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Turkey

Turkey

October 31, 2026

Ankara 1:02 pm

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Turkish Navy sailors wave their caps from the flight deck

Explainer

After EU rebuff, how Turkey is courting Egypt for maritime deal

Turkey’s renewed push for a maritime deal with Egypt in a bid to ease Cairo’s objections to its maritime agreement with Libya, faces an uphill battle.

An view of the Uchisar settlement, east of Nevesehir in the province of the same name in central Turkey's historical Cappadocia region on Aug. 24, 2022.

Culture

Rock collapse near UNESCO-listed site in Turkey’s Cappadocia kills three

Heavy rain triggered a landslide that sent rocks falling in Turkey’s Cappadocia region, killing at least two people and injuring five others.

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.

Latest News

Analysis

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

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

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Analysis

How Israel’s elections could bring thaw with Syria

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

Ezgi Akin

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

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

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 security camera overlooks a man as he walks down a street in London November 2, 2006. Britain is becoming a surveillance society where individuals are filmed hundreds of times a day by CCTV and where companies "data mine" to build up profiles on customers, the Information Commissioner warned on Thursday. REUTERS/Luke MacGregor (BRITAIN) - RTR1IXR5

'Big Brother' to move into Erdogan’s palace

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is setting up a massive electronic surveillance center in his palace to monitor the entire county.

A member of the Kurdish Peshmerga forces stands guard at a security point on Bashiqa mountain, overlooking Islamic State held territories of Mosul, 12 km northeast of Mosul City, March 7, 2015. REUTERS/Asmaa Waguih (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY CONFLICT) - RTR4SF1J

Turkey to support Mosul operation from sidelines

Turkey will provide assistance to the forces organizing to retake Mosul from the Islamic State, but will not engage directly in military conflict.

Journalists demanding freedom for the media take part in a protest against Turkey's ruling AK Party (AKP) in Ankara February 15, 2014. The signs read: "Journalism is asking questions, not keeping silent" (L) and "Press freedom also means people's freedom to access information" (C and R). REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST MEDIA) - RTX18VGG

Tulay Cetingulec on why she writes

Al-Monitor contributor Tulay Cetingulec shares her thoughts on journalism.

WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 08: Safak Pavey (2nd L), a parliament member of Turkey, is introduced by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (2nd R) during a presentation ceremony of the International Women of Courage Awards as first lady Michelle Obama (L) looks on at the State Department March 8, 2012 in Washington, DC. Ten women from around the world were presented with the awards during the sixth annual ceremony to recognize their courage and leadership. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Turkish MP overcomes tragedy

Safak Pavey, who lost a leg and an arm in a train accident, spent years working on humanitarian missions in conflict zones and is now fast rising in politics as an active female member of Turkey’s parliament.

Kurdish refugees from the Syrian town of Kobani wait to fill their bottles around a clean water source at a refugee camp in the border town of Suruc, Sanliurfa province, February 1, 2015. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT) - RTR4NRTZ

Kurdish refugees reject government-run camp in Turkey

Kurdish refugees from Kobani are shunning the well-funded and staffed AFAD Suruc camp to stay in nearby municipal-run camps with fewer facilities.

Gulten Kisanak, the Peace and Democracy party candidate campaigning to be Mayor of Diyarbakir, speaks with journalists after casting her ballot in Diyarbakir on March 30, 2014, during municipal elections in Turkey ahead of a presidential vote in six months and parliamentary polls next year. Turkey's Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan, embattled by protests and corruption scandals, faced a crucial popularity test today when over 50 million eligible voters cast their ballots in local elections. More than 50 million

One woman's journey from prisoner to mayor

Diyarbakir Mayor Gultan Kisanak is among thousands of activists who served time in Diyarbakir prison after the coup in 1980, and like many she was tortured for refusing to renounce her Kurdish identity.

Grand Mufti of Turkey Mehmet Gormez shakes hands with a onlooker after an inauguration ceremony in front of the Gazi Husrev Begova mosque in Sarajevo, November 15, 2012. Newly elected Husein Kavazovic is the 14th Grand Mufti of the Islamic Community in Bosnia and Herzegovina and will be on duty over the next seven years. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic (BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA - Tags: SOCIETY RELIGION) - RTR3AFY0

Turkey's official Islamic body extends influence abroad

Turkey’s giant Directorate of Religious Affairs, which runs the country’s 85,000 mosques and employs 122,000 people, has assumed an increasingly active role in the government’s foreign policy.

Turkey's soaring sculptress

Turkish Jewish sculptor Nadia Arditti has emerged as one of Turkey’s leading artistic voices abroad since she returned home after pogroms forced her family to flee the country in the 1950s.

A street vendor sells traditional Turkish bagels, simit, outside the historical Grand Bazaar, known as the Covered Bazaar, in Istanbul January 3, 2014. When a senior Turkish businessman publicly criticised the central bank this week for failing to stabilise the tumbling lira currency, he was taking aim at a pillar of support for the government: its reputation for strong economic management. Monetary policy "is causing losses to companies which made transactions trusting in the central bank", complained Mehm

Pinar Tremblay on why she writes

Al-Monitor contributor Pinar Tremblay shares her thoughts on journalism.

Turkey's new President Tayyip Erdogan (2nd L) and outgoing President Abdullah Gul (R), attend a handover ceremony at the Presidential Palace of Cankaya in Ankara August 28, 2014. Erdogan was sworn in as Turkey's 12th president at a ceremony in parliament on Thursday, cementing his position as the country's most powerful modern leader, in what his opponents fear will herald an increasingly authoritarian rule. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR444TR

Did Erdogan undermine Gul?

Turks question why President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said it would be good for former President Abdullah Gul to run for parliament.

Pro-Kurdish politicians Sirri Sureyya Onder (3rd L) and Pervin Buldan (6th R) read the statement of jailed Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan as they are flanked by other Kurdish politicians during a gathering to celebrate Newroz in the southeastern Turkish city of Diyarbakir March 21, 2013. Ocalan ordered his fighters on Thursday to cease fire and withdraw from Turkish soil as a step to ending a conflict that has killed 40,000 people, riven the country and battered its economy. Hundreds of thousands of K

From housewife to Kurdish peace negotiator

Once a housewife, Pervin Buldan rose to the forefront of Kurdish politics, driven by her husband’s extrajudicial murder, and is now a member of the team involved in the talks between Ankara and jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan.

The peace monument by Turkish sculptor Mehmet Aksoy is pictured in Kars, northeastern Turkey, January 9, 2011. The fate of a giant peace monument symbolising reconciliation between Turks and Armenians has caused a row in Turkey after Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan branded it "monstrous" and called for its demolition. The unfinished monument by renowned Turkish sculptor Aksoy consists of two concrete figures more than 30 metres high who face each other on an hill in the northeastern city of Kars. Picture take

Erdogan fined $3,800 for insulting peace monument

A Turkish court has ordered President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to pay compensation for disparaging a statue dedicated to Turkish-Armenian friendship as a "monstrosity," leading to its demolition.