Turkish soap operas have been appealing to global audiences for some time, but seldom have any generated the levels of fandom that Diriliş Ertuğrul (Resurrection Ertuğrul) has. Even more significantly, it is the first to have seriously penetrated the UK. From talks up and down the country, to arranged travel tours to the set, there […]
Americans voted in the midterm elections this week, casting ballots for various seats in Congress including 35 in the senate and all 435 of the House of Representatives. As election fever swept the United States, T-VINE took a look at how an Ancient Anatolian civilisation influenced the authors of the US Constitution, and in particular […]
Turkey witnessed its first joint presidential and parliamentary elections a little over a week ago, marking a significant change in the country’s political history. The 24 June snap vote had a turnout of around 87% and ushered in a new system of government, bringing reforms to the Turkish constitution –narrowly approved in a controversial referendum […]
An online petition calling for a Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) flag mobile phone emoji has gained over 1000 signatures. The plea, named “Make a TRNC (Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus) emoji!!” which is directed at tech giants Apple, Samsung and Microsoft is registered on campaigning website change.org and is intended to gain greater global recognition for the […]
Britain’s first Turkish-owned mosque made history this week becoming one of the first UK Islamic institutions to accept donations in Bitcoin – a digital or cryptocurrency operating independently from central banks. The East London-based Masjid Ramadan, also known as Shacklewell Lane Mosque, “has embarked on a new venture, which is to take the Bitcoin as an […]
The Eastern Express rail service (or Doğu Ekspresi in Turkish) between the city of Kars on Turkey’s North Eastern border and the capital Ankara has grown increasingly popular among domestic tourists recently. Over the past year, young Turks have become enamoured by the overnight train, leaving it difficult to get a ticket at times. Once […]
A Turkish organisation has started to renovate five Ottoman-era Islamic sites including four mosques and one Sufi or dervish lodge in Albania this month. The restoration works, which are expected to last two years, are part of the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency’s efforts to preserve cultural and historical assets shared by both Turks and […]
Turkey’s main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) submitted a draft bill to remove the 10-percent threshold in the country’s electoral system Hürriyet Daily News reported Friday. The move comes after the governing Justice and Development Party (AKP) and opposition Nationalist Action Party (MHP) jointly submitted a 26-article legislative package proposing substantial changes to election […]
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan discussed Jerusalem with Pope Francis on Monday amid the continuing upheaval caused by the US’s recognition of the city as the Israeli capital last year. President Erdoğan, who became the first Turkish head of state to visit the Vatican in almost 60 years, had a fifty minute meeting with the […]
Almost 1,500 people were apprehended in Istanbul last year on suspicion of links to the so-called Islamic State, or Daesh, according to Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency. Anadolu reported last week that counter terrorism units belonging to the Istanbul Police Department carried out 58 operations against Daesh in 2017. A total of 1,447 suspects have been […]
