A desperately needed signal

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 …

Wild West in credit cards

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 …

Taraf and the army

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 …

Church in the closet

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 …

Six women

The Eastern Turkish city of Van is, according to certain travel books, much more modern than you would think. And then they sum up by informing us that young people hold hands on the street, that you can get beers in nice lively bars where women too can go without a problem, and that there is a huge university. Now …

Turks don’t care about European elections

ISTANBUL – Turks are indifferent to the European elections. They don’t know they are being held, and anyone who does know is not interested. Sahin Alpay, Professor of Politics, and a columnist: ‘Turkey has other things on its mind.’
Anyone starting a conversation with a Turk about the European elections is usually heard talking about the anti-Turkish attitude of French President …