refugee:

"We started capoeira four months ago. When I come here I have so much fun and we feel so much relaxed. When we start the class everybody starts to shout, and when the teacher plays that instrument like a bow, everybody attacks the teacher like we want to eat him."

9. Mid of Syrian children shouting during warming up

10. Wide of trainers and children warming up and shouting

11. Tilt up of trainer Amer teaching capoeira movements to children

12. Close up of Syrian child Omar Agha speaking in Portuguese

13. Various of child practising moves on floor

14. Teacher spinning

15. Low angle of child Omar doing push ups

16. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Omar Agha, 7 year old Syrian refugee:

"Capoeira... we were playing… Someone goes down and we put our leg over him."

17. Wide of Istanbul Bosphorus skyline

18. Wide of boats crossing the Bosphorus

19. Mid of capoeira trainers and trainees entering workshop

20. Low angle of Syrian children practising capoeira

21. Mid of trainer's back with "Capoeira4Refugees" written on his shirt

22. Trainer doing walking handstand

23. Syrian trainer and child practising capoeira

24. Tilt down of brother Amer and Abdullah playing Brazilian instruments berimbau and pandeiro

25. Close of trainer Abdullah

26. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Abdullah, 18 year old capoeira trainer from Damascus:

"This thing is really my passion. When I train the children I feel like their personalities change completely, especially the children who have escaped from the war, because their personalities have been affected by the war, and they have so much negative energy. Our mission here is to make the kids happy and lift off this negative energy and help them forget the war. That's our mission here and hopefully we can fulfil it."

27. Tilt up of child Omar being taught by trainer Amer how to use the berimbau (Brazilian instrument)

28. Mid of Omar and Amer with berimbau

29. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Amer, 29 year old capoeira trainer from Damascus:

"We started the capoeira training in Damascus in 2006 and after one year of training we started to train the Iraqi children and the Palestinian children in Damascus until the war started and we couldn't stay in Damascus. I came to Turkey, I continued my project in capoeira here."

30. Various of capoeira training

31. Mid of trainers and children shouting "Viva Capoeira!"

LEAD IN:

Syrian refugees are manufacturing earrings at a workshop in Istanbul.

The Drop Earrings Not Bombs project helps the women learn business skills as well as earn a much-needed income.

STORY-LINE:

It's an intricate job - but the end results are worth the effort.

Syrian women are crafting earrings for an NGO project in Istanbul.

Drop Earrings Not Bombs has been running since March and refugees gather a couple of times a week to fashion the jewellery.

They are learning new handicraft skills and earning a bit of extra money.

The job has helped Maha Hassan and her young family who fled to Turkey from Syria in 2013.

"Our situation was a little bit hard," she says.

"Then I found out about about this project, and I come here to have fun with other girls and to let my children play and meet other children because they were lonely at home."

Around 20 Syrians are involved in this project, creating brightly coloured, Indian-inspired designs.

Drop Earrings Not Bombs is held at the Small Projects Istanbul (SPI) in the Fatih district.

The NGO has become an umbrella for volunteers trying to help refugees by running language lessons, vocational training and workshops.

Muna Bitar, another Syrian refugee, is enrolled on a tailoring course at the same facility and enjoys socialising with the women who come to make earrings.

"The most important thing here is to feel that we are at home. It is to see your people around you, it reminds us of our country," she says.

Drop Earrings Not Bombs is a self-sufficient project that aims to provide each participant with food vouchers valued at 300 Turkish lira (100 US dollars) every month.

It's not a huge amount of money but is some help towards rent and school costs.

Life is proving to be expensive for the three million Syrians living in Turkey, many with limited options of earning a living.

Volunteer and project organiser Alparslan Gurbuz says they don't want to "use the war" as a marketing tool.

"But the point at least is when people hear the name hopefully they understand that it's not a company, this is more a cooperative of people who are coming together to work and make this product," he says.

And as well as earning a bit of money, this also teaches the women business skills - some may be inspired to open their own companies after this experience.

The earrings are sold online from 15 US dollars a pair, with discounts available for larger orders.

Gurbuz says he tries to get the participants thinking about how customers will discover the products and to "spread the word" so more people purchase the earrings.

Istanbul, Turkey - 27 September 2016

1. Close of hands crafting earring

2. Various of Syrian women crafting earrings

3. Close of hands crafting earring

4. Various of women crafting earrings

5. Close of earrings in work bench

6. Women working on earrings

7. Mid of Syrian women and volunteers in earrings workshop

8. Mid of Maha Hassan, Syrian refugee, with two of her sons

9. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Maha Hassan, Syrian refugee:

"Our situation was a little bit hard. Then I found out about about this project, and I come here to have fun with other girls and to let my children play and meet other children because they were lonely at home. And now we are working and learning and having a good time here, thank God. When I found out about the project I was working as a tailor, then I left to work in this project now."

10. Entrance of building where the earrings project is held with sign reading (English) "Welcome to Small Projects Istanbul"

11. Wide of entrance

12. Wide of women gathering at earrings workshop with organiser and volunteer Alparslan Gurbuz in background

13. Woman making earring while son sits on her lap

14. Close of earring and reels of cotton

15. Women making earrings

16. Mid of Muna Bitar, Syrian refugee, with her son

17. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Muna Bitar, Syrian refugee:

"The most important thing here is to feel that we are at home. It is to see your people around you, it reminds us of our country. And we don't depend on this centre for money, it just helps us a little bit."

