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All That You Change

Kubra Arslan, Çay and Diaspora: Observations on Belonging and Ritual

The sustenance of identity, memory, and community amongst the Turkish diaspora in London through the ritual of çay (tea) will be explored within this project and investigating a deeply familiar practice's role within a culturally unfamiliar environment. A traditionally significant embedded practice, the ritual of çay extends further its function as a beverage and acts as a symbolic practice of hospitality, belonging and shared experience. The cultural distinctiveness of çay can be seen in its preparation through the Turkish-style double teapots and served in tulip-shaped glasses paving a mere way to senses of familiarity. Through filming and interviewing members of the Turkish community and business owners across a range of spaces in London including Cafes, barbershops, restaurants, and homes, this research witnesses first-hand how çay is an integration of both working and domestic life, revealing the habit to be as much cultural as it is part of daily life.