Historical geography

At least 11 people have been detained in relation to the murder of a high-profile lawyer by armed assailants in Istanbul.

Şafak Mahmutyazıcıoğlu, a 42-year-old lawyer, was shot dead on Jan. 26 following a fight that broke out at a restaurant.

A rabbi who took shelter in a Turkish mosque during a massive snowstorm in Istanbul that ravaged the Turkish metropolis a few days ago has finally arrived in his native Israel.

Israel Elbom, a 62-year-old rabbi and kashrut supervisor who was on a work assignment in Istanbul, was brought to a mosque by security forces after being stranded on a highway for half a day.

Snowy and cold weather and the mid-term school break may lead to some decline in COVID-19 cases in Istanbul but at the same time the increased movement between Turkey's most populous city and other provinces pose risks for those destinations, experts have said.

With the femicide problem in the country aggravating and people taking to social media expressing their deep concerns, a new femicide case of a nurse who got shot by a man who stormed into a family health care center in Istanbul has triggered a nationwide wave of anger.

The Hisart Live History Museum, which houses 1,500-year-old historical artifacts in Istanbul's Kağıthane district, will reopen on Feb. 1 after a renovation process.

Founded by Nejat Çuhadaroğlu, the renewed face of the museum was launched on Jan. 19.

The foundations of a prayer hall from the 12th century have been discovered under the Al-Nuri mosque, where the Islamic State group once proclaimed their "caliphate," in Iraq's Mosul, site managers said on Jan. 18.

The murderer of Sarai Sierra, a U.S. traveler who was found dead near Istanbul's old city walls in 2013, has once again been sentenced to 11 years and eight months in prison during his retrial.

Istanbul is taking the lead in the ticket sales of the New Year's lottery with a prize money of 120 million Turkish Liras ($8.8 million), daily Milliyet has reported.

The western province of İzmir, the northwestern province of Kocaeli and the capital Ankara follow Istanbul in the ticket sales, the daily reported on Dec. 8.

Italy has denied entry to three Turkish citizens due to COVID-19-related travel restrictions.

The Turkish nationals, who traveled from Istanbul to Rome, on Dec. 2 were briefly detained at the airport and eventually sent back to Turkey later in the day.

Nearly 7 million tourists visited Istanbul in the first 10 months of the year, while foreign tourist arrivals in the city leaped almost 116 percent in October from a year ago.

Turkey's cultural, commercial and financial capital welcomed 1.15 million visitors in October, which marked the highest number of international holidaymakers visiting the city on record this year.