The Pacifica Institute announced that Turkish-Israeli relations and other important issues facing Turkey today will be among a series of lectures at the Third Anatolian Cultures and Food Festival on October 6-9, 2011 at the Orange County Fairgrounds in Costa Mesa, CA.

Other topics are the legacy of the Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, Islam in Turkey, Turkey and the Arab Spring, Jewish-Muslim history, and the significance of the Turkish religious leader, Fethullah Gulen. They will be presented by journalists and academics from Turkey and the U.S.

Some of the lectures are as follows:

"Islam in Turkey: An Exceptional Story" and "Islam Without Extremes: A Muslim Case for Liberty"by Mustafa Akyol, columnist for the Turkish newspapers, Hurriyet Daily News and Star. Akyol's articles have also appeared in Foreign Affairs, Newsweek, Washington Post and Wall Street Journal and his book, "Islam without Extremes: A Muslim Case for Liberty, an argument for "Muslim liberalism," was published by W.W. Norton in July 2011.

"Turkey and the Arab Spring: Turkey's role in the Muslim-Arab World's Democratization Efforts"and"Turkish-Israeli Relations: From Strategic Alliance to Downgrading of Relations" by Kerim Balci, Editor-in-Chief of the Turkish Review, a bimonthly journal published by Turkey's Zaman Media Group. Balci is also a columnist in Today's Zaman and a TV correspondent on the Middle East. He was the Jerusalem correspondent for Zaman for eight years.

"Cultural Legacy of Armenians in Anatolia and in the Ottoman Empire" by Edvin Minassian, an attorney and Chairman of the Organization of Istanbul Armenians; Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Armenian Bar Association and the Government Relations and Protocol Committee of the Western Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church.