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

Turkey

Turkey

October 29, 2026

Ankara 3:24 am

13°C

Kepez

Tornado kills 4 in Turkey’s Mediterranean tourism hub Antalya

The province was hit by a tornado that killed four construction workers and injured another less than two weeks before the city hosts the UN climate summit.

GEOFFROY VAN DER HASSELT/AFP via Getty Images

Saudi Arabia’s KBS, top Turkish and Pakistani officials hold rare meeting in Iran: What to know

In first such gathering, Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman will join Pakistani army chief Asim Munir and Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin for talks with Iranian officials amid fears of renewed US and Israeli attacks against Iran.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan receives Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Turkish House in New York, on Sept. 19, 2023.

Analysis

What’s at stake for Turkey as Israel heads to the polls?

Israel’s Oct. 27 election could offer a chance to ease tensions with Ankara, but competing ambitions in Syria and beyond threaten to push the two US allies toward a dangerous confrontation.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa arrives for the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly gathering, UN Headquarters, New York, Sept. 22, 2026.

Analysis

How Israel’s elections could bring thaw with Syria

The next Israeli government could have an opportunity to secure several diplomatic wins involving the United States and Iran by improving relations with Syria.

Ezgi Akin

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

Latest News

Analysis

As US ties fray, Canada turns to Turkey for defense, nuclear cooperation

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan welcomes Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Analysis

Turkey's Libya maritime win no guarantee for Saddam Hifter's presidential ambitions

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan meets with Saddam Haftar, Deputy Commander of the Libyan National Army, in Benghazi, Aug. 12, 2026.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Turkey says Qatar Eurofighter jet deal still on track despite Iran war

A German Air Force Eurofighter jet is seen during the NATO Media Day at Lielvarde Air Base in Lielvarde, Latvia, on Oct. 1, 2026.

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

On Children’s Day in Turkey, adults set bad example

The anniversary of the opening of the Turkish parliament coincided with the centennial of an Ottoman military victory in Iraq during World War I, creating a new fault line in Turkey.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan leaves from the Ottoman-era Dolmabahce mosque after Friday prayers in Istanbul, Turkey April 15, 2016. REUTERS/Murad Sezer - RTX2A3RC

Does Erdogan want his own Islamic state?

Erdogan is willing to not abolish Turkey’s constitutional secularism, as some fear, but rather to use religion in the most effective way.

US and Syria's Kurds: Love on the rocks?

PKK violence is complicating US relations with Syria’s Kurds just as Turkey steps up its cooperation against the Islamic State.

People wave flags outside the AK Party headquarters in Ankara, Turkey November 1, 2015. Turks went to the polls in a snap parliamentary election on Sunday under the shadow of mounting internal bloodshed and economic worries, a vote that could determine the trajectory of the polarised country and of President Tayyip Erdogan. The vote is the second in five months, after the AK Party founded by Erdogan lost in June the single-party governing majority it has enjoyed since first coming to power in 2002. REUTER

Mad love, amnesia or fear? How Erdogan pulls it off

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s political fortunes have not suffered from his contradictions, questionable denials and attacks on opponents.

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu makes a speech in the Kurdish-dominated southeastern city of Diyarbakir, Turkey April 1, 2016. REUTERS/Sertac Kayar - RTSD61V

Will Ankara’s new culture plan lead to more censorship of the arts?

In Turkey, where freedom of expression is curtailed, the AKP’s sustainable cultural development program finds little enthusiasm.

Will Turkey bid farewell to secularism?

Ismail Kahraman, the speaker of the Turkish parliament, has caused a sensation by proposing a constitution that avoids any reference to secularism as the ruling party continues to promote its Islamist agenda.

A papier mache caricature figure for a carnival float of Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan (L) is prepared for the upcoming Rose Monday carnival parade in Mainz, Germany February 2, 2016. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach - RTX252Q1

Erdogan’s wrath against satire expands into Europe

After jailing and suppressing journalists in his country, will Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s onslaught on free speech in Europe backfire?

Police secure the scene after two rockets hit the Turkish town of Kilis near the Syrian border, Turkey, April 24, 2016. REUTERS/Umit Bektas - RTX2BEBD

Will Turkey ask NATO for help defending against IS rockets?

Turkish citizens are calling on their government to boost its feeble response to IS shelling from Syria.

A Turkish woman smokes at an open air tea house in Istanbul July 14, 2009. Smokers in Turkey tempted to flout an imminent ban in cafes, restaurants and bars will be spared execution as allegedly meted out in 17th-Century Istanbul -- but their Prime Minister has likened cigarettes to terrorism. That's a measure of how strongly Tayyip Erdogan feels about tobacco. Sultan Murad IV is said to have roamed the streets ordering the execution of those who defied a smoking ban aimed at curbing coffee house sedition.

Why Turkey's anti-tobacco efforts went up in smoke

Smoking and drug abuse are on the rise among Turks, and experts blame worsening poverty levels and faltering measures on the government’s part.

Erdogan, Davutoglu shed tears for Gaza, but do little else

Turkey as well as the oil-rich Gulf states have still not fulfilled their pledges to help with the reconstruction and development of Gaza.

What Turkey can learn from coup plot case dismissal

The judgments rendered in the Ergenekon coup-attempt case have been dismissed after nine years because of errors in merit and procedure.

Worshippers offer their Friday prayers during the first Friday of the holy month of Ramadan at Eyup Sultan mosque in Istanbul August 5, 2011.REUTERS/Osman Orsal (TURKEY - Tags: RELIGION SOCIETY) - RTR2PMXC

Is Islamophobia on the rise in Turkey?

A researcher in Turkey’s southeast says radical Islamist groups and the bloodshed in Syria have fueled estrangement from Islam in the Kurdish-majority region, where Islamist-secularist tensions have simmered for decades.