Cengiz Özek sits at his desk in the dimly lit back office of his shadow theater near Taksim Square in central Istanbul. The theater is one of the last in operation in the city. He holds a piece of camel leather, a transparent sheet of paper with some sketches on it, and a small cutter. In front of him, lining a small recess on the wall, are bottles of pigment that he will use to create a tasvir, or jointed puppet made from leather. In this tiny room, Özek, one…