18. High angle of tools on the table

19. Various of women making earrings

20. Piece of paper with drawings of earring designs next to earring

21. Wide of the group working

22. Various of Alparslan Gurbuz, volunteer and organiser at Drop Earrings Not Bombs project, helping women

23. SOUNDBITE (English) Alparslan Gurbuz, volunteer and organiser at Drop Earrings Not Bombs project:

"We don't really want to use the war, sort of, to market the product but the point at least is when people hear the name hopefully they understand that it's not a company, this is more a cooperative of people who are coming together to work and make this product. And even if it's not enough money for them to live off of it is a very important income on the side that they are making."

24. Various of women making earrings

25. Gurbuz scrolling through the Drop Earrings Not Bombs website

26. Close of laptop screen showing Drop Earrings Not Bombs website with products

27. SOUNDBITE (English) Alparslan Gurbuz, volunteer and organiser at Drop Earrings Not Bombs project:

"We're trying to bring them an awareness to understand how is it that it if they were a customer, whether in Istanbul or in Europe, how would they have a chance to find out about the project, and how would the order come through and what can we do in terms of taking photos or taking videos of us doing the work or the earrings? What they can do to try to spread the word about it and to give more people to the chance to contribute and buy the earrings from them."

28. Wide of people in the street in Fatih district, Istanbul

29. Wide of Turkish flag and minaret by the Bosphorus

30. Wide of Bosphorus

The European Union is poised for a big step Wednesday toward ending visa requirements for Turkish citizens, in the wake of a widely criticised deal to get Turkey to stop migrants entering the EU.

Turkey has sought visa liberalisation for decades.

It will, however, first have to meet 72 criteria set by the European Commission to secure visa-free travel in Europe for its citizens.

EU nations have promised to endorse that decision by June 30.

The visa-waiver is part of a package of incentives the EU is offering Turkey to stop migrants making the dangerous sea voyage from its shores to Europe in search of a safe haven or jobs.

The package also includes six billion Euro (6.8 billion US dollars) for Syrian refugees in Turkey and fast-tracking Ankara's EU membership talks.

The deal would allow Turkish citizens to travel in EU countries for three months without a visa.

Turkey's path to EU membership started when the country signed the Ankara Agreement in 1963 with the European Economic Community (EEC) which aimed towards the accession of Turkey into the community that later evolved into the European Union.

The negotiation process with Turkey and the current EU was officially launched in October 2005.

The European Union is poised for a big step Wednesday toward ending visa requirements for Turkish citizens, in the wake of a widely criticised deal to get Turkey to stop migrants entering the EU.

Turkey has sought visa liberalisation for decades.

It will, however, first have to meet 72 criteria set by the European Commission to secure visa-free travel in Europe for its citizens.

EU nations have promised to endorse that decision by June 30.

The visa-waiver is part of a package of incentives the EU is offering Turkey to stop migrants making the dangerous sea voyage from its shores to Europe in search of a safe haven or jobs.

The package also includes six billion Euro (6.8 billion US dollars) for Syrian refugees in Turkey and fast-tracking Ankara's EU membership talks.

The deal would allow Turkish citizens to travel in EU countries for three months without a visa.

Turkey's path to EU membership started when the country signed the Ankara Agreement in 1963 with the European Economic Community (EEC) which aimed towards the accession of Turkey into the community that later evolved into the European Union.

The negotiation process with Turkey and the current EU was officially launched in October 2005.

Istanbul - 3 May 2016

1. Exterior of IDATA visa application centre

2. Signboard reading (Turkish): "Visa application centre: Italy and Germany"

3. Various of people entering and exiting the visa application centre

4. SOUNDBITE (Turkish) Erdogan Erengul, 33, Istanbul resident:

"It is wrong (for the European Union to ask Turkish citizens for a visa). They ask for so many documents. It will come to a point where they will look at our genes to allow us travel abroad."

5. Various of Galata tower, one of the symbols of Istanbul

6. Various set up shots for Ayhan Kaya, Professor of International Relations at Bilgi University

7. SOUNDBITE (English) Ayhan Kaya, Professor of International Relations, Bilgi University:

"They (Turkish citizens) are going to get visa-free travel (to European Union countries) for three months. This is the case for every third national trying to go to the European Union. So this is what we expect, this is the main, you know, content of the deal. But then of course we will have to wait for the decision of, or suggestion of the European Commission to the member states, and then we will have to wait for Turkey to accomplish the criteria until the end of the month. And then we will expect the European Union member states to accept this proposal coming from the European Commission."

8. Various of people walking on the street

9. SOUNDBITE (Turkish) Aliye Dilman, 28, Istanbul resident:

"I don't believe that visas will be lifted. I believe it's a theory to solve the Syrian problem."

10. Signboard reading (Turkish) "Goktug Visa Processing Bureau/Travel health insurance can be done/Flight hotel reservations can be arranged"

11. SOUNDBITE (English) Ayhan Kaya, Professor of International Relations, Bilgi University:

"I wouldn't expect a massive migration of Turkish citizens abroad. Migration is not an easy task; we know that. So this is just an exaggerated, fabricated fear in the European Union circles."

12. Various of people waiting for visa procedures outside an application centre

13. SOUNDBITE (Turkish) Turan Basaran, 56, Istanbul resident:

"We would go sightseeing and come back. But maybe young people might have plans to live there (in Europe)."

14. Various of ships on Bosphorus Strait in Istanbul

15. SOUNDBITE (English) Ayhan Kaya, Professor of International Relations, Bilgi University:

"I really hope that this visa liberalisation will somehow work because it will contribute to the democratisation of Turkish state-society relations. This is also going to bring us the very strong transformative effects of the European Union which the European Union itself has already forgotten. "

16. Various scenes around Istanbul, pedestrians