Tag: Turkey

Hagia Sophia: Secrets of the 1,600-year-old megastructure that has survived the collapse of empires

Hagia Sophia was built as a church over a Roman temple, and was subsequently converted into a mosque and then a museum. Since 2020 it is used as a mosque once more By Ali Halit Diker, CNN Whether you’re a believer or not, visiting Hagia Sophia is a spiritual experience. The architectural genius of this… Read More Hagia Sophia: Secrets of the 1,600-year-old megastructure that has survived the collapse of empires

Dilip

In Turkey, we are showing the world how to challenge a callous, authoritarian leader

The youthful energy of street protest is breathing life back into failing progressive parties – and it’s a model that could be applied everywhere Ece Temelkuran After 22 years of power grabs, the seizure of all state institutions and severe oppression aimed at reshaping Turkish citizens into Islamofascist minions, Turkey is striking back against President… Read More In Turkey, we are showing the world how to challenge a callous, authoritarian leader

Dilip

The hidden ‘eagle’s nest’ city that Alexander the Great couldn’t conquer

By Barry Neild, CNN Alexander the Great tried to conquer Termessos but failed. Today, the incredible deserted ruins of this once-powerful city, perched like a fortified eagle’s nest high in the mountains of southwestern Turkey, can be conquered by anyone willing to make the hike up here. But few people ever do. Termessos stands empty. A… Read More The hidden ‘eagle’s nest’ city that Alexander the Great couldn’t conquer

Dilip

Turkey allocates only 10 out of 20,000 teaching positions for Kurdish language

The Turkish Ministry of Education’s decision to allocate only 10 positions for Kurdish language teachers out of 20,000 new teaching positions has sparked significant backlash, the Stockholm Center for Freedom reported. Last year the ministry appointed 50 Kurdish teachers under a program titled “Living Languages and Dialects.” This year, the number was reduced to 10, comprising six… Read More Turkey allocates only 10 out of 20,000 teaching positions for Kurdish language

Dilip

Secular Opposition Crushes Islamist AKP in Turkey’s Local Elections

ARZU GEYBULLAYEVA ( Globalvoices.org ) – Turkey’s local elections which took place on March 31, will go down in history as one of its most surprising. Turkey’s demoralized opposition, namely the [secular] Republican People’s Party (CHP), dominated in what many pundits described as the ruling [center-right] Justice and Development Party’s worst defeat of its 22-year existence. For the first time since 1977, the CHP took… Read More Secular Opposition Crushes Islamist AKP in Turkey’s Local Elections

Dilip

Femicides: 2000 Turkish women killed by men since Erdogan left Womens Rights Convention

At least 996 women in Turkey have been killed by men since the country’s 2021 withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention, an international treaty aimed at combating domestic violence, while 748 women have died under suspicious circumstances, Turkish Minute reported, citing a report by the We Will Stop Femicide Platform (KCDP). March 20 marks the third… Read More Femicides: 2000 Turkish women killed by men since Erdogan left Womens Rights Convention

Dilip

Power over principle: Turkey’s skin-deep opposition

Kaya Genç Power to the powerful, contempt for the weak: in replicating this rule of Turkish politics, the opposition CHP differs in no way from Erdoğan’s AKP. Indeed, in persecuting all critics of the Turkish state, the Islamists are simply re-enacting the republican legacy. Pessimism derives from pessimus, the Latin for ‘the worst’. In the days leading… Read More Power over principle: Turkey’s skin-deep opposition

Dilip

Varlık at 90: Culture depends on the suspension of power

A Turkish literary institution turns 90: reflections on Varlık’s evolution and achievements, as well as notable omissions Eurozine Review Only ten years younger than the Republic of Turkey itself, Varlık devotes its July issue to an accounting of the journal’s first 90 years. In its early days Varlık marched in step with the modernising spirit of the new order… Read More Varlık at 90: Culture depends on the suspension of power

Dilip

Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu: Turkey’s opposition leader is leading in the polls

Turkey’s general election on Sunday, May 14 will see voters cast their ballots for 600 members of its parliament and the country’s powerful presidency. This election has become intensely competitive in a country which has undergone severe democratic erosion over the past decade, but may now be looking for change. Turkish president, and previously prime minister, Recep… Read More Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu: Turkey’s opposition leader is leading in the polls

Dilip

With over 20,000 dead, can President Erdogan Survive Turkey’s Earthquake Politically?

JUAN COLE Monday’s massive 7.8 magnitude earthquake in south-central Turkey, in which at least 20,000 have died — and probably tens of thousands more — has shocked that country and the world. It inescapably has political implications, with Turkish parliamentary and presidential elections scheduled for mid-May. President Tayyip Recep Erdogan is facing widespread criticism for… Read More With over 20,000 dead, can President Erdogan Survive Turkey’s Earthquake Politically?

Dilip