· April, 2007

Stories about Turkey from April, 2007

Turkey is Typing: The Killings in Malatya

  28 April 2007

"A handful of monsters walked into a Bible publisher in the Turkish city of Malatya the other day," writes one blogger, describing one of the tragedies which stunned Turkey this week. The brutal killings of three Christian missionaries at a Bible publishing house in Malatya has bloggers across the nation mourning the display of violent intolerance and contrasting the established sanctity of nationhood with the dire need for multi-religious acceptance.

Kurdistance: A Week Like Any Other

  27 April 2007

The news coming out of the Kurdish blogs this week is as varied as the landscape of Kurdistan itself. From predictions on Syrian Kurd alliances with Israel, to censorship in Turkey; from explorations of Northern Iraq, to essays on intolerance, the Kurdish bloggers cover it all. But for this week, I think we will begin with why, to Kurds, April is considered as the "Bride of the Year".

Kurdistance: A New Front in Northern Iraq?

  19 April 2007

Oh dear, not again. While it is unusual for me to outwardly state my opinions on a subject, I can say in this instance....I am not alone in my sentiment. Once more overtures have been made by the Turkish government to intervene in Northern Iraq/Southern Kurdistan. Unlike past incidents where the motives haven't been as clear, Turkish threats about crossing its southern borders have been in direct reaction to statements made by the Iraqi Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani: "Iraqi Kurds would not accept any foreign interference on the Kirkuk issue as it considers it an internal affair that should be resolved internally." For this story...I'll let both the Kurdish and Turkish bloggers explain...

Turkey is Typing…Presidential Protests

  17 April 2007

As the Turkish Presidential race begins to gear up, the Republic of Turkey once again finds itself torn between the ideals of a secularist or Islamist state. This week was marked by protests and editorial after editorial of speculation about the future of Turkey and whether the ideals of democracy will survive the next election.

Turkey: Comparable Tragedies

  17 April 2007

Turkey and My Foreign Perspectives compares two recent school-related tragedies: the killing of 30 at Virginia-Tech University and the death of 33 elementary school students in a bus accident in Izmir. “Here in Turkey, this bus accident is the one of the worst in its history and one that citizens...

Turkey: A Disconnect in Turkish Class

  10 April 2007

Carpetblogger recounts some of her learning adventures in her Turkish class: “I have been spending four hours a day, five days a week in a small room with two Korean women, a Argentinian woman, a Turkish/Swiss woman (who speaks German but no Turkish) and two women from “Dogu Turkestan.””

Turkey is Typing…Keeping up with the Komşuluk

  10 April 2007

Komşuluk means "the neighborhood" in Turkish, and today we are going to stroll through the streets of the Turkish blogosphere. We begin with the topic of insulting Turkishness, to the crowded streets of Istanbul where news of the upcoming Presidential elections and the latest gossip about Turkish popstars can be heard.

Turkey: Istanbul Tattooed

  5 April 2007

Metroblogging Istanbul has now started a Flickr account to document the graffiti art of Istanbul “some of them are great works of art, out of reach of the general public because they are hidden in remote locations in the city”.

Turkey is Typing…Film and Other Arts

  3 April 2007

Pursuits of the artistic type seemed to be on the fingertips of the Turkish bloggers this week from film reviews to art galleries and music. Film Athanasia's Daily gives us her review of the film Apocalypto, which she gave a 7 out of 10: That is to say, that man...

About our Turkey coverage

Arzu Geybullayeva
Arzu Geybullayeva is the Turkey editor. Email her story ideas or volunteer to write.