To Be or Not to Be...? Someone’s grief, and someone’s drinking party

Traditions of the Kyrgyz people were being formed with the help of economic, trade, domestic and other relations with kindred and other tribes that were closely related to the geography of their ha...

Iran of the 60s: unsuccessful attempt to reform

After the coup of 19 March 1953 in the socio-political history of Iran there were fundamental changes: the powers of parliament were limited and the absolute power of Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi was...

Topic: Regional rivalry in the Middle East.

In the Middle East, Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Iran are two countries that claim to leadership in the region. With a powerful resources and political potential these countries are the...

Culture & Living, Turkey

Turkey signs agreement for third airport construction in Istanbul
20.05.2013
Culture & Living|Middle East|Turkey

An agreement for the construction of a third airport in Istanbul was signed on May 20 in Turkey, Turkish online newspaper The Lira reported on Monday.

According to the report, an agreement was signed between the Ministry of Transport, Shipping and Communications of Turkey and the consortium Limak-Kolin-Cengiz-MaPa-Kalyon, the tender winner for the construction of the airport.

The Limak-Kolin-Cengiz-MaPa-Kalyon consortium won the tender for the project on May 3, offering 22.1 billion euros for the project.

About a third of Turkey’s population consists of children
22.04.2013
Culture & Living|Middle East|Turkey

Thirty percent of Turkey's population accounts for children, a report of the Turkish Statistics Institute published on Monday says.

According to the report, the number of children in Turkey in 2012 hit more than 22,692 million.

According to the forecast of the Statistics Institute of Turkey, it is expected that the percentage of children in Turkey will drop to 25.7 percent in 2023, to 19.31 per cent in 2050 and to 17.6 per cent in 2075.

According to official data, over the last 25 years, a sharp decline in the birth rate has been observed in Turkey.

Turkish opposition to back official celebration of Novruz holiday
20.03.2013
Culture & Living|Middle East|Turkey

The Turkish opposition Republican People's Party has offered to officially back a proposal to celebrate Novruz holiday in the country, Turkish newspaper Sabah reported today.

According to the newspaper, the party intends to appeal to the Turkish Parliament in this regard.

Novruz holiday will be officially celebrated in Turkey on March 21 if the proposal is approved.

Every day four people die as a result of accidents in Turkey
18.03.2013
Culture & Living|Middle East|Turkey

In Turkey each day, 173 industrial accidents take place, four of which are fatal, Cihan agency quotes assistant head of Safety and Labour Protection Department of the Labour and Social Protection Ministry Ismail Gerim as saying on Monday.

He said 76 per cent of industrial accidents occur in enterprises of small and medium sized businesses. He also stressed that in Turkey dozens of new cases of occupational diseases are identified annually.

Turkey to put military social facilities for privatization
02.03.2013
Culture & Living|Middle East|Turkey

Turkey's parliament will review the draft bill authorizing the sale of facilities of military-social purposes, Sabah newspaper said on Thursday.

If the draft law is approved by the parliament, military social facilities in Turkey, such as officers' houses and clubs for military personnel, as well as lands owned by the servicemen, will be put up for privatization and may later be purchased by individuals.

It is reported that there are over 230 such entities in total in Turkey. Funds from their privatization will be used for investment expenditures of the state.

Unknown individuals attack stand in Turkey dedicated to Khojaly genocide
25.02.2013
Culture & Living|Middle East|Turkey

A group of unknown individuals attacked a stand dedicated to the Khojaly genocide in the Turkish capital of Ankara, Anadolu agency reported on Monday.

Opponents of the campaign tried to destroy the stand dedicated to collecting signatures in connection with the recognition of the Khojaly genocide at an international level. Seven people were injured in the incident.

It is reported that the stand was set up by the Organisation of Turks Gekboru.

Turkey says it hosts more than 240,000 Syrian refugees
04.02.2013
Culture & Living|Middle East|Turkey

Turkey said on Monday it was home to more than 240,000 Syrian refugees, adding that aid from international donors is is still below expectations, reported dpa.

"The humanitarian aspect of the crisis is deteriorating further," Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told a ministerial meeting held in Cairo ahead of the Islamic Summit Conference.

"The number of Syrians we accommodate only in the camps is now 170,000. And until now, around 2,700 babies were born in these camps. In addition, more than 70,000 Syrians are living in the cities in Turkey," he said.

Some 22,000 children considered missing in Turkey
14.01.2013
Culture & Living|Middle East|Turkey

According to the Turkish statistics data, some 27,000 children were missing in the country from 2008 to 2011, CNN Turk TV channel said today. Some 16,200 of this number are girls.

According to the statistics, only 5700 children were found.

Turkish Interior Minister Idris Naim Sahin has refuted the data obtained from the Statistics Institute of the country, calling them inaccurate. He said that only 1000 children are considered missing in the country.

Inaccuracy in this issue occurred because not all the found children were officially registered, the minister said.

Turkish Finance Minister’s plane makes emergency landing
11.01.2013
Culture & Living|Middle East|Turkey

The Turkish Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek's plane has made ​​an emergency landing in the city of Siirt, online newspaper Hurriyet said today.

It is reported that the plane flew in the direction of Ankara - Batman. Head of the Turkish Football Federation Yildirim Demiroren was on board.

Heavy fog in Batman caused the emergency landing.

238 Turkish villages blocked by snow
26.12.2012
Culture & Living|Middle East|Turkey

Heavy snowfalls in the Turkish province of Erzurum blocked roads to 238 villages, Anadolu agency said on Wednesday.

The snow level in the province of Erzurum has reached more than 100 centimetres with the air temperature at 22 degrees below zero

Frosty weather conditions have remained in Turkey for three weeks. Forecasters predict continued heavy snowfalls in many provinces this week.