Turkey - AL-MONITOR: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

Turkey

Turkey

November 12, 2026

Ankara 9:54 am

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People walk past a Bitcoin sign at the entrance of a cryptocurrency exchange office on Nov. 8, 2024, in Istanbul, Turkey.

Watchdog urges Turkey to tighten digital asset rules for $144B crypto economy

A review of Turkey’s crypto-asset regulations by the Financial Stability Board acknowledged significant progress made by local authorities but called for further measures to address potential risks.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (L) and Central Bank Governor Sahap Kavcioglu attend a signing ceremony with Abu Dhabi’s crown prince, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan at the Presidential Complex in Ankara on Nov. 24, 2021. ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey’s banking watchdog chief submits resignation amid fund scandal

Turkey’s government is facing growing criticism over regulators’ failure to prevent a fund scandal involving more than $20 billion.

Chris McGrath/Getty Images

Explainer

Iran war pushes up coal use, complicating Turkey’s COP31 pledge

Turkey is asking world leaders at COP31 to back a global push to use more electricity, even as the Iran war has driven up natural gas prices and pushed some power producers back to coal.

Latest News

Turkey bars MP’s wife from travel after his fund scandal criticism: What to know

OZAN KOSE/AFP via Getty Images

Steel factory explosion in western Turkey kills at least 16

A steel worker works in front of giant iron melting pot in Kardemir Iron and Steel Factory in Karabuk, northwestern Turkey, Aug. 26 2005. (TARIK TINAZAY/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Will Democrats block Trump’s push to deliver Turkey F-35s, lift sanctions?

MEHMET ESER/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Samuel Wendel

Senior Analyst, Middle East Business & Tech

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Amberin Zaman

Chief Correspondent

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Jack Dutton

Chief Business Correspondent

In Bristol, reporting on regional business, climate change, AI, tech

Ezgi Akin

Associate Editor (Turkey)

In Ankara, reporting on diplomacy, EU-Turkey ties, NATO

Francesco Schiavi

In Bologna, reporting on security, defense, economy, governance

Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Mahamet, a 17-year-old Syrian boy from Azaz, waits for customers in front of the jewellery shop where he works as a translator in Kilis on the Turkish-Syrian border March 18, 2014. The busy market district of Kilis in southeast Turkey is full of Syrian refugee children, repairing household goods, serving baklava and selling jewellery to become the main breadwinner of their families because their parents struggle to find jobs. The civil war in neighbouring Syria has killed more than 140,000 people and driven

Refugees help spark Turkish trade with Syria

Despite the war, Turkish-Syrian trade is growing in several sectors, fueled in part by the influx of Syrian refugees.

Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan (R) and Kurdistan Region President Masoud Barzani shake hands before their meeting in Istanbul April 19, 2012. REUTERS/Stringer/Pool (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR30XVH

How Turkey lost its influence in Iraq

Ankara's tilt toward the Kurdistan Region of Iraq has undermined its once considerable influence in Iraq.

A vendor sells potatoes and other vegetables to a customer in an open market in central Ankara February 5, 2014. The humble potato has become a factor in Turkey's political and economic turmoil as prices of the staple soar, hurting the living standards of poorer Turks just before the ruling AK Party's toughest election test in a decade. At a market in the lower-income Istanbul suburb of Kucukcekmece, potatoes sell for between 3 and 4 lira ($1.33 and $1.77) a kilogramme, up from slightly more than 1 lira at

Turkish inflation at its 'worst' before expected slowdown

Turkey’s inflation shot up to a two-year high in May, but a slowdown is expected to begin in June.

Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan addresses members of his ruling AK Party (AKP) during a meeting at the Turkish Parliament in Ankara on June 3, 2014. Erdogan is set to announce his candidature for presidential elections in August despite deepening concern over his polarising rule. Already in his third term as prime minister -- the maximum permitted under his Justice and Development Party (AKP)'s rules -- Erdogan has made no secret of his ambition to run for president. AFP PHOTO/ADEM ALTAN

Turkey’s intra-Islamic witch hunt

The deeper lesson from the Erdogan-Gulen war is that even "good Muslims" do not fare well when dominating an authoritarian state.

Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan addresses his supporters during a meeting of his ruling AK Party (AKP) in Ankara January 24, 2014. Turkey received a vote of confidence in its underlying economic health on Thursday, with foreign investors lapping up a $2.5 billion eurobond issue even as a corruption scandal swirled and the central bank intervened to prop up the lira. The graft investigation, one of the biggest threats to Erdogan's 11-year rule, has shaken Turkey in recent weeks, helping send the lira

Erdogan's interest rate agenda

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's pressure on the Central Bank governor to lower the interest rate is a mix of populism and ideology.

Share prices are seen on a screen alongside flags at the Istanbul Stock Exchange October 14, 2011. Picture taken October 14, 2011. REUTERS/Murad Sezer (TURKEY - Tags: BUSINESS) - RTR2SSND

Turkey warned on credit ratings

Lowering of interest rates by the Turkish Central Bank despite high inflation prompts “lowering” warnings from ratings agencies.

Displaced young Syrians find home in Gaziantep cafe

A hip cafe in Gaziantep, near the Syrian border, has become a refuge for young, educated Syrian refugees.

Turkey's President Abdullah Gul speaks to Reuters during an interview at the presidential palace in Istanbul March 1, 2012. Gul said on Thursday Russia and Iran would soon realise they had little choice but to join international diplomatic efforts for the removal of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. To match Interview SYRIA-TURKEY/GUL REUTERS/Osman Orsal (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR2YPBY

Gul’s next move depends on Erdogan

With Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan likely to run for president, current President Abdullah Gul is weighing his options.

Palestinians find respite from siege at Gaza’s ancient port

Once an ancient trading hub, Gaza’s port now serves as a popular recreational location for local Palestinians wishing to forget the woes of living under siege.

- PHOTO TAKEN 27OCT05 - Alevi women rock back and forth as they worship in the haunting rhythm and religious chants during their prayers "Cem Ayini" at an Alevi cemevi in Istanbul October 27, 2005. Long oppressed under Ottoman rule, the Alevis say they still face discrimination, even though the government has officially championed religious freedoms and human rights as it bids to gain membership to the [European Union]. Photo taken October 27, 2005. - RTXNXQC

What does Erdogan mean by 'Alevis without Ali'?

In a fresh affront to Alevis, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has started a polemic about “Alevism without Ali” in what analysts see as an attempt to Sunnify Alevis and ostracize those who resist assimilation.

Turkey's Central Bank governor pressured to resign

Turkey's Central Bank lowered interest rates under political pressure, but this action could not satisfy Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (R) talks with his Turkish counterpart Ahmet Davutoglu during their meeting in Moscow January 25, 2012. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin (RUSSIA - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR2WTHM

Russia, Turkey agree on Gulen

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu visited Moscow this week, where he found some common ground with the Russian government on Gulen, while continuing to disagree on Syria.