Tag: turkey

Subsurface Structures Detected at Göbekli Tepe

Archaeological investigations at Göbekli Tepe in southeastern Türkiye have revealed rectangular architectural features, possibly used as dwellings. These were found beside the site’s well-known circular enclosures. The discovery offers fresh insight into how ritual and daily life coexisted in one of the world’s earliest Neolithic settlements.

Survey Methods and Discovery

Under the umbrella of the Heritage for the Future and Stone Mounds (Taş Tepeler) initiatives, researchers from Istanbul University, the German Archaeological Institute, and Freie Universität Berlin carried out integrated geophysical surveys, including geomagnetic mapping, ground-penetrating radar (GPR), and lidar scanning.
These subsurface investigations have identified not only the well-known circular pillars and enclosures but also rectangular structural traces that could represent early dwellings.

From Monumental to Domestic: Interpreting the New Structures

Project director Prof. Necmi Karul explained that the rectangular formations are concentrated primarily on the eastern and southern slopes of the mound. He described this phase as a shift toward documenting previously undisturbed zones.

Earlier this year, the removal of olive trees allowed full-scale measurements for the first time. This helped clarify the site’s boundaries and guide future excavations.

Geoarchaeology Reveals New Insights

Led by Prof. Barbara Horejs of the Austrian Archaeological Institute, geoarchaeological studies used high-resolution scans to identify a large building and several smaller house-like structures. Her team emphasized the importance of ongoing analysis in guiding future excavation strategies.

Highlights of the 2025 Excavation Season

  • Life-size human statue: Discovered between Enclosures B and D, the sculpture features a clearly defined head and torso. It complements earlier finds such as the wild boar statue.
  • Restoration of Enclosure C: Conservation teams stabilized the walls, repaired erosion damage, and re-erected columns to protect the monumental complex.

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Turkey arrests alleged Israeli Mossad spy

Turkey’s intelligence service announced the arrest of an alleged Israeli spy in Istanbul during a joint operation, state media reported on Friday.

“Serkan Cicek, who was identified as working for the Israeli secret service Mossad, was detained as a result of a joint operation carried out by the MIT [Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization], the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, and the Istanbul Provincial Police Department’s Counter-Terrorism Branch,” Turkish state-owned Anadolu Agency reported on Friday. 

Cicek, a detective, had reportedly worked with Musa Kus and lawyer Tugrulhan Dip in the past, both “arrested for spying for Israel” and accused of providing personal data from public records to detectives “in exchange for financial gain,” Anadolu added.

The report further claimed that Cicek had been in contact with a member of Israel’s Online Operations Center named Faysal Rasheed, and had admitted to allegedly conducting surveillance on a Palestinian activist.

The statement accused Cicek of being contacted on July 31 by Rasheed, who reportedly was posing as a member of a foreign law firm. Rasheed then allegedly hired Cicek to surveil a Palestinian activist in Basaksehir, paying $4,000 in cryptocurrency; an offer which Cicek accepted “despite knowing his associate Kus had been jailed for spying for Israel.”

Turkey frequently arrests individuals on charges of espionage, particularly those involving foreign intelligence agencies such as Israel’s Mossad. Authorities have detained dozens of suspects over the past year.

Relations between Turkey and Israel have soured in recent years in light of Ankara’s condemnation of Israel’s extensive military campaign in the Gaza Strip following Hamas’ October 7, 2023 incursion.

In November 2024, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erodgan announced that Turkey has cut all ties with Israel.

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Turkey wary of Israeli threat following airstrike on Hamas in Qatar

An Israeli strike on a meeting of Hamas officials in Qatar has cast a cloud of growing concern across Turkey that it could be the next target.

Turkish Defense Ministry spokesman Rear Adm. Zeki Akturk warned in Ankara on Thursday that Israel would “further expand its reckless attacks, as it did in Qatar, and drag the entire region, including its own country, into disaster.”

Israel and Turkey were once strong regional partners, but ties between the countries ran into difficulties from the late 2000s and have reached an all-time low over the war in Gaza sparked by the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack in southern Israel. Tensions also have risen as the two countries have competed for influence in neighboring Syria since the fall of Bashar Assad’s government last year.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been a long-standing supporter of the Palestinian cause and of the Palestinian militant group Hamas. The Turkish president has criticized Israel, and particularly Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with strident rhetoric since the start of the Gaza war, accusing Israel of genocide and likening Netanyahu to Nazi leader Adolf Hitler.

