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

Turkey

Turkey

September 17, 2026

Ankara 8:07 am

14°C

People swim next to the Russian-flagged cargo ship OMSKIY-107, which was attacked off the Black Sea coast and eventually ran aground off the shore of the Sile district, Istanbul, Sept. 3, 2026.

Why Turkey has few options to protect Black Sea shipping

The Russia-Ukraine drone war is hitting Turkish commercial interests, exposing the limits of Ankara’s ability to protect shipping while remaining outside the conflict.

Fighters loyal to the Houthi authorities gather during a rally to recruit more fighters in Sanaa on Sept. 10, 2026.

Analysis

Saudi Arabia's Houthi crisis tests alliances with Trump, Turkey and Pakistan

As the Houthis tighten their grip on the Bab al-Mandeb, Saudi Arabia is turning to new regional alliances while Washington resists calls to intervene.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Latest News

Turkey’s defense giants court Egypt at Alamein Airshow: What to know

El Alamein International Airshow

Russia to give Turkey preferential fertilizer access amid Hormuz supply crunch

In this pool photograph distributed by the Russian state agency Sputnik, Russia's President Vladimir Putin and Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan hold a meeting on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Bishkek on September 1, 2026. (Photo by Kristina Solovyova / POOL / AFP via Getty Images)

Culture

Turkish ceramicist Leyla Borovali shapes Aegean heritage into clay

Leyla Borovali at her studio overlooking the Aegean

Analysis

With Hurjet test, Turkey seeks defense dominance beyond drones

TAI Hurjet

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

A picture taken on March 22, 2017 near the town of Maardes in the countryside of the central Syrian province of Hama, shows an armoured vehicle carrying rebel fighters, and bearing the flag of the Tahrir al-Sham rebel alliance. / AFP PHOTO / Omar haj kadour (Photo credit should read OMAR HAJ KADOUR/AFP/Getty Images)

Is this beginning of the end for Idlib's jihadi groups?

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham is facing several setbacks in Idlib including internal discord as foreign powers plan a military offensive against them.

Turkey’s shopping mall boom going bust

Turkey’s shopping mall boom has been hit by economic problems stemming from the lira's decline against the dollar and poor planning.

Students, parents left in dark as Turkey scraps school entrance exam

The Turkish government has suddenly moved to abolish a grueling standardized high school entrance exam without offering any plan to replace it.

Turkey’s ‘resistance media’ refuses to buckle

A Turkish oppositional news site seeks recognition in the Guinness Book of World Records after 61 bans and as many reopenings.

Turkey's then-Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan (R) and then-Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu greet their supporters as they leave Friday prayers in Ankara, Turkey, August 22, 2014. REUTERS/Umit Bektas/File Photo - D1AETCCKOAAA

Where can ex-Erdoganists go?

Dismissed from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s inner circles, the options for so-called X-Men are limited and unpleasant.

Turkish schools told to cut evolution, make room for Quran

In nominally secular Turkey, the K-12 public curriculum has been updated to omit evolution and expand religious instruction.

A man reads a copy of the magazine "Israel-Kurd" at a street in Arbil, 310 km (190 miles) north of Baghdad August 16, 2009. REUTERS/Azad Lashkari (IRAQ SOCIETY) - GM1E58H06K201

How Israel's support is swaying Kurdish sentiment ahead of referendum

Turkey’s Kurds may have divergent views on Israeli backing for the referendum in Iraqi Kurdistan, but their support for the independence bid remains robust.

Events in the Middle East force realism on Erdogan

After his Islamist-driven expectations fell by the wayside, Erdogan finds he has to cooperate with leaders he would rather not have talked to.

Trial begins for Turkish journalists accused of Gulen links

The Zaman newspaper trial has opened with 31 journalists accused of membership in the network of preacher Fethullah Gulen.

International artists explore fragmented Middle East in Istanbul

The 2017 Istanbul Biennial asks what makes a good neighbor in a world plagued by war, repression and division.

Turkish military sends anti-referendum message with exercises across border

Ankara is trying to tell its neighbors something with its massive military exercise across the border from Iraqi Kurdistan as the Kurdish Regional Government's independence referendum nears.

Turkey-PKK 'drone wars' escalate

The armed conflict between Turkey and the PKK has been rapidly becoming drone-centric, with this dynamic radically altering the basic characteristics of this conflict while amassing legal and moral issues.