The first week of the new year brings with it another death of bird flu [1] to Turkey. Erkan's Field Diary has reported that cases of bird flu have been found in both rural and urban areas [2], information that rejects a possible Kurdish connection that Amerikan Turk discusses [3].
Coming up on the 10th is Eid al-Aida, the Feast of Sacrifice [4], which has always been an interesting time of year as there are always “problems” that arise from trying to standardize rituals sacrifices in urban settings (animals set for sacrifice breaking loose and roaming the streets), Phanja from The Need to Know discusses some of the regulations that have been introduced to combat these types of situations [5].
And now from some quick updates:
To start off the new year right Turkish Torque has several recipes posted for making Turkish Delight [6] (this is one food that I love but have never managed to make an edible final product). He also has information on the Uygurs of China [7], which are of Turkish decent.
Metroblogging: Istanbul writes about the Toy Museum in Kadikoy, Istanbul. [8]
Erkan's Field Diary posts about the lastest population numbers for Turkey [9] (73 million-wow!) and about the postponement of his mandatory military service. [10]
Talk Turkey discusses the recent mining disaster in West Virginia, USA and talks about similar disasters that have happened in Turkey [11].