“Being a stay-at-home youth makes me feel like I’m not self-sufficient, like I’m dependent on my family,” says 24-year-old Atlas Ay in a cafe in İstanbul’s bustling Beşiktaş district. Staring at a cup of tea in front of him, shoulders hunched over, his voice trembles when he speaks. “It makes me depressed and angry, first at myself and then at the circumstances of the country where I live.” Ay is a university graduate – but, he says, that’s no longer …

“You can’t have breakfast without braided cheese. I feel like I haven’t eaten if it isn’t on the table,” says 58-year-old Nermin Akay as cheese is weighed out in a shop in the historic bazaar of Turkey’s south-eastern Diyarbakır province. A couple of shops down, 60-year-old Sinan Kutlu examines a slab of braided cheese he is holding. “Karacadağ Mountain milk is just different,” he says. “It tastes like my childhood.” Diyarbakır’s famous braided cheese. Credit: Gülistan Korban A vendor of …

“The only thing we care about is finding cleaner, more affordable food for our families,” says Yaşar Kaygısız, a retired teacher in Istanbul. Her words sum up what autumn means to many people in Turkey: the season of food prep. As food prices soar each winter, autumn becomes the busiest time of the year in Turkish kitchens. Many households turn to age-old methods for preserving food: making tomato paste, pickles, dried vegetables and jams. People stock up before prices rise …

It’s 5 a.m. With the sun still down, it still feels cool outside. At this quiet hour when most people are still asleep, Gülçin grabs a cardigan and heads over to the tandır house. She takes the key out from her pocket, unlocks the door, turns on the light and gets to work, placing wood and cow dung underneath the oven and lighting a fire. Tandır – or tandoor – bread, cooked in the large enclosed ovens found across the …

It’s a new school year in Turkey, but for thousands of children that means going to lessons hungry. With around 29.3% of Turkey’s population at risk of poverty – and free school meals still not an option for most children, despite having been debated by politicians for years – malnutrition is a pressing issue. “My daughter has lost so much weight in the last two years because of malnutrition,” one mother, who asked not to be named, tells Inside Turkey …

M, a 30-year-old journalist in Istanbul, with ADHD and anxiety disorder, has been seeing a therapist on and off for the past 9 years. More recently however, she’s been seeing someone else: an AI chatbot. “In moments when I feel stuck, when I want to pour my heart out but don’t want to bother anyone, writing to AI to avoid being alone with my thoughts is relieving,” she tells Inside Turkey. “It offers a reflective thinking space, especially during times …

In Turkey’s industrial zones, where oil-streaked floors, shop talk, and a deeply masculine work culture long kept women at the margins, a quiet shift is underway. From the capital, Ankara, to İzmir on the Aegean, women are stepping into garages, running their own workshops, and changing how the country sees skilled labour. Among them is 22-year-old Mia Uyanık, a motorcycle mechanic in Ankara who fell in love with machines as a child, and 48-year-old Rukiye Karaman, who rebuilt her life …

The local elections in March 2024 may have marked the beginning of a new era in Turkish politics – and not just because the governing Justice and Development Party (AKP) was overtaken by its main opponent. In the country’s largest city, Istanbul, the elections saw the emergence of a new generation of female politicians. More than a year on, the changes look set to last. Among the new entrants to the political scene was Sinem Dedetaş, who won the key …

Panel in Istanbul spotlights the rising tide of gender-based disinformation and the women fighting back STANBUL – Gender biases continue to shape newsrooms and media narratives worldwide. This reality turns the careers of female journalists into a constant struggle for recognition and survival. With the rise of social media, the spread and diversification of gendered disinformation pose a growing threat—not only to women in journalism but to society as a whole. In a powerful panel discussion titled “Gendered Disinformation and …

The textile industry in Turkey’s historic production hub Bursa is facing extinction due to rising costs and global competition. Many Turkish textile companies are shutting down or declaring bankruptcy as Egypt emerges as a competitor and buyers’ preferences shift to Chinese products. Thousands of workers are at risk of unemployment, especially those who are unregistered or work under precarious conditions. Located in western Turkey, Bursa has been the country’s textile hub since it received its first shipment of silk imports …