Central Anatolia Region

Ten new companies have received licenses allowing them to produce salt at Lake Tuz, a move that may further threaten the delicate lake that is already endangered due to the mass exploitation of its resources

Some 6,000 people formed a giant portrait of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the Republic of Turkey, with their bodies on Aug. 26, the anniversary of the 1922 Battle of Dumlupınar, one of the final battles in Turkey’s War of Independence.

A four-year-old boy diagnosed of meningitis has died after his father traveled to three cities across eastern and central Anatolia after doctors at hospitals refused to treat him.

Mücahit Gürcan first took his son to the public hospital of his hometown of Iğdır in northeastern Turkey after his son Diyar fell sick on July 29 last week.

Lake Meke, a volcanic lake commonly known as the “evil eye talisman” of Central Anatolia for the rarity of such lakes in Turkey and its one of a kind beauty, has dried out up to 99 percent, experts have said.

Salt deposits have developed on the lake, turning the remaining waters crimson-red, as experts warned that the lake was on the brink of extinction.

The government has moved to privatize the salt marshes at the natural reserve of the Gediz Delta, one of the most important sites for the breeding of flamingoes, in the latest controversial attempt to privatize an environmentally protected area.

The Ankara-based Middle East Technical University (ODTÜ) topped the list of the most entrepreneurial and innovative universities, as was also the case last year.

We are proceeding in a very warm agenda, such as Turkish diplomats and drivers being taken hostage, the spreading of clashes in Iraq and the nomination of Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu as the joint presidential candidate of Turkey’s two major opposition parties.

Can a city be defined by fakery? Here, I am not talking about politics, which could easily be added to the list when talking about “ultimate fakes.” I am talking about the reality, or hyper-reality. Driving in and around Ankara is to live inside a hyper-reality alla Turca.

Themed ‘Memorylessness,’ the 25th Ankara Film Festival kicks off tomorrow. Ten Turkish films will compete for the festival’s grand award. The event also screens selected films from the world The 25th Ankara International Film Festival, organized by the World Mass Media Research Foundation.