Hidrellez is a religious-inspired festival celebrated May 5-6 in Turkey and the Turkic-speaking world. Roma in Istanbul celebrate it with particular gusto.
Since the 1980 military coup in Turkey, the May Day holiday in Istanbul had often been marked by violent confrontation between security forces and organized labor. This year, however, May Day proved festive, not combative.
Turkey is a secular Islamic country. But the Christian feast day of St. George is observed by thousands of Turkish women in a way that is completely unexpected.
On November 13, the governing Justice and Development Party released preliminary information on a democratization initiative designed to provide a civil solution to long-standing grievances aired by Turkey's Kurdish minority. At the time of the unveiling, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, described the initiative as a "fresh start" for Turkish-Kurdish relations.
It was the last weekend of November and Turks were celebrating one of the most important holidays on the Islamic religious calendar, Eid al-Adha (the Feast of the Sacrifice) or Kurban Bayrami in Turkish. It's the feast that commemorates Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son in a show of complete obedience to God.
The Tsarist-era Russian anarchist gadflies Mikhail Bakunin and Peter Kropotkin are widely credited with coming up with the slogan "anarchy is the mother of order." But on October 6, protesters mainly demonstrated that anarchy is the progenitor of destruction.
For decades the Turkish military has seen itself as the chief pillar of Turkish society, always ready to step in should civilian leaders stray from secular orthodoxy, as established by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey.
The holiday in Turkey has often seen violent clashes between protesters and police, and this year was no different. Riot police used water cannon and tear gas on protesters in the vicinity of Taksim Square. One law-enforcement officer and one demonstrator were injured, and numerous arrests were made.
Mustafa and his son, Ekin, are among the seasoned smugglers who have made numerous nighttime crossings over the mountainous Turkish-Iranian border to procure petrol in Iran for resale in Turkey.
