Analysis
Smart, independent reporting on Turkey's politics, economy and foreign affairs.
Former Treasury Undersecretary and prominent economist Mahfi Eğilmez calculated that the fair value of the US dollar should be 65 liras based on the Big Mac Index, far above the market exchange rate of 47.50 liras and warned that the holding the exchange rate below its fair value inflates the country's GDP and per capita income figures on paper without making Turks any richer.
A new legislative proposal submitted by ruling party AKP lawmakers aims to allow foreign online travel agencies, including Booking.com, to return to the Turkish market under a structured legal framework after nearly nine years of suspension.
The Turkish government has temporarily eliminated the special consumption tax on diesel fuel for the remainder of August in an effort to curb inflation. Pump prices fell by more than 13 percent a day after the government’s decision on Aug. 12.
The central bank has raised its year-end inflation forecast for 2026 to 28 percent from 26 percent.
Two parties that once stood as rivals, both claiming the legacy of Necmettin Erbakan — the founding leader of political Islam in Turkey under the name of National View— are continuing merger talks.
A reference to Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s remarks was enough to increase the tension between the AKP and DEM soon after the two’s cooperation on the framework law.
On Friday — a day of particular symbolic weight for the Islamic world — President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif put their signatures to a trilateral defense agreement in Mecca, Islam’s holiest city.
Debate is underway over how the political balance will shift after the “Framework Law,” which establishes the legal basis for the PKK’s disarmament process, passed the 600-seat parliament with a record 467 votes. The overwhelming support for the law is expected to whet the government’s long-standing appetite for a “new constitution.” But is that possible before the general election, now 20 months away if held on schedule?
Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan Sheibani held separate talks in Ankara with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and National Intelligence Organization (MİT) Chief İbrahim Kalın, focusing heavily on regional security and the integration of Kurdish armed groups into Damascus’ central authority.
Sixty thousand cross to Ceuta, most turn right back around, EU ministers blast Spain, then quietly walk it down.
The word of the week is vibratör (vibrator), because Turkey has reached that stage of public life where even a small vibrating object of adult pleasure may require a prosecutor’s attention. Here, a vibrator is not merely a device; it is a small object with the bad manners to expose the size of the state.
The acquisition of French grocery chain Carrefour's Turkish subsidiary, CarrefourSA, by A101's parent company Yeni Mağazacılık, owned by a religious conservative family, has sparked intense online debate over potential restrictions on alcohol sales.