AKP not ready to let democracy bloom
A presidential system like in the United States, and only two parties in parliament: Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan thinks that would be a really good idea for Turkey. It would make politics more efficient and the country more stable, he thinks. When I heard it, I thought: isn’t it just the opposite? Isn’t it about time that in …
Turkey: in the tracks of the soldiers
COMMEMORATION – Commemorate a war and fallen soldiers? In Turkey they go a bit further than two minutes of silence. Turkish scouts, for example, re-live the ice-cold conditions endured by their soldiers in the eastern mountains of the country. Fatih (16), high in the mountains in the snow: ‘The soldiers really had a tough time.’
In Turkey it’s not about the …
There’s a one-litre bottle of raki in my cupboard. It’s been there for at least three years now, and I never even considered opening it. Actually, I have now decided to keep it to get rich.
I love raki, the Turkish national aniseed-flavoured drink. But raki is not like wine or whisky, drinks that you just drink at night alone …
From now on I will now and then publish guest blog posts on this website, written by Turkish journalists. The first guest blog post is written …
‘Now please, stop talking and listen to me!’ I can hardly believe this is me talking. To my cleaning lady! But I have reached a limit. The paintings are still very dusty, she didn’t take the hair out of the shower drain, the windows haven’t been cleaned properly, there is still a huge stain on the small table and she …
Banned officially in 1925, but still very much alive in Turkey, is the Mevlevi Order, a spiritual Islamic sect. Most people know them from the ‘whirling dervishes’, a ceremony performed by the followers of the order (called ‘dervishes’) as a way to connect with God. Up until now I never really got into it very deeply, probably because they are hardly ever …
Commotion in Turkey about released terrorists
ISTANBUL – There is commotion in Turkey about the release of prisoners who were on remand for involvement in terrorist attacks by the Turkish group Hizbullah. They were set free on Tuesday after a new law came into effect that reduces the maximun period of remand.
The eighteen Hizbullah fighters had been in jail without a conviction since 2000. A few
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