T24 GOES DARK AS ACCESS BANS ENSNARE CRITICS
Access to T24, one of Turkey's oldest and biggest independent news websites, was blocked along with thousands of critical X accounts, including that of Turkey in Depth.
Analysis
In-Depth Analysis
Smart, independent reporting on Turkey's politics, economy and foreign affairs.
ILLEGAL GAMBLING CRACKDOWN ENSNARES PRO-GOVERNMENT MEDIA FIGURE, IŞ BANK EXECUTIVES
A sweeping operation targeting illegal online gambling and money laundering networks led to the detention of 128 people across 21 provinces on May 14, including polarizing media figure Rasim Ozan Kütahyalı and two senior executives from İş Bank, one of Turkey's largest private banks.
WHAT ANKARA DOES NOT PUT ON THE BROCHURE
Ankara is often described by those who do not know it well as a grey city. This is unfair, though not entirely mysterious. A city that must constantly perform seriousness is rarely forgiven for having charm. Yet Ankara’s charm is real. It is private, reveals itself slowly, and almost always just outside the official frame. It is a city of dry light, hard hills, old stones, republican geometry, Ottoman shadows, Roman fragments, Seljuk craft and streets that remember more than they are prepared to explain. This is why Ankara deserves a cultural diplomacy route, a way of showing visitors not only what the city proudly displays, but also what it half-remembers, neglects, misnames, hides or leaves to survive behind other buildings.
POWER OUTAGES IN HATAY
Power cuts during a winter cold snap have disrupted life in Hatay, a province still recovering from the twin earthquakes of February 2023.
MERCİMEK/LENTILS
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.
CHP CALLS SNAP CONGRESS AS LEGAL BATTLE ESCALATES
Turkey’s main opposition party, the CHP, is set to hold an extraordinary congress on Sept. 21, after more than 900 delegates submitted signatures to Ankara’s Çankaya District Election Board on September 5. The move comes amid a growing legal standoff that has rocked the party’s Istanbul branch. Among the signatories, the 196 Istanbul delegates suspended by court order were not included.