Fatih Sultan Mehmet

An intense blanket of fog enveloped Istanbul in the early hours of the Feb. 29 morning, disrupting traffic and causing flight delays.

The fog intensified around the high and northern regions of the Bosphorus and around Trans-European Motorways (TEM) spanning Ümraniye, Kavacık, Altunizade, Fatih Sultan Mehmet and Yavuz Sultan Selim bridges.

One of the most important operas about Turks, "Mehmet II (Maometto II)" by Gioachino Rossini, one of the most important composers of romantic-era opera, and librettist Cesare della Valle, will be premiered by the Istanbul State Opera and Ballet (IDOB) at the Atatürk Cultural Center - Türk Telekom Opera Hall on Feb. 24.

The government is trying to pay its "debt of gratitude" to Istanbul by protecting its historical and cultural fabric, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said.

"We love this city, which was entrusted to us by Fatih Sultan Mehmet and Ulubatlı Hasan, with all its districts," Erdoğan said on June 16 during a ceremony to reopen the Vaniköy Mosque in Üsküdar following restoration works.

After the closed sections of Topkapı Palace have been opened to visitors, 60,000 people have visited the palace in three days.

A portrait of Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II, known as Fatih Sultan Mehmet in Turkish, will be put up for auction in London on June 25. 

Thought to be drawn by Italian painter Gentile Bellini in 1480, it is expected to fetch $500,000-$740,000 and will be sold at the world-famous Christie's auction house.

The conquest of Istanbul was celebrated on May 29, 567 years after Fatih Sultan Mehmet gained victory in Istanbul, with a special program in Hagia Sophia.
The Ministry of Culture and Tourism organized "Conquest Feast in Hagia Sophia" in coordination with the Turkish Presidency Directorate of Communications as part of celebrations throughout the day.

Following the years of Troy and Göbeklitepe in 2018 and 2019, respectively, the Turkish Culture and Tourism Ministry declared 2020 as the Year of Patara, the ancient city where St. Nicholas was born. Now, the ministry will promote the ancient city in the southern province of Antalya's Kaş District.

In Turkey, mosques have a dual spiritual and economic purpose. This surprised me when I first moved to the country more than a decade ago. I expected God and money to be kept separate, at least outwardly, more in keeping with the discreet, cash-in-envelopes Christian churches of my youth.

Although the Syrian armed opposition has lost its six-year war to declare Aleppo the “capital of the revolution” and the Syrian equation has changed drastically, the curtain is not yet down on this act of the bloody play.

Construction truck drivers staged a protest on the recently opened third bridge over Istanbul's Bosphorus Strait on Sept. 5, arguing that they were asked to pay different fares at different times and demanding a discount on the bridge's passage fares.