Analysis
Smart, independent reporting on Turkey's politics, economy and foreign affairs.
The first bilateral visit by a Canadian prime minister yields deals on defense, energy and air transport as Ottawa seeks to reduce its reliance on the US and makes a sharp U-turn toward finding alternative partners.
While Ankara is seeking to strengthen its ties with the Washington administration, U.S. Ambassador to Ankara and Special Envoy to Syria Thomas Barrack has dusted off an old project aimed at transforming Turkey and Syria into a hub for energy security as an alternative to the Persian Gulf, caught in the crossfire for a month.
The government decided not to increase the holiday bonus paid to retirees, despite rising inflation and growing public expectations. Instead, officials began studying alternative support models aimed at low-income pensioners.
In Turkish culture, mercimek turns up everywhere: in the copper pot of the humblest esnaf lokantası cafe and the gleaming bowl of a New-Nordic fusion spot; in the taxi driver’s midnight soup as a welcome alternative to pungent tripe soup, and the dietician’s protein plan. If quinoa is aspirational and bulgur nostalgic, mercimek is foundational: a pulse that has nourished this land since it was the Fertile Crescent.