Latest News from Turkey
1,700-year-old ‘Little Hagia Sophia’ enchants visitors
Turkey's Little Hagia Sophia, a church which was converted into a mosque, received thousands of tourists every year prior to the pandemic.
The architectural marvel situated in the Güzelyurt district of central Aksaray province was built by Roman Emperor Theodosius I for Saint Gregorius Theologos in 385 CE.
Sakıp Sabancı Museum discusses future of new media art
Within the scope of a project called "Technological Arts Preservation" enacted through the collaboration of Sabancı University and Sakıp Sabancı Museum's (SSM) archive and research space, digitalSSM, an event will take place to host a talk titled "Preserving Immersive Media."
Eight-year-old Turkish piano prodigy gains success across globe
Having learned how to read and write at the age of four and play the piano at six, an eight-year-old boy from the southeastern province of Gaziantep has gained success at international piano contests across the world over the last two years.
Endangered monk seals spotted along Turkish Cypriot coast
A Mediterranean monk seal (monacus monacus) family has been spotted on the shores of Turkish Cyprus, giving hope to nature lovers who have been leading struggles to protect and keep the endangered species alive.
Bird sanctuary finally welcomes its wayworn guests
Hosting one of Turkey's largest bird sanctuaries, the Kızılırmak Delta in northern Samsun province welcomed back its wayworn aliferous guests with the arrival of spring.
Hundreds of birds arrived at the delta to claim one of the dozens of nests at the sanctuary to spend the season and to breed with their mates.
Film days organized to support refugees
With the financial support of the European Union, the World Health Organization (WHO) in collaboration with the Turkish Health Ministry has organized the online "Leave No One Behind Film Days" for the first time to emphasize the importance of access to health services for refugees and migrants.
Turkey expects up to $25 billion in tourism revenues this year
Turkey expects $20 billion to $25 billion in tourism revenues this year, the head of a prominent sectoral group said on April 5.
Tourists, mostly from Russia and Ukraine, have started to arrive in Turkish resorts and visits will accelerate from mid-April, said Firuz Bağlıkaya, the head of the Association of Turkish Travel Agencies (TÜRSAB).
EU blast Turkey on human rights, Meditrerranean, offers prospect of customs union, aid for refugees
European Council President Charles Michel called on Turkey to keep working to resolve disputes with Greece and Cyprus over gas rights in the Mediterranean as he visited Ankara on Tuesday to discuss trade and refugees with President Tayyip Erdogan.
EU: We will defend the interests of Greece and Cyprus against Turkey
The head of the EU and EC met with Turkish President Erdogan
OECD area inflation rises 1.7% in February
1.7% year-on-year in February, the organization said on April 6.
The figure in January was 1.5%.
"The decrease in energy prices moderated to minus 0.1%, from (minus) 3.9% in January, while food price inflation hardly slowed and stood at 3.0%, compared with 3.1% in January," it noted.
CHP leader criticizes govt’s handling of economy
The main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu has criticized the government for its management of the economy, saying that small businesses were suffering the most during the pandemic.
Small businesses pay the price of the government's mismanagement, he said while addressing his party members at the parliament on April 6.
European Leaders Seek to Resume Dialogue with Turkey
The European Union's top two officials will pay a rare visit on Tuesday to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan aimed at testing his avowed commitment to improve uneasy ties.
Years of disagreements over a growing list of issues threatened to boil over last summer when Turkey sent navy ships to support an energy exploration mission in waters claimed by EU members Cyprus and Greece.
Experts expect further rise in virus cases in coming weeks
Experts are expecting the daily number of COVID-19 cases to further rise in the coming weeks, probably hitting somewhere between 50,000 to 60,000 infections before starting to decline.
Since the start of April, Turkey has been logging more than 40,000 daily cases, prompting the government to reintroduce full weekend lockdowns in very-high-risk provinces.
Turkey's e-commerce volume jumps 66 pct in 2020
The volume of e-commerce in Turkey jumped 66 percent year-on-year to 226.2 billion Turkish liras ($32 billion) in 2020, the country's trade minister announced on April 6.
"E-commerce spending to gross domestic product (GDP) ratio reached 4.1 percent in 2020, a rise of 51.8 percent from a year ago," Ruhsar Pekcan told a news conference held in the capital Ankara.
Turkey jails four over bombing that killed German tourists
A Turkish court on April 6 sentenced four men to life in jail over a 2016 suicide bombing in the heart of Istanbul that killed 12 German tourists and was blamed on ISIL.
The blast ripped through Istanbul's historic Sultanahmet square in January 2016 - near the iconic Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia, among the world's most visited tourist sites.