Üsküdar for beginners (3): market and second-hand stuff
The problem with tourists is that they often want to ‘go somewhere’, whereas I usually prefer just to wander around in the streets. But actually, in Üsküdar you can get stuck on busy streets, not knowing where to turn left or right to find somewhere nice. So I’ll direct you to somewhere specific, where you can just wander around: the …
Google Sites closed down in Turkey
ISTANBUL – Following a court order access to “Google Sites”, a site where people can build their own website, has been blocked in Turkey, according to several Turkish media today. The reason for the closure? Google Sites would admit sites with content insulting to Atatürk, Turkey’s founding father.
Insulting Atatürk is forbidden by law in Turkey. An organisation that defends the …
When you live in Turkey for some time and follow the news, you could get used to the considerable power the military still has in this country. They interfere in politics all the time on all sorts of issues, from the Kurdish question and relations with Armenia to matters of freedom of expression and freedom of religion. It’s a Turkish …
Violent Turk sentenced to give flowers
ISTANBUL – A Turkish judge sentenced a man convicted of domestic violence to give his wife a weekly bouquet of flowers for the next six months. He also has to read five books on raising children, writes daily Hürriyet today.
For the last four years Turkish judges have had the possibility of handing out alternative punishments. Lately more and more sensational …
A friend of mine got a call from his bank some weeks ago asking if he wanted to have a credit card. No, he said, I don’t want that, because I don’t have a steady income and I’m sure I will not be able to pay the credit card debt. And what did he find in his post box two …
And again newspaper Taraf (meaning ‘side’) made the Turkish army look foolish. They published a story about alledged plans from the army to make short work of governing party AKP and the Gulen Movement (a big group of followers of religious leader Fethullah Gulen, a controversial figure in Turkey). The AKP already announced that it will file a lawsuit against …
It is well known what kind of row can erupt when in Holland a new mosque is proposed to be built. But what happens when Dutch people want to build a church in Turkey? This is a story from the southern Turkish town of Alanya, stronghold of Christians who flock here for the winter months.
In southern Turkey’s Alanya …
Üsküdar for beginners (2): Şakirin Mosque
Since last month, Üsküdar has had a brand new masterpiece of architecture. It’s a mosque, but not just any mosque: the Şakirin Camii is designed by a woman and is the most modern, light, open and female-friendly mosque I have ever seen. It’s an absolute must-see, as is the big, huge, immense graveyard that surrounds it….
Gain Wilders boosts EU interest in Turkey
ISTANBUL – The win of the Partij van de Vrijheid (Party for Freedom) seems to have somewhat boosted interest in the European elections in Turkey. That ‘Fitna goes to parliament’, as the headlines announce, causes some excitement.
Wilders’ slogan that Turkey can not become an EU-member ‘in a million years’, is quoted, and the PVV leader is characterised as ‘racist’ and …
Turkey passes disputed mines law
ISTANBUL – The Turkish parliament has passed a controversial law on clearing mines along the border with Syria. According to the law foreign companies will also have a chance to help in clearing the mines, in exchange for the use of the cleared land for several decades. The opposition now threatens to take the law to the Constitutional Court.
Along the …
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