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Turkey

Turkey

September 8, 2026

Ankara 2:27 pm

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Leyla Borovali at her studio overlooking the Aegean

Culture

Turkish ceramicist Leyla Borovali shapes Aegean heritage into clay

Named by AD Middle East as one of 11 artists from Turkey to know, Leyla Borovali belongs to a new generation building on a ceramic tradition shaped by figures from Fureya Koral and Alev Ebuzziya Siesbye to Elif Uras.

TAI Hurjet

Analysis

With Hurjet test, Turkey seeks defense dominance beyond drones

With export revenue from the supersonic crewed aircraft, Ankara plans to fund next-generation projects and gain strategic diplomatic and military leverage across NATO and the region.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Ibrahim Kalin, Turkish presidential spokesperson, gives a press conference at the Presidential Complex, Ankara, May 25, 2022.

Turkey and Greece's intelligence chiefs hold rare talks: What to know

The meeting comes after Turkey recently warned Greece over what it called an arms race in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

US sanctions Turkey-based bank over Iran ties

The Treasury Department said Golden Global Bank was facilitating transactions for Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Latest News

Israel, Greece sign $3.5 billion air-defense deal: What to know

Mecca Alliance

Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Pakistan set Mecca Alliance into motion

Mecca Alliance

Analysis

Why Turkey welcomes Israel-Syria talks despite mounting red lines

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa arrive for a joint press conference following their meeting at the Presidential Palace in Ankara, Feb. 4, 2025.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Culture

In divided Cyprus, FC Barcelona youth camp sparks new dispute: What to know

Barcelona

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

Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) fighters and foreign fighters (R) who joined the YPG, man their weapons during what the YPG said was an offensive against them by Islamic State fighters, in the western countryside of Ras al-Ain March 10, 2015. Picture taken March 10, 2015. REUTERS/Rodi Said (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT MILITARY) - RTR4SVQX

US 'working through' extent of support for Syrian rebels

The resolution being considered by Congress does not address protection of vetted Syrian rebels against Syrian government forces; nuclear talks with Iran enter decisive phase amid challenges by Republicans in Congress; Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani determines fate of reconciliation in Iraq; Israeli election is verdict on Benjamin Netanyahu.

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.