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SEEN BY TURKISH OPPOSITION AS SYMBOL OF INJUSTICE NAMED JUSTICE MINISTER
Inside Turkey Feb 10, 2026

SEEN BY TURKISH OPPOSITION AS SYMBOL OF INJUSTICE NAMED JUSTICE MINISTER

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan reshuffled his Cabinet, appointing Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor Akın Gürlek as justice minister, replacing Yılmaz Tunç. Gürlek has long been a target of the main opposition, dating back to his tenure as head of Istanbul’s 14th Heavy Penal Court, and more recently since his appointment as chief public prosecutor in October 2024, amid a series of high-profile court cases. Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya was also replaced, with Erzurum Governor Mustafa Çiftçi named to the post. Gürlek’s appointment is widely viewed as a promotion

Editorial Team
CRACKDOWN ON HAIR-BRAIDING CAMPAIGN
Media, Internet and Culture Jan 30, 2026

CRACKDOWN ON HAIR-BRAIDING CAMPAIGN

A symbolic protest emerged after images circulated on social media showing the cut hair of a woman allegedly killed in Syria, in areas formerly under the control of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The images sparked a wave of solidarity in Turkey, where activists, health workers, and even a football club adopted hair-braiding as a form of protest—prompting legal and political repercussions.

Editorial Team
BAHÇELI MOVES TO STEADY TURKEY’S PEACE PROCESS AMID SYRIA SHOCKS
Inside Turkey Jan 30, 2026

BAHÇELI MOVES TO STEADY TURKEY’S PEACE PROCESS AMID SYRIA SHOCKS

As the Turkish peace process with Kurds enters a period of turbulence following shifting dynamics and territorial changes in Syria, MHP Chair Devlet Bahçeli, who initiated the process, has stepped up efforts to prevent it from unraveling even as rhetoric hardens between the ruling bloc and the DEM Party.

Editorial Team
AS TIME GOES BY … IN DAVOS
Guest Voices Jan 29, 2026

AS TIME GOES BY … IN DAVOS

The Casablanca line everyone remembers wrong is: “Play it again, Sam.” The film doesn’t actually include that. What Ilsa Lund says in the movie is quieter and more revealing: “Play it, Sam… Play ‘As Time Goes By.’”

Guest Voices
DRUG CRACKDOWN WIDENS WITH NEW MASS DETENTIONS
Inside Turkey Jan 22, 2026

DRUG CRACKDOWN WIDENS WITH NEW MASS DETENTIONS

Turkey’s sweeping drug operations have expanded to include prominent figures from business and entertainment, triggering debate over whether the focus remains on organized crime kingpins or on well-known public personalities.

Editorial Team
‘MADE IN EUROPE’ PROPOSAL: BAD NEWS AND GOOD NEWS FOR TURKEY
Economy and Finance Jan 22, 2026

‘MADE IN EUROPE’ PROPOSAL: BAD NEWS AND GOOD NEWS FOR TURKEY

The EU’s draft “Made in Europe” proposal to support European producers of green technology excludes Turkey from “Europe” but allows the European Commission to determine which non-EU countries can be included in the scheme on a sectoral basis. The Turkish business community is alarmed at the new rules aimed at strengthening European manufacturing against rising competition from China and the U.S., Turkey in Depth learned. Fearing this would create a new hurdle in Turkey’s trade with the EU, business leaders have been lobbying in Brussels, urging officials to consider Turkey as part of Europe. Turkey in Depth has learned that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan sent a letter to President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen regarding the decision.

Editorial Team
WHY TURKEY IS STUCK IN THE MIDDLE-INCOME TRAP
Guest Voices Jan 22, 2026

WHY TURKEY IS STUCK IN THE MIDDLE-INCOME TRAP

At the turn of the year, a familiar ritual repeats itself in Turkey. Gyms raise their membership fees. Tradespeople adjust their prices. Real estate agents pocket higher commissions by systematically pushing up sale prices. Hardly anyone objects. Hardly anyone asks what added value is being offered. Price hikes are taken for granted — not because products have improved, but because inflation exists.

Guest Voices
THE WALK OF MANSUR YAVAŞ
Portrait of the Week Jan 15, 2026

THE WALK OF MANSUR YAVAŞ

Let us begin with a very old and very familiar anecdote. The famous poet Yahya Kemal was once asked: “What do you like about Ankara?” His answer: “The return to Istanbul.” Mansur Yavaş thinks the exact opposite. Wherever he is, he wants to return to Ankara at the first opportunity, and he likes it when everything returns to Ankara. Not out of anxiety to make it to work on time. But because he is a man of the land. Because he is from Ankara.

Anonymous
EMEKLİ/RETIRED
Word of the Week Jan 15, 2026

EMEKLİ/RETIRED

In Turkish, emekli / retired is supposed to be a word of closure. It comes from emek: labor, effort, the long arc of work, and implies that something has been duly completed. You have labored; therefore, you may withdraw.

Nazlan Ertan