Month: August 2021

Turkey’s president held a phone call Tuesday with Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan discussed bilateral relations and regional developments, according to Turkey’s Communications Directorate.

Source: Anadolu Agency

A mysterious metal monolith that appeared earlier this year in Turkey’s Sanliurfa province and was later revealed to be part of the unveiling of the country’s National Space Program has popped up this time in Diyarbakir province.

The metal slab has words carved in it in Gokturk script, the Old Turkic script, which mean “Look at the sky, see the moon.”

The monolith, which was placed near Zerzevan Castle for the promotion of an event set to be held in September in Diyarbakir, was met with astonishment by the local people.

The 2021 International Diyarbakir Zerzevan Sky Observation Event will be held on Sept. 2-4 at the 3,000-year-old Zerzevan Castle, which is on the tentative list of UNESCO World Heritage sites.

The monolith, which is considered a symbolic reflection of Turkey’s vision for space, will remain in the region during the event.

The sky observation event, which has been held by TUBITAK National Observatory (TUG) in southern Antalya province for 22 years, will be held in Diyarbakir this year.

It will be attended by professional and amateur astronomers and will bring together more than a thousand astronomy enthusiasts from Turkey and around the world.

Many seminars, competitions and workshops related to astronomy will be held during the event as part of Turkey’s National Space Program aimed at increasing the interest of young people in space.

Monolith first found in Gobeklitepe

The three-meter (9.8-foot) tall metal pillar was found on Feb. 5 in the middle of an empty field in Gobeklitepe, home to the world’s oldest temple site, in Sanliurfa province.

Many curious people visited the site to view the metal pillar and wondered about its meaning.

It attracted international media coverage before disappearing on the morning of Feb. 9 as part of planned publicity for Turkey’s new space program.

On Feb. 9, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan revealed that the mysterious monolith was part of the unveiling of Turkey’s National Space Program.

*Writing by Zehra Nur Duz

Source: Anadolu Agency

Prominent Turkish actor, playwright, poet, and stage director Ferhan Sensoy died at the age of 70 on early Tuesday, his theater Ortaoyuncular announced.

“We are deeply saddened by the loss of the founder of our theater, our master Ferhan Sensoy, in the hospital where he was being treated for a while, despite all the efforts,” announced Ortaoyuncular, the theater group veteran actor founded in 1980.

It expressed “condolences to all those who loved him…”

Sensoy’s ex-wife, Derya Baykal, wrote on Twitter: “We are so sorry, we lost my master, the father of my daughters…”

The artist, who was being treated at Istanbul Medical Faculty, died at around 2.30 a.m. (2330GMT on Monday). In July, he was hospitalized due to internal bleeding.

Born in 1951 in Turkey’s Black Sea province of Samsun, Sensoy was known especially for his unique and original works.

He graduated from the Theatre National de Strasbourg in France in 1974 and returned to Turkey the next year.

Sensoy, who trained many actors throughout his life and had presented his one-man show “Ferhangi Seyler” to the audience since 1987, renovated a historical Ses Theater in Istanbul’s teeming Beyoglu district and opened it under the name Ses 1885 in 1989.

In 1989, late Turkish actor Munir Ozkul handed over to Sensoy a symbolic award for traditional Turkish theater, titled Hasan Efendi Turban, named after a pioneering comedian.

Author of several books, Sensoy also played for several films and made his TV sketch program.

“He has written and staged unusual plays that have criticized current events using humor elements often based on language subtleties to the point of pushing the boundaries of the Turkish language, with a style that carries traces from various styles ranging from traditional Turkish theatre to epic theatre,” the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (IKSV) described Sensoy when he was given an honorary award in 2019.

Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy also took to Twitter to offer his condolences over Sensoy’s death.

“Turkish theater and cinema world has lost an important figure. It is with deep sadness that I learned of Ferhan Sensoy’s death. My condolences to the grieving family and all his admirers,” Ersoy wrote.

His fans also took social media to express their condolences.

Gani Mujde, a Turkis writer and satirist, described Sensoy as “the best writer in Turkey”.

“He danced with languages, and created his unique language,” he wrote on Twitter.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Turkey is taking all measures to prevent an oil slick from Syria from spreading to the Karpas coast of Northern Cyprus, the Turkish vice president said Monday.

“We are taking the necessary measures by mobilizing every means available that we have without giving any chance to the spill to turn into an environmental disaster,” Fuat Oktay told Anadolu Agency.

The relevant ministries “rapidly” discussed the situation during the day, said Oktay, adding Turkey’s Transport and Infrastructure Ministry will take the necessary measures at sea and the Environment and Urbanization Ministry on the Karpas coast.

Stressing that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is also following the developments closely, Oktay said: “We are in contact with Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Ersin Tatar and the TRNC authorities as well. The Turkish Embassy is [also] monitoring the matter closely.”

Air and sea units of the Turkish Coast Guard Command plan to carry out flights to determine the current position of the slick in the sea, he added.

A delegation with the General Director of Environmental Management will also head to the TRNC on Tuesday, he said.

The aim is to control the slick in the open sea before it reaches the shore, he said.

“In this context, all relevant organizations are mobilized and are closely following the issue,” he added.

“The progress of the oil leaking from Syria towards our island is closely being followed by the Prime Ministry, all relevant ministries and units in cooperation with the homeland Turkey,” TRNC Prime Minister Ersan Saner said according to a statement by the Prime Ministry.

“No one should doubt that whatever is necessary will be done to prevent our country from being harmed by this spill,” Saner added.

