Rümeysa Çamdereli, the 29-year-old mother of a three-year-old boy, is a devout, hijab-wearing Muslim. She is also a feminist activist who runs a website aiming to empower observant Turkish Muslim women – and says she sees no contradiction between her faith and her belief in gender equality. “Usually, women who define themselves as Muslim say the current male-dominated interpretation of Islam is not the religion they believe in. If these men who create and support such oppression of women justify …

Rümeysa Çamdereli, the 29-year-old mother of a three-year-old boy, is a devout, hijab-wearing Muslim. She is also a feminist activist who runs a website aiming to empower observant Turkish Muslim women – and says she sees no contradiction between her faith and her belief in gender equality. “Usually, women who define themselves as Muslim say the current male-dominated interpretation of Islam is not the religion they believe in. If these men who create and support such oppression of women justify …

When two members of the banned communist group DHKP-C kidnapped a district attorney from his office in İstanbul in 2015, they posted photos of their hostage held at gunpoint on popular image-sharing website imgur.com. The kidnappers and their victim, Mehmet Selim Kiraz, were all killed in the subsequent rescue attempt. Later that year, in what has become a familiar pattern for followers of Ankara’s increasing restrictions on freedom of speech, a Turkish court banned the entire Imgur.com website. Since 2014, …

Istanbul’s new airport, expected to be the world’s largest when complete, was officially opened by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on October 29, the 95th anniversary of Turkey’s establishment as a republic. The auspicious date emphasized Erdogan’s message that the 10 billion euro project north of Istanbul was a symbol of Turkish resurgence, a colossal achievement at a time when Turkey faces so many both domestic and international challenges. “We did not build [this] airport for our country. It is a …

When Adnan Hacadnan and his family fled Aleppo four years ago and arrived in Turkey, their first challenge was to find accommodation. As refugees, this was not an easy task. “The first question everyone asked was, ‘Where are you from?’” the 48-year-old said, adding that the response was not always friendly. As soon as potential landlords found out his family were Syrians, they refused to rent out their property. “Even if someone agreed to rent us their house, the price …

When the taxi app Uber launched in Istanbul in 2014, locals thought they might have a new alternative to travel in Turkey’s largest – and famously congested – city. More than 17,000 taxis already serve Istanbul, but coverage is patchy, vehicles dilapidated and drivers notoriously rude. Although young people in particular enthusiastically embraced Uber, the service was met with immediate resistance from local taxi drivers who viewed it as unfair competition. Now, with a court case due to deliver its …

For the last year Bikem, a 33-year-old Istanbul-based editor, has been making the traditional – and very potent – aniseed-flavoured spirit raki at home. She adds water and flavouring to pure alcohol, and there is no lengthy distillation necessary. “It’s a short and easy process,” Bikem explained. “I do it in ten minutes and I get an instant, drinkable raki.” Bikem, a 33-year-old Istanbul-based editor, says it takes her 10 minutes to make the traditional – and very potent – …

Turkish journalist and documentary film maker Ayşe Toprak who made a feature-length documentary on Syrian LGBTI refugees, “Mr Gay Syria”. The film, released last year, followed a group of gay Syrians as they tried to make a new life for themselves in Turkey. – Taken by Emre PekerA scene from the film “Mr Gay Syria” which was screened at more than 60 international film festivals around the world and won the best documentary award in Chicago, Torino, Milan, Sarajevo, and …

For more than a decade, 42-year-old Tuğba Karahanoğlu led a happy and busy life in Istanbul, where she worked as a software developer. But then a growing interest in organic food and healthy living led her to abandon city life and move to Seferihisar, a coastal district in Izmir province. “I left behind a circle of friends whose subjects of conversation always revolved around physical appearance, or shopping, or the next hip place they’d be at that weekend,” Tuğba said …

The case of a mutilated puppy in north-western Turkey that shocked the country this summer has put its inadequate animal welfare legislation in the spotlight. Close to death having had all four paws and its tail cut off, the stray dog was found in woods in the Sapanca district of Sakarya province on June 16. Although the puppy was immediately taken to a vet for treatment, it did not survive its massive injuries and died two days later. After photos …