Analysis

In-Depth Analysis

Smart, independent reporting on Turkey's politics, economy and foreign affairs.

SİGARA / CIGARETTE
Word of the Week Apr 17, 2026

SİGARA / CIGARETTE

Sigara (and its unruly cousin, cigara) comes to Turkish via Italian — a linguistic clue that matches the prevailing historical account: tobacco reached the Ottoman Empire in the 17th century through Genoese trade routes, though some credit goes to the British. Origins aside, the word now points to a habit so entrenched it once traveled abroad as cliché: “smoke like a Turk.”

Nazlan Ertan
EYES ON LIBYA AGAIN
Security and Defense Apr 16, 2026

EYES ON LIBYA AGAIN

The TAF is participating in a US-led military exercise in Libya, where Turkey backed the Government of National Accord (GNA) in the west during the civil war. Meanwhile, attention has again focused on the plane crash in which the GNA Chief of Staff Muhammed Ali Ahmed Al Haddad and his delegation died near Ankara on Dec. 23, 2025.

Editorial Team
TURKEY WORRIES ABOUT ISRAEL’S NEXT STEPS
Foreign Affairs Apr 10, 2026

TURKEY WORRIES ABOUT ISRAEL’S NEXT STEPS

Ankara is happy to see the two-week ceasefire between the US and Iran as a significant first step, but worries it may not hold. The central fear focuses on Israel, which stayed silent through the night of negotiations only to issue a statement on Lebanon afterward.

Editorial Team