Provinces of Turkey

Four female lawmakers have been elected as the first female deputies of three provinces that had never been represented by a woman before, marking another step in female representation in the country's legislative body.

In the 28th term of the 600-member parliament elected in the May 14 elections, 121 women will serve.

The Turkish home textile industry's export revenues stood at $5 billion last year, according to Hasan Hüseyin Bayram, head of the Home Textile Association (TETSİAD).

Local and international home textile companies met at the HOMETEX fair, which is being held between May 16 and 20.

This fair is expected to boost exports by 20 to 25 percent, said Bayram.

Several ceremonies and celebrations have been held across the country to mark the 104th anniversary of the Commemoration of Ataturk, Youth and Sports Day on May 19, a milestone day for the Turkish War of Independence.

In Ankara, it is the building of the first parliament in which the Grand National Assembly of Turkey was founded on April 23, 1920. Today, it serves as the War of Independence Museum. A visit to Anitkabir, where the Ataturk mausoleum is located, is a must when visiting the Turkish capital.

The number of women lawmakers in the parliament has increased from 103 to 121, showing a rise of only 3 percent compared to the previous period, as only one out of every five deputies in parliament is a woman.

In the newly elected 28th term of the 600-member parliament, 121 women will serve.

Supporters wave flags and banners as Recep Tayyip Erdogan makes an address at the Justice and Development Party (AKP) headquarters in Ankara early on Monday. Photo: EPA-EFE/Necati Savas

The third candidate, nationalist Sinan Ogan, received a surprising 5.2 per cent of the votes.

Just days before the elections in Turkey, the most affected earthquake regions expect a reversed migration wave before May 14. The weak performance of the state after the earthquake could also alter the political arithmetics in the affected provinces.

Some 400 shops have started to operate in the historical Uzun Çarşı, one of the symbols of the quake-hit southern province of Hatay, within the scope of efforts to return to normal life.

Excavations have been conducted for the first time in the ancient city of Mobolla, one of the most important settlements of antiquity. Located in the Menteşe district of the western province of Muğla, from the fifth century, the ancient city bears the traces of the traditional Anatolian settlement model from 4,500 years ago.

A woman from quake-hit Hatay has formed an association called "We are here, Hatay" ("Buradayız Hatay" in Turkish) to encourage their relatives and neighbors to back to their hometown.

As the southern province of Hatay suffered the worst damage in the earthquakes on the night of Feb. 6, approximately 700,000 people migrated to other cities.