My experience with the Turkish police was problematic. As a tourist I was accosted by a man on moped, but because the perpetrator didn’t rape me or manage to steal my bag, the police weren’t interested in my complaint. New infuriation with the police stirs: Istanbul police officer takes selfie as a man a man commits suicide […]
An Istanbul-based design firm has teamed up with one of the fathers of vertical gardens to liven up a bespoke restaurant in the city. Autoban and Patrick Blanc from France lined an wall with lush greenery, giving the space something of a jungle aesthetic that stands in direct contrast with some of the cold hard materials inside.
There are roughly 150,000 stray cats and dogs in Istanbul alone, and with so many other problems to deal with, city officials aren’t likely to make them priority. One Turksih company came up with a brilliant solution to feed some animals and recycle plastic at the same time.
Turkish archaeologists have unearthed what Discovery News calls the ‘Byzantine iPad.” Dated to the 9th century A.D., the wooden tool was found among a shipyard of roughly 37 ancient ships in Istanbul. The original ‘iPad’ measures roughly seven inches, except it’s thicker and made of wood, and comprises five overlaid carved rectangular panels coated with wax, Discovery reports. “Yenikapı is a phenomenon with its 37 […]
GAD Architects stacked a series of recycled shipping containers on top of a fancy shopping mall in Istanbul to create this remarkable modern day bazaar. Officially it’s a food court, but in practice, it is so much more.
Turkey inaugurated the Marmaray undersea railway tunnel on Tuesday, linking Europe and Asia. It is the Marmaray, the world’s deepest immersed tube tunnel at 60.46 metres (198.4 ft).
International media is streaming updates on Syria, Big Brother antics by USA and UK intelligence services, and British buildings that can melt cars, but hardly a word on continuing protests in Turkey. And they are continuing despite chronic under-reporting by Turkish press.
India’s rupee is dropping fast against the American dollar, but the world’s biggest market crash may happen in Turkey if the management of Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar is to be believed.
The Yedikule neighborhood of Istanbul is on edge as bulldozers recently razed two gardens that have been cultivated for the last 1,500 years, The Atlantic Cities reports. This is taking place in tandem with the ongoing Gezi Park saga despite a court’s ruling that the latter should not be cleared to make way for a shopping […]
With the dust of social anger still unsettled in Taksim Square and on the same day that U.S. President Obama unveiled his groundbreaking climate action plan, 500 young climate activists from around the globe have gathered in Istanbul to mobilize strategies for a cleaner energy future. Is the pendulum finally swinging green?
Davide Martello transported a self-made grand piano from his home town in Konstanz, Germany to Taksim Square in Istanbul with peace on his mind. Previously the scene of total mayhem, the square turned into a one-man recital as the young pianist stunned onlookers with an original composition called “Lightsoldiers.”
Central Istanbul looks like a war zone as shells of burnt out vehicles simmer after a long day of confrontations between riot police and anti-government protestors at Taksim Square yesterday.
Turkey’s Taksim square protest flared up last week when police took drastic measures to clear activists from Gezi Park- slated for destruction to make way for yet another shopping center. But that’s not the only unsustainable project the government is pursuing in the name of economic growth. We list 5 of the major ones.
Motivation behind Turkish demonstrations is more complicated than protection of public green space. Spotty media coverage blurs underlying causes; a real-life case of not seeing the forest for the trees.
Turkey is in the news for its social protests which may also be linked to this: a new Turkish law bans late night alcohol sales and requires boozy products to be smacked with warning labels.
It started as a peaceful protest against mall construction in Gezi park in Istanbul’s Taksim Square, and it quickly led to a full-blown protest – Arab Spring style – against Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The social protests currently sweeping through Turkey started with a dozen men and women who parked their tents in Gezi Park – one of the last remaining green spaces in central Istanbul – to protest a shopping mall development. One woman has died. (Update: We haven’t been able to confirm this with any major newspapers […]
Whether or not a 100,000 square meter office complex could possibly come with even a net environmental benefit is debatable, but the fact that a design wrapped in green won an international competition for such a complex signals a potential shift in Turkey’s urban planning.
Like many countries in the Middle East/North Africa region, Turkey is undergoing rapid expansion and that’s not necessarily a good thing, especially since so many developers are perpetuating an archaic building model that involves a lot of concrete and glass and often completely disregards the need to preserve existing vegetation or plan for climatic concerns. […]
Turkey’s booming aviation industry is planning new development that will wipe out over half a million old-growth trees. Istanbul aims to build its third airport on nearly a square kilometer of previously pristine forest in the northern, European part of the city, on Lake Terkos near the Black Sea. With six runways and an annual […]
I recently spent a weekend in Istanbul, one of my most beloved cities. My hotel was based in Fatih, the run down section of the old town, and it overlooked the Little Aya Sofya mosque – also spelled Sophia, or Sofia. The morning before I flew, I thought it would be the perfect moment to […]
All over the Middle East and North Africa, governments are feeling the energy pinch, and each has a different solution. Morocco and Algeria are turning to solar energy, so are Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, while Jordan seems more intent on exploiting its oil shale reserves to bridge the soaring gap between supply and […]
Istanbul residents have been dreading this moment: construction has broken ground on an enormous International Financial Center designed to position the Turkish economy among the world’s top ten. Despite some green concessions, including green roofs, on-site renewable energy generation, and plenty of urban green space, locals who must contend with greater traffic congestion and other […]
The Sea of Marmara is swamped with plastic pollution and other byproducts of our rampant consumerism, but according to ONZ Architects, the issue is “swept under the carpet” and most residents of Istanbul faced with continued development look the other way. The designers’ strategy to encourage a new awareness involves sweeping that carpet right back out […]
A natural retreat from the traffic and crowds of Istanbul, the 296-hectare Atatürk Arboretum, above, receives few visitors. But it contains more than 2,000 foreign and native plant species, including some species that can’t be found anywhere else in Turkey. Situated within the city’s Belgrade Forest, the arboretum is a research site for Turkish and foreign scientists, […]