Turkey

Turkey: PKK Threatens to Attack Tourist Areas

Date: July 28th, 2010 |

The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) threatened to attack urban and tourist areas in western Turkey in retaliation for the Turkish military’s campaign against it in northern Iraq. The separatist group has conducted terrorist attacks on tourist sites in the past, including bombings in Marmaris in 2006 and a suicide bombing on a popular shopping street [read more]

Turkey: Floods Plague Istanbul

Date: September 16th, 2009 |

No Comments

Flash floods caused by torrential rains hit areas of Istanbul Sept. 9, inundating roads in the Ikitelli district and killing at least 14 in the metropolitan area. The principal tourist area of Sultanahmet and the Taksim business district escaped significant damage. The flooding affected roads between these districts and the international airport, and further disruption [read more]

Turkey: Protesters Demand End to Terrorist Attacks

Date: October 25th, 2007 |

No Comments

Outrage over a Kurdish attack that killed 12 Turkish soldiers near the Iraqi border prompted spontaneous protests against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) all over the country Oct. 21-22. Thousands of people took to the streets to march against terrorism and to rally for Turkish nationalism. A consortium of labor unions and NGOs called for [read more]

Turkey: Detention and Fines for Playing Bingo!

Date: October 3rd, 2007 |

No Comments

Seven British tourists hoping to win a free drink playing bingo in a bar in Altinkum were arrested, detained for four hours and fined the equivalent of $97. Armed police swept in, insisted the tourists fill out forms identifying themselves, confiscated the bingo ball and then hustled them off by van to the police station. [read more]

Turkey: Bombing in Ankara

Date: May 23rd, 2007 |

No Comments

A powerful bomb exploded outside a crowded shopping mall in the capital city of Ankara May 22, killing six and injuring scores. No one immediately claimed responsibility, but PKK Kurdish rebels were suspected. The group ended a unilateral cease-fire May 18 and officials were wary of an attack. The bombing may be the worst incident [read more]

Turkey and Armenia: Normalizing Relations, Reopening Border

Date: October 14th, 2009 |

No Comments

After a century of hostility, Turkey and Armenia have signed an agreement to normalize relations, a deal that must still be ratified by parliaments of both countries. The agreement will reopen the border closed by Turkey in 1993 and call for a commission of independent historians to examine the question of genocide in 1915 and [read more]

Turkey: Insult Ataturk, Get Deported

Date: August 20th, 2009 |

No Comments

Not many tourists will strip naked and shout insults at the statue of a revered national leader, but the 19-year-old British man who did so in front of the Ataturk statue on the waterfront in Marmaris earned his punishment: deportation and banishment for five years. Turkish law calls for imprisonment for Turks who insult Ataturk, [read more]

Turkey: Istanbul Crime Down 25 Percent

Date: October 18th, 2007 |

No Comments

Istanbul is basking in the glow of a reduced crime rate revealed in a government report that shows crime for the first eight months of the year down 25 percent over the same period last year. Istanbul’s governor attributes the crime reduction to the use of new technology, opening new police stations, reinforcing security [read more]

Turkey: Bombing in Istanbul, PKK Cease-Fire

Date: June 13th, 2007 |

No Comments

A small bomb outside a clothing shop near the airport in the Istanbul district of Bakirkoy injured 14 people June 10. Officials blamed Kurdish militants for the attack. The device had been placed under a bench and shattered windows of nearby businesses, with injuries caused by flying glass. The incident occurred just two days before [read more]

Turkey: Spring May Bring Increased Terrorist Violence

Date: March 21st, 2007 |

No Comments

In an announcement March 15 the U.S. Embassy warned that the arrival of spring’s warmer weather has traditionally brought an increase in violence by the Kurdish separatist group PKK, and the same could be true this year. The Kurdistan Freedom Falcons (TAK) have also warned that they would attack tourist facilities, but no targets or [read more]