A crisis desk has been set up in the Prime Ministry to monitor the progression of the oil slick towards Cyprus.

A massive fuel oil leak occurred last week from a power plant in Baniyas, located on Syria’s Mediterranean coast, according to naval tracking firm Tanker Trackers.

Source: Anadolu Agency

More than 80 irregular migrants were held across Turkey, local sources said on Wednesday.

In the northwestern Kirklareli province, gendarmerie teams rounded up 18 migrants. The migrants, including Moroccan, Syrian and Afghan nationals, were held in the districts of Demirkoy and Kofcaz and near the Derekoy Border Gate, a land border crossing point between Turkey and Bulgaria.

The migrants claimed that they were beaten up in Bulgaria and sent to Turkey.

Another group of 63 irregular migrants was held by the Turkish Coast Guard off the coast of Bodrum in the Aegean Mugla province.

Migrants were sent to the local migration office after routine procedures.

Turkey has been a key transit point for irregular migrants who want to cross into Europe to start new lives, especially those fleeing war and persecution.

Turkey, which already hosts 4 million refugees, more than any country in the world, is taking new security measures on its borders to prevent a fresh influx of migrants.

*Writing by Zehra Nur Duz

Source: Anadolu Agency

A magnitude 5 earthquake struck off Turkey’s western coast on Tuesday, the country’s disaster authority announced.

The quake jolted the Altintas district of Kutahya province at 2.04 p.m. local time (1104GMT), according to the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD).

It occurred at a depth of 12.07 kilometers (7.5 miles) below the surface, it added.

Provincial Governor Ali Celik told Anadolu Agency that there have been no reports of damage or casualties.

“I talked to the local village authorities, but no damage has been reported yet,” said Celik adding that teams continue to work in the area.

*Writing by Jeyhun Aliyev from Ankara

Source: Anadolu Agency

Turkey has administered more than 94 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines since launching a mass immunization campaign in January, according to official figures on Tuesday.

Over 48.28 million people have gotten their first vaccine dose, while more than 37.1 million are fully vaccinated, the Health Ministry said.

Turkey has also given third booster shots to over 8.54 million people.

The data showed that at least 77.77% of the country’s adult population has received at least one dose of a two-shot vaccine.

The ministry also reported 21,893 new coronavirus cases, while as many as 252 more people have died of the disease.

Earlier this month, Turkey expanded its intensive vaccination campaign to include everyone age 15 and over, as well as people 12 and over who have a chronic disease.

Meanwhile, a circular issued on Tuesday by the country’s Interior Ministry said those aged 18 and over who have not yet been vaccinated, or those who have not recovered from the disease must provide a negative PCR test early next month to participate in certain public activities.

The circular also said that a negative PCR test will be required for intercity trips by planes, buses, trains, and other public transport from those who are not yet vaccinated or from those who have not recovered from the disease.

As the country prepares for resuming face-to-face education five days a week beginning Sept. 6, the circular affirmed that negative PCR tests twice a week will be mandatory for unvaccinated teachers, staff, and university students when academic activities resume.

Since December 2019, the pandemic has claimed over 4.51 million lives in 192 countries and regions, with more than 217.4 million cases reported worldwide, according to the US’ Johns Hopkins University.

Source: Anadolu Agency

For the 729th day, a growing number of families in southeastern Turkey whose children have been abducted or forcibly recruited by the PKK terror group continued on Tuesday to protest to reunite with their children.

Kamile Kucukdag is one of the mothers protesting in the province of Diyarbakir for the return of her son, Engin, who was taken by the PKK as a minor seven years ago when he was 15 years old.

Coming from the southern province of Adana to join the sit-in protest in front of the office of the opposition Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), which authorities accuse of ties with the PKK, Kucukdag said being apart from her child was unbearable.

“God knows what I have been through for seven years. When I put my head down on my pillow, I don’t know where I am. I ask where my son is and burst into tears,” said the bereaved mother, urging her son to surrender to Turkish security forces.

In Turkey, offenders linked to terrorist groups are eligible for possible sentence reductions under a repentance law if they surrender.

The families have been protesting since Sept. 3, 2019, calling their children to lay down their weapons and turn themselves in to Turkish authorities.

The demonstrations started with three mothers who said their children had been forcibly recruited by the terrorists.

The PKK terror group, which is listed as a terrorist group by Turkey, the US, and the EU, has been responsible for the deaths of at least 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants in its more than 35-year terror campaign against Turkey.

Father Omer Tokay, who also joined the sit-in protest for his son, said he would continue to fight for his child’s return.

Tokay underlined that soon, the protest in Diyarbakir would enter its third year and that the families there were determined not to leave until they are reunited with their children.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Provincial gendarmerie forces in northwestern Kirklareli held 13 irregular migrants, including Iraqi, Palestinian and Afghan nationals, who had illegally entered Turkey, said the sources, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

In Tekirdag, another northwestern province, nine irregular migrants – all Bangladeshi nationals – were held while traveling in taxis.

The taxi drivers were arrested for alleged human smuggling, the sources said.

Turkish forces also held 14 irregular migrants, including Palestinian, Afghan, Syrian, and Egyptian nationals, in the western Aydin province.

The migrants were referred to the provincial migration office.

Meanwhile, the Turkish Coast Guard rescued 120 asylum seekers of the coast of Aydin and 39 others off the coast of the southwestern Mugla province.

They were pushed back by Greek coastal authorities.

* Writing by Ali Murat Alhas and Beyza Binnur Donmez in Ankara.

Source: Anadolu Agency