Privateers

The cannons in the Turgut Reis Bastion, built for the defense of the Bosphorus during World War II in the northwestern province of Çanakkale, have started to rust, turning into a sad sight to behold, says a lecturer.

The decades-long disputes in the Aegean and the Mediterranean Seas remain unresolved. And this year, while the whole world is grappling with the Covid-19 pandemic, these disputes once again became sources of contention between Turkey and Greece. Nevertheless, Turkey's door to diplomacy and dialogue also remains open.

Turkey's research vessel Oruc Reis has returned to the port of the southern province of Antalya after finishing seismic studies in the eastern Mediterranean, less than two weeks before a European Union summit where the bloc will evaluate possible sanctions against Ankara.

Turkey has urged Greece to avoid provocative actions against its research vessel Oruç Reis deployed in the eastern Mediterranean or it will be retaliated in kind, a statement in reference to an incident between the two countries involving a frigate, which was later described as "an accident" by the Greek authorities.

Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar on Aug. 12 said that Turkey wants to resolve the dispute in the eastern Mediterranean with Greece through dialogue.

"Despite all this, we want to believe that common sense will prevail. Both on the field and at the table, we side with international law, good neighbourliness and dialogue," Akar told Reuters.

Turkey's first drillship, Fatih, set sail from Istanbul's Haydarpaşa Port for a drilling mission in the Black Sea, Turkey's Energy and Natural Resources Minister Fatih Dönmez said on May 29.

In the 17th and 18th centuries, Ile Sainte-Marie (or St. Mary’s Island as it is known in English), a long, thin island off the eastern African coast, became a popular base for pirates. Up to 1,000 pirates reportedly called the rocky island home, including widely-feared brigands Adam Baldridge, William Kidd, Olivier Levasseur, Henry Every, Robert Culliford, Abraham Samuel and Thomas Tew.

Two Turkish warships have dropped anchor at the port in the Ukrainian city Odessa on April 3 for a stay of two days. 

The two frigates - the TCG Salih Reis (F-246), which is a Barbaros-class frigate, and the TCG Bart?n (F-504), which is a B-class corvette - have anchored in Odessa within the concept of partnership between the Ukrainian Defense Ministry and the Turkish General Staff. 

Divers discovered a bar of silver, weighing in at 50kg, thought to belong to the legendary Scot William Kidd.

The bar of silver, according to news media from Madagascar were transported on the pirate’s ship, when it run sank in a cove near the island.

The The Turkish frigate TCG Turgut Reis reached the port of Piraeus on Saturday.

The frigate belongs to the multinational force SNMG2, along with eight more warships from the US, Canada, Germany, Spain and Italy, while from the Greek side the participant frigate is named “Koundouriotis”. All ships are expected to depart for their next stop later on Sunday.