Standing at the gateway between Europe and Asia, Istanbul lies at the centre of the most pressing challenges of our time. With environmental decay, rapacious development and tightening authoritarianism straining its social fabric to breaking point, it represents the precipitous moment civilisations around the world are currently facing. In and around its crumbling Byzantine-era fortifications […]
Five people have been detained for questioning following a deadly daytime fire at a venue in the heart of Istanbul that left 29 people dead and at least one person severely injured. The fire broke out at The Masquerade Club at around 12.47 lunchtime local time, according to Istanbul governor Davut Gül. The club takes […]
On Sunday, Turks will head to the polls to determine who their local councils will be run by. An estimated 63 million people are eligible to vote, electing mayors and councillors across 81 Türkiye’s provinces. Some are viewing these elections as a barometer on President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s popularity as the veteran politician leads his […]
A “chauffeur-driven” Istanbul cat has received an outpouring of affection after footage of the feline sitting on the bonnet of a moving car surfaced on social media. The video was captured by an onlooker and shared on Instagram and X (formerly known as Twitter) with the captions ‘Cats of Istanbul’ and ‘Cats’ favourite city’. The […]
A court in Turkiye has found the son of Somalia’s president guilty of “causing death by negligence” after a diplomatic car he was driving hit and killed a courier in Istanbul on 30 November 2023. Prosecutors had requested that Mohammed Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, the son of Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, be sentenced to up […]
Tickets to a talk by film historian Professor Nezih Erdoğan about when moving pictures first came to Istanbul have all been snapped up! The talk, which is being organised in collaboration with the Yunus Emre Institute London, will take place at Birkbeck Cinema in central London on Thursday, 26 January. Professor Erdoğan, who is a […]
Turkish authorities have issued an arrest warrant for the son of Somalia’s president, Mohammed Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, after he was involved in a fatal road crash that killed a courier in Istanbul. Mr Mohamud was driving a car registered to the Somali consulate on 30 November when he struck the back of Yunus Emre Göçer’s […]
A British man accused of being the “ringleader” of an armed gang operating in northeast England has been arrested in Istanbul after being made the subject of an Interpol red notice. Shaun Monaghan was detained by Turkish narcotics police, who found the fugitive in a hotel in Istanbul. The arrest was confirmed by Turkish Interior […]
The streets of Istanbul have a storied past. The city’s history echoes through the ancient alleys and modern avenues alike, rising from the bustle of its bazaars, the prayers of its religious houses, and the lapping of the Bosphorus. This rich tapestry of sound has been woven into its musical landscape over centuries and wraps […]
Istanbul hosts the Champions League Final this weekend, with two giants of the modern game, Manchester City and Internazionale Milano, set to battle it out for Europe’s top club trophy. Man City come into the final as favourites, having won the English domestic double, the Premier League and the FA Cup, this season. Inter finished […]
