Yesterday: 90% Traffic density… Istanbul news roundup…

News in Turkish here **************** Black Week Festival opens at Pera Palace Jumeriah Istanbul’s Pera Palace Hotel Jumeirah is hosting the “Black Week” event in honor of the 125th anniversary of the birth of popular novelist Agatha Christie’s birth, featuring a week of crime fiction-themed events. President Erdogan: The Bully of Istanbul Algemeiner Almost everyone at … Read more

Istanbul news roundup: “Not your mother’s Islam: the stylish women of Istanbul

Shoppers in the Fatih distict of Istanbul, Turkey. Fatih is known as one of the most conservative districts in the city. Not your mother’s Islam: the stylish women of Istanbul British Journal of Photography At a fashion shoot for ALA Magazine, the first magazine in Turkey for conservative women. The shoot is at Bretz Home … Read more

Turkish State wanted to play a PR stunt yesterday by promoting a “national car” which was in fact a stolen idea- not surprisingly…

National car unveiled by minister sparks Cadillac debate A long-awaited domestic vehicle that has been promoted as a “national car” by government officials during election campaign stops, was unveiled Oct. 13, but its resemblance to Cadillac has sparked a debate VIDEO: Minister shows photos of first Turkish-made car prototypes Turkish Science and Technology Minister Fikri Işık announced … Read more

As Turkey continues to arrest Kurdish politicians, new Freedom of Expression Violation Verdicts by ECHR…

Two Freedom of Expression Violation Verdicts by ECHR  Bianet :: English The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has ruled that charges pressed against Günlük Evrensel newspaper writers Ahmet Sami Belek and Savaş Velioğlu, and Müdür Duman from HADEP are violation of freedom of expression and condemned Turkey to indemnity. ECHR fines Turkey over conviction of journalists … Read more

“Orhan Pamuk and the onslaught of urbanisation” Istanbul news roundup….

Lost in Istanbul: Orhan Pamuk and the onslaught of urbanisation The National Lost in Istanbul: Orhan Pamuk and the onslaught of urbanisation The National “Can you tell me where Istanbul ends, and the rural begins?” Cihan Uzuncarsili Baysal, a housing rights activist and Bilgi University law professor asks during a recent talk on urbanisation at Kadir … Read more

“Hagia Sophia, Topkapı again Turkey’s top tourist attractions While “Istanbul’s Fatih Municipality seizes more authority in construction on historic peninsula… İstanbul news roundup…

Project for 10-meter-wide pedestrian lane begins in the Bosphorus The construction of a 10-meter wide public road project, which is set to include separate lanes for pedestrians, runners and cyclists, has begun on the Anatolian side of the Bosphorus. Istanbul’s Fatih Municipality seizes more authority in construction on historic peninsula Hurriyet Daily News Istanbul’s historic peninsula … Read more

When it rains, Istanbul flooded… Istanbul today:

    VIDEO: Heavy rain fills Istanbul’s central Taksim tunnel, floods Üsküdar Heavy rain in Istanbul affected sites on the European and Anatolian sides of Istanbul, filling a newly built tunnel in Taksim and flooding Üsküdar district. Bar Refaeli Cancels Istanbul Gig Due to anti-Israel Pressure Haaretz The organizer of an Istanbul fashion show that was … Read more

Anger at Soldier funerals turning not only to PKK but to AKP representatives… And a social fabric roundup…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vC4qykk-NpQ This is one a few other protest that occurred recently…. ************* Pro-gov’t businessman censors own remarks on ‘Erdoğan love’ A pro-AKP media tycoon has succeeded in his unusual lawsuit, with a court ruling to block reports on 50 news websites quoting his reflections on the ‘divine love’ between himself and President Erdoğan The long and arduous journey … Read more

Orhan Pamuk raises his harshest critique against AKP while high schools students arrested for insulting Erdoğan, Advocates Protest Homeland Security Reforms…

Pamuk: ‘Authoritarian and Islamist government’ replaced soldiers in Turkey Hurriyet Daily News The AKP is ‘destroying the balance of powers’ and ‘authoritarian soldiers were (pushed) out, (an) authoritarian and Islamist government took their place,’ Nobel laureate Pamuk says Turkey’s premier author anxiously observes his changing home The Times of Israel Turkish Nobel laureate author Orhan Pamuk … Read more

Literati roundup: Orhan Pamuk looks at sources of inspiration for “The Museum of Innocence”

A look at the sources of inspiration behind “The Museum of Innocence” open Democracy News Analysis – by Orhan Pamuk In a famous article in the “Paris Review”, Hemingway made a list of the literary figures who had influenced him. When I decided to become an author, I was determined to make the same list.   ************** … Read more

Literati roundup: R.I.P. Ulrich Beck…. “Smithsonian galleries release massive Asian art collection online for non-commercial use…

Ulrich Beck – an appreciation open Democracy News Analysis – by Robin Wilson   openSecurity editor Robin Wilson reflects on the work of German intellectual – and frequent openDemocracy contributor – Ulrich Beck, who sadly passed away on 1 January. Ulrich Beck (1944-2015). Wikimedia commons. Public domain. Huge trove of Smithsonian art digitized; over 40,000 works  kottke.org by Jason … Read more

New democratic networks emerge [in French, Erkan quoted too] as “Turkish novelists Orhan Pamuk and Elif Shafak accused of being Western stooges by pro-government press…

Turquie : les nouveaux réseaux démocratiques1   Un an et demi après la contestation de Gezi, où en est la démocratie en Turquie ? Et pour quelles nouvelles formes de mobilisations ? Journalisme citoyen, tweets et sites, mais aussi squatt-maison de quartier, face à un État de plus en plus autoritaire. Enquête multimédia interactive d’Eric … Read more

Farewell to #UğurKurt …

Prosecutor arrives at Istanbul scene where man was shot 27 hours after clashes A public prosecutor assigned to investigate the death of Uğur Kurthas arrived at the scene 27 hours after the incident ?Live quietly like a donkey or get out!? Turkish official?s tweet sparks debate ‘Either you will live in this country quietly like a donkey … Read more

Turkey’s foreign policy: PM Erdoğan?s advisor suggests “Turkey does not need Europe and its extensions”…

Turkey does not need Europe and its extensions, PM Erdoğan?s advisor suggests Hurriyet Daily News Turkey does not need Europe and its ‘material-moral extensions,’ PM Erdoğan?s top adviser, Yiğit Bulut, said   Turkey, US dismiss Seymour Hersh report Hurriyet Daily News Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç has dismissed an article by Seymour Hersh, which claimed … Read more

Despite court?s suspension, Construction on Istanbul’s third airport continues… Istanbul news roundup…

Construction on Istanbul’s third airport continuing despite court?s suspension, officials say   The airport project is being built in a forested area of northern Istanbul Istanbul’s rail system to reach 420 km in 2019 www.worldbulletin.net Turkey’s Prime Minister expressed hopes on Sunday that Istanbul’s rail transit system, which stretches 45 kilometers as of 2004, would … Read more