Stories about Turkey
The Laz people's mission to save their language from extinction
There could be anything between 30,000 to 200,000 speakers of Lazuri, the language of the modern Laz people. The majority of them still live in the historical region of Rize, in...
Taking the Laz language online, one project at a time: An interview with Eylem Bostanci
Global Voices spoke with Eylem Bostancı, a project coordinator at the Laz Institute, an Istanbul-based organization dedicated to promoting the Laz language and culture.
Women ‘don’t have to fit themselves into someone else's perception,’ says Turkish aerospace engineer
An interview Gökçin Çınar, a 30-year-old aerospace engineering researcher from Turkey working at Georgia Tech, in the United States.
Are Istanbul's Boğaziçi University protests an expression of exceptionalism?
“What would make Erdoğan's life increasingly difficult would be for academia as a whole in Turkey to unify around a single platform and pursue vociferously a rigorous set of demands...
Protests rock Istanbul's most prestigious university over appointment of new rector
In 2016, President Erdoğan secured the right to appoint universities' rectors who previously were elected by the academic body.
‘Stop silencing MENA critical voices,’ say activists in open letter to Twitter and Facebook
A decade after uprisings heavily relied on social media to topple dictators across the region, human rights defenders denounce these platforms' discrimination against voices of dissent still fight for freedoms.
How will the war in Nagorno-Karabakh change Azerbaijan?
After Azerbaijan's victory in Nagorno-Karabakh, strongman President Ilham Aliyev enjoys huge popular support. But the new presence of Russian peacekeepers is causing unease, say researchers Sergey Rumyantsev and Sevil Huseynova.
US in Syria: What to expect of the new administration?
Humanitarian considerations will be the main distinction between the two US administrations in Syria's war, where Washington vies to curb terrorist threats and Russia's influence in a vital region.
The importance of ‘unlearning’ the past: Interview with Balkans expert Keith Brown
"Critical thinking [...] liberates us from the illusion that figures in the past imagined their own identity in terms of the nationalisms of their future."
‘The war in Karabakh has made the possibility of conflict resolution even more distant’, fears Armenian politician Mikayel Zolyan
Negotiations can start only once aggression against civilians stops. However, war has widened the gap between Armenians and Azerbaijanis, and therefore for dialogue, says Armenian MP and analyst Mikayel Zolyan
In Turkey, women rise up to stop withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention
The public outcry seems to have made an impression on the AKP—a decision on the Convention that was meant to be announced in August has now been postponed.
‘Shadow Means Strength, Shadow is Invincible': A conversation with Turkish artist Selma Gurbuz
"That which is real does not change, but its shadow can change. Shadow is a two-dimensional representation. It shows us ourselves."
Moderate globally, impact locally: A series on content moderation in the Global South
''Even as the platforms have grown and spread around the world, the center of gravity of these debates continues to revolve around D.C. and San Francisco.''
In Turkey, 2.5m students sit university entry exam despite COVID-19 outbreak
This year's exam was embroiled in controversy -- and not just because of the pandemic.
In Assad-controlled Syria, the official narrative is ‘no COVID-19 cases’
In order to maintain a facade of control, the Assad regime does whatever it takes to deny the presence of COVID-19 in the territories it controls.
‘While I breathe, I hope’: In conversation with Ali Gharavi of the #Istanbul10
Gharavi, a security consultant, was among ten human rights defenders arrested in Turkey in July 2017 at an information management and well-being workshop.
A feeling of hopelessness: Interview with a Uyghur refugee in Turkey
The Chinese government policy of racial and religious profiling has forced young Uyghurs to leave China and remain in exile.
Women's march in Istanbul marked by police violence and detentions on March 8
On March 8, International Women’s Day, feminist night marches took place in several cities across Turkey. While the event was held for the 17th time in İstanbul, it ended with...
New call for the release of Kurdish poet İlhan Sami Çomak jailed in Turkey for 26 years
Recently, a new campaign has been gaining ground to draw attention to one of the country’s longest-serving political prisoners.
Wake-up call or smear campaign? How an ad for sanitary pads is dividing Turkish public opinion
In Turkey, a top sanitary pad brand comes under fire after it releases a feminist ad.
About our Turkey coverage
Chris Rickleton is the Turkey editor. Email him story ideas or volunteer to write.
