A colourful Famagusta politician doctor, artist, poet, cartoonist and writer has presented a copy of his newly published retrospective book, Albayrak’s Art — 60 Years to parliamentary Speaker Sibel Siber. Arif Albayrak said: “I have included little samples of all that I have done in my artistic life of 60 years: my poetry and notes with 25 paintings and 30 photographs and some of my music scores. I would need an encyclopaedia to include it all.”
He added that the 200-page book had been published in Istanbul two weeks ago and price at 40TL, but would be on the shelves at Deniz Plaza before Christmas at a special TRNC price of 30TL. The 1956 Paphos-born Republican Turkish Party MP said he preferred art to politics and was already planning his exit. He added that he was not planning a launch for the Turkish-language book but that he had a few more projects in the pipeline which would be a “surprise”.
Mr Albayrak has hit the headlines in the past with humorous protests about fuel prices — when he took a donkey to Parliament — and absent MPs, when he released a number of orange helium-flied balloons at a sitting to highlight the non-appearance of 11 National Unity Party members. He has also released a music and poetry CD with his cartoonist colleague and retired Gönyeli vet Mustafa Tuzaki, with whom he has given numerous recitals.
By Anne Canalp, Cyprus Today
