Stories about Turkey from September, 2008
Ukraine, EU: A Closer Relationship?
The EU's plan to finalize an Association Agreement with Ukraine in 2009 was made public at the EU-Ukraine Summit in Paris on Sept. 9. The media and bloggers greeted it with mixed reactions. “EU offers reassurance to Ukraine,” read a BBC headline. “EU offers no promises to hopeful Ukraine,” wrote...
Armenia: Turkish Visitors
Unzipped quotes news reports saying that 300 Turkish citizens visited the Genocide Memorial and Museum in Yerevan on the sidelines of this month's World Cup qualifying football match between Armenia and Turkey. However, as one comment says, it is unclear how many were ethnic Armenians or ethnic Turks. Nevertheless, the...
Yemen: Sixteen People Killed in US Embassy Attack
Sixteen people were killed when the US Embassy in Sana'a, Yemen, was attacked with a car bomb and rockets today. One blogger was minutes away from the explosions.
Turkey: Genocide Stories
Project Common Humanity, a new blog established by researcher and writer Ziya Meral, asks its readers to submit stories of Turks who saved their Armenian neighbors during the 1915 Genocide.
Turkey: “Armenian Istanbul”
Sundry Translations and Other Tangentialia translates Mark Grigorian's LJ entries (RUS – here, here, here) on Istanbul's Armenian dimension.
Russia: Pipeline “Victory”
Window on Eurasia writes about Russia's “major victory on pipelines”: “[…] the Russian government will now have full and uncontested control over pipelines between the Caspian basin and the West which pass through Russian territory and will be able either directly or through its clients like the PKK to disrupt...
Turkey: Ads Honoring the Turkish National Soccer Team
Fathers playing fooseball, mothers at tea, and more can be seen in this collection of ads in honor of the Turkish National Soccer Team as complied by Erkan's Field Diary.
Armenia: Relations with Turkey — What Next?
After the historic visit by Turkish president Abdullah Gul to Yerevan at the weekend to watch an Armenia-Turkey World Cup qualifying match with his local counterpart, Serge Sargsyan, Security in the Caucasus examines the question of what next for the two estranged neighboring countries.
North Cyprus: The Opera Comes to Town
“One thing that's definitely in short supply here in North Cyprus is opera, so I'm thrilled that no less than 21 opera stars are performing in Kyrenia on September 14th,” writes Kathy from North Cyprus Blogs. Opera singers from Turkey, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Northern Cyprus, Bashkor-tostan and Tatarstan will...
Turkey: Armenian Sport in the Ottoman Empire
“For the first time in the history of Turkish Olympic Games, two Armenian sportsmen Vahram Papazian and Mkrtich Mkryan represented Ottoman Turkey in the Fifth International Olympic Games in Stockholm in 1912,” writes Turkish blogger, Mavi Boncuk, as he announces an exhibit at the Armenian Genocide Museum on “Armenian Sport...
Turkey: The Secret to Youthful Skin
Carpetblogger shows us the secret to youthful skin: ant egg oil.
Armenia: Football Diplomacy & Relations with Turkey
A number of World Cup qualifying matches were played worldwide on Saturday, but many were interested in what might instead prove to be a historic political rather than sporting event. Without diplomatic relations or an open border, Armenia played against Turkey in its capital, Yerevan. Despite historical grievances, Turkish President Abdullah Gul arrived to watch the match with his Armenian counterpart in what many referred to as “football diplomacy.”
Turkey: Diplomacy Via Sports?
Talk Turkey remarks on the historic World Cup qualifier match that will be held between Turkey and Armenia: “Although there have been opposition in Turkey about this historic visit, and no doubt the same on the Armenian side, this visit couldn't have come at a better time.
Turkey: Drawing Parallels to Tough Political Women
Erkan's Field Diary compares vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin to former Turkish Prime Minister Tansu Çiller stating that “she of course confirms a cliché. In order to move up as a female, you have to acquire ‘masculine’ traits…. “
Armenia: An Unprecedented Football Match
A Fistful of Euros comments on this weekend's World Cup qualifying match between Armenia and Turkey in Yerevan. Although there are no diplomatic relations between the two countries, and as the border remains closed, the blog considers the event, which will also be attended by the Turkish President, Abdullah Gul,...
Armenia: Nagorno Karabakh Independence Marked, Anti-Turkish Protests Planned
While the international media concerns itself with the two breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia in Georgia, bloggers reminds their readers that yesterday marked the 17th anniversary of the declaration of independence by another self-declared republic in the South Caucasus — Nagorno Karabakh. Marking the occasion in Yerevan also gave one political party the opportunity to declare its intention to stage street protests when the Turkish president arrives in Armenia this weekend.
Turkey: Dreading the Ramadan Drums
“Last year, we thought it was an opportunity to experience a Davulcu charming dying cultural tradition. This year, it's 30 days of being woken up by drums beneath our open bedroom windows every.single.morning at 3 am, and more than a mild irritant,” writes Carpetblogger on experiencing another Ramadan in Turkey.
Turkey: Sharing the Same Name
An already controversial Turkish Olympic champion (he publicly prayed after winning the gold) shares the same name as a recently apprehended serial rapist.