Stamboul
Alcohol ban? Istanbul cafes versus Turkish authorities
This summer a new broom was sweeping clean the streets of Istanbul – as well as the country’s football and armed forces. Who’s wielding the broom? What ‘rubbish’ are they trying to get rid of? ‘Turkey eats dirt’ is cafebabel.com’s response to the summer ‘dust up’ by the Turkish authorities. The final in our three-part series: Turkey cracks down on those famously dangerous things, street cafes
Fenerbahce, Besiktas, Trabzonspor: playtime over for Turkey's big football clubs
For more than a month now a new broom has been sweeping clean the streets of Istanbul – as well as the country's football and armed forces. But who’s wielding the broom? What ‘rubbish’ are they trying to get rid of? ‘Turkey eats dirt’ is cafebabel.com's response to the summer ‘dust up’ by the Turkish authorities. Read the first of three articles in a series on the shake-up of the nation’s football
Easter in Istanbul with Turks and Turkish Armenians
When Turkish Armenian soldier Sevak Shahin Balikci was accidentally shot dead by an army colleague on 24 April, both Turks and Armenians came together to pay their respects. 24 April also marks the fact that easter coincides with the commemorations for the Ottoman-era genocides of Turkey's Armenian minority for the first time. There are positive signs that relations may be improving in Istanbul, especially since assassinated Turkish Armenian journalist Hrant Dink's killer was sentenced on 25 July
stamboul, human rights, hrant dink, armenian genocide, armenia, politics, society
Huzun, bourgeois, opposites: what is Orhan Pamuk’s Turkey?
Negotiations over Turkey’s accession to the European union began in 2006 but Europeans remain on their guard; the fear of the unknown is well known. The nobel literature prizewinner is one of Turkey’s main figureheads though he was accused of insulting Turkish identity. View from Poland
stamboul, integration, culture, world affairs, culture calendar, turkey
Catch Istanbul if you can
We're not even sure what Europeans think and know about Istanbul. It seems like it should be capital of Turkey, but it hasn't been since 1923. Its rich past reveals how it was a kind of European Union even before this one - where formal membership negotiations began five years ago in October - even existed. From religious clothing to boom-box playing imams via politically-affiliated university food, a first time glance at a metropolis from two districts which seem to bleed European references. Istanbul for beginners
- Read the special edition Catch Istanbul if you can
- Gay culture in Istanbul: ‘We have the balls to say it out loud’
- Getting to grips with Byzantium, Constantinople, Istanbul and Europe
- Modern myths: politically divided university canteens in Istanbul
- Sorry, we’re women: inside Istanbul’s modern-traditional Blue Mosque
- Islam for beginners: first stop Istanbul
Turkey-Israel: credibility and question of anti-semitism
Since heavy criticism from the Turkish side after the Israeli attack on a Gaza aid ship on 31 May, relations between the two states have entered a further ice age. There has been rising concern in Europe that Turkey is increasingly turning away from the west. A babelian political theorist explains the problems inherent to the Turkish response
stamboul, gaza strip, euweek, religion, identity, european union, jews
Europe feels Turkey is moving away from the west
When Turkey harshly criticised Israel for its military assault on a flotilla carrying international aid in the Mediterranean, the European press accused them of double standards. The Lithuanian, Italian and Spanish media fear that the country is turning away from Europe and the west
stamboul, gaza strip, european union, press review, terrorism, diplomacy, eurotopics
A brief history: döner kebab, fair ambassador to Turkey?
One of the most popular late night snacks in Europe is the flag bearer of Turkish cuisine outside of Turkey. Is this a source of pride or sorrow for the Turks? Plus, a recipe for green beans in olive oil
stamboul, recipe, yum nyam, eat, central and eastern europe, traditions, cooking
In the middle of our street
You have to know how to choose them, have fun in them, and leave them. Having a neighbourhood is a bit like having a second skin. It typically has your local, your loyal neighbours and shops. But neighbourhoods have their own skins too. Take the Gazi quarter in Athens which shed its industrial skin to become the latest craze, as happened to Kreuzberg in Berlin, or the renewed district of Jozsefvaros in Budapest. We take a little stroll around some European streets
Turkey and the Dervish’s Islam
A tale of experiences and impressions from Anatolia - a place where there are not just Arabs, and finding a symbol of the EU
stamboul, ankara, europe, mustafa kemal atatürk, kurdos, turkey
