The occasional bicycle rack can be found near pedestrian promenades in Istanbul, such as the one pictured above on the Asian side of the city. But the city’s heavy traffic and reckless drivers discourage many would-be bicycle commuters. Developing a more bike-friendly Istanbul was the goal of BikeLab Istanbul, a workshop held in late December and […]
My precious ring! King Gyges of Lydia ruled over what is now western Turkey from 716 BC to 678 BC. The legend of his rise to power began when the young shepherd Gyges entered a cave and found a magical ring which gave him the power of invisibility. He used this ring to seduce the […]
Two to three thousand refugees flee Syria every day. Exhausted from traveling with what little they own and devastated by the many losses they have incurred along the way – their home, their country, every shred of security they ever knew and a shocking number of family members – they pour into bordering countries. The […]
Remember them in the movie Star Wars? Historic Turkish Wonder under threat from severe man-caused erosion in the coming years. A UNESCO World Heritage site, and a favorite backdrop for hot ballooning in Turkey, the iconic “fairy chimney” rock formations of Cappadocia, in central Anatolia, draw more than 1 million tourists to Turkey each year. Only […]
For Green Prophet, I often write about (let’s face it) depressing issues such as climate refugees and environmental conflicts in which everyone pays the price but I do sometimes get to write about some fun stuff too. That’s basically what is going into my top 5 Green Prophet blog stories of the year. These are the odd […]
A family was found dead on Thursday in Istanbul, reports Turkish daily Today’s Zaman, after carbon monoxide fumes from their coal-fired heating stove leaked out and poisoned them. Since 2002, carbon monoxide poisoning has claimed approximately 350 lives in Turkey, according to Turkish Interior Minister İdris Naim Şahin. In the southern province of Gaziantep alone, 2,771 residents […]
Turn to the ancients for a green building technique that lets you play like a child. Mesopotamian mud bricks still do the job, for free. Mesopotamia was the ancient collective of settlements tracing the Tigris–Euphrates river basin. It spanned modern Iraq, northeastern Syria, southeastern Turkey and smaller parts of Iran. Modern school kids learn this […]
Is it creepy or clever to peddle insurance against baby’s first diseases? Sure, new parents get showered with adorable gifts and well-intended advice, but then the downpour of unsolicited marketing arrives: for baby gear, for college saving plans, and now, in Jordan, for baby blood banking. An unusual building is rising in the desert outside Amman, […]
As Turkey moves to build its first nuclear power plant, there are troubling signs that the country’s nuclear energy institute is not monitoring nuclear hazards carefully. An abandoned lead factory yard used as a playground by local children in Turkey’s western İzmir Province contains high levels of radiation, according to Greenpeace Turkey, yet the Turkish Nuclear […]
One man’s efforts to prevent ecological disaster and to save Turkey’s birds is permanent ink tats on his arms. It was the close of the day for us birdwatchers at the Hula Valley Bird Festival in Israel. Our guides dropped us off where we were to dine, and while we waited, we talked to the “birders” – passionate […]
Turning child’s play into power Fun seems to be the one truly unlimited source of free energy. You can find it in the mountain villages of Turkey, the narrow streets of Jerusalem and the dusty villages of Jordan. Somewhere in Tehran or Cairo or Istanbul even as you read this, this energy is being generated […]
With the world’s fourth largest number of planned coal-fired power plants, Turkey is flouting international concern about climate change. As the United Nation’s climate change talks in Doha enter their second day, Turkey has been called out on its irresponsible climate policies with the “Fossil of the Day” award. Although Turkey has kept a low […]
In a bid to highlight our water use and waste, photographer Peter Holmes has created a series of memorable portraits of water use in different countries. “Statistics about water consumption are difficult to comprehend and are un-relatable to everyday life – this project attempts to make water consumption visible in a meaningful way.” Well, that’s […]
The Aras River basin is home to more than half of Turkey’s bird species, but a planned hydroelectric dam would alter the river’s marshy ecosystem, driving away the birds. That’s the fear of Çağan Şekercioğlu, president and founder of Turkey’s KuzeyDoğa wildlife preservation NGO. Green Prophet has written about Şekercioğlu’s groundbreaking research, teaching, and conservation work before. Now, […]
Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz walks to the podium to speak during a ceremony marking the start of exploratory oil and gas drilling by Turkey in the breakaway Turkish Cypriot northern half of Cyprus, near Singrasi village, in April. Turkey’s onshore wells near Singrasi came as hostilities ratcheted up between Turkey and the Cyprus Republic […]