Now that the highly dramatic month of July has finally come to an end, the people of Istanbul can collectively turn a page and look to an immediate future, which appears considerably more certain, if not banal, in comparison to the recent past. The city’s bourgeoisie will head to their summer houses in the greater Istanbul region, while the upper classes augment their social status and darker skin tones at exclusive seaside ghettos such as mythic Bodrum. (more…)

Adding to its much coveted resume as “Europe’s bridge to the Middle East”, Turkey has now been officially recognized as the facilitator of talks between Israel and Syria. Whether or not the Israeli media agrees with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s motivations for publicizing the existence of talks, Turkey can at least shine in the warm spotlight of international recognition for a few weeks. (more…)

At the beginning of this past week, the world was gripped by the imminent possibility of global financial Armageddon. While the global markets have encountered and overcome small patches of turmoil over the last eight months, only this most recent turn of events has caused the Turkish media, government and upper-classes to immerse themselves in an open round of soul searching.| MORE ›

The following article by John C.K. Daly in United Press International offers readers a nice overview of Turkey’s latest string of energy dealings with Iran. Daly’s article also considers the American view of these growing energy ties.| MORE ›

The following article is an exhausting, yet extremely comprehensive, sketch of the most important issues in contemporary Turkish society. The author, Niels Kadritze, is the editor of the German edition of Le Monde Diplomatique. While Mr. Kadritze’s essay is somewhat lacking in terms of the organization of ideas, the quality and range of his observations are absolutely first rate. (more…)

The following article outlines a study conducted by engineers at Purdue University, who have considered possible solutions to Istanbul’s considerable susceptibility to earthquakes. Their motivation to consider such an issue comes from the following sobering reality: (more…)