Hamas officials regularly visit Turkey and some have taken up residence there. Israel previously accused Turkey of allowing Hamas to plan attacks from its territory, as well as carrying out recruitment and fundraising.

Erdogan is close to Qatar’s leaders and Turkey maintains strong military and commercial ties to the emirate. He is due to travel to Qatar this weekend for an Arab and Muslim leaders’ summit.

After Israel’s attacks on the territory of Iran, Syria, Yemen and now Qatar, Ankara is bound to be concerned by Israel’s ability to freely use the airspace of neighboring states.

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Tens of thousands protest against legal crackdown on Turkey’s main opposition party

Tens of thousands of people protested in the capital Ankara on Sunday against a court case that could oust the head of the main opposition on Monday after a year-long legal crackdown on hundreds of its members.

Live footage showed crowds chanting for President Tayyip Erdogan’s resignation while waving Turkish flags and party banners.

The court decision on Monday whether to invalidate the 2023 congress of the Republican People’s Party (CHP) over alleged procedural irregularities could reshape the party, rattle financial markets and influence the timing of a general election set for 2028. The court could also delay the ruling.

Speaking at Sunday’s rally, CHP leader Ozgur Ozel said the government was trying to cling to power by undermining democratic norms and suppressing dissent following opposition victories in local elections over the past year.

Ozel also called for a snap general election.

TURKISH OPPOSITION VOWS TO RESIST

“This case is political. The accusations are slander. Our comrades are innocent. What’s being done is a coup — a coup against the future president, against the future government. We will resist, we will resist, we will resist,” Ozel said in his address to the crowd.

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‘Political Coup’: Turkish Opposition’s Istanbul HQ Seized By Police Amid Clashes

Istanbul is on edge and on the brink of more violence amid Erdogan’s ongoing crackdown on the country’s main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), which on Sunday urged citizens and residents of Istanbul to take to the streets and gather after police set up barricades in areas around its Istanbul headquarters.

Authorities are blaming CHP officials for causing unrest while disrupting the public order, after hours of mayhem. The scene outside CHP Istanbul Provincial Headquarters was of tense police clashes with protesters, after which the court-appointed interim leader of CHP finally entered the party’s office under police protection.

Last Tuesday a top Turkish court annulled the results of the CHP’s 2023 Istanbul provincial congress, over alleged bribery that influenced delegate votes. This resulted in the court-ordered the dismissal of the board members elected at that congress.

The CHP has rejected the ruling and the bribery claims in particular, arguing that the court has no authority to override final decisions made at the party congress.

The court had named former CHP deputy chair Gürsel Tekin as interim provincial head, replacing Özgur Çelik. The CHP plans will hold an extraordinary congress on September 21, to reassert autonomy and fight back against what it says is a politically motivated persecution by Erdogan and his ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party).

The state-backed targeting of CHP leadership, by the AKP-stacked courts (among law enforcement institutions and prosecutors as well), has only increased in the wake its widespread success in the 2024 local elections.

Clashes amid the fight to defend CHP HQ from police enforcing court ordered leadership change…

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Corrupt Democrat Rep. Caught Taking Bribes

In 2013, U.S. Representative Henry Cuellar and his wife took a seemingly routine trip to Turkey and Azerbaijan, funded by an obscure Houston-based nonprofit. 

What followed, federal prosecutors now allege, was a years-long scheme involving foreign influence, money laundering, and one of the most serious indictments ever brought against a sitting member of Congress.

According to a federal indictment unsealed last week, Cuellar and his wife accepted nearly $600,000 in bribes from two foreign entities: Azerbaijan’s state-owned oil company, SOCAR, and Mexico’s Banco Azteca. 

Prosecutors allege that Cuellar, a Democrat from Laredo, Texas, used his office to advance the interests of these entities in exchange for payments disguised as consulting fees to shell companies owned by his wife. 

The indictment accuses Cuellar of acting as an unregistered agent of a foreign government—a rare charge previously brought against Sen. Bob Menendez in 2023 for working on behalf of Egypt.

The Cuellars allegedly funneled money through front companies, spent it on luxury items such as a $12,000 gown and restaurant bills, and concealed the transactions through intermediaries. 

One of those intermediaries, Florencio “Lencho” Rendon, a longtime associate of Cuellar, has already pleaded guilty to money laundering. So has Colin Strother, Cuellar’s former chief of staff and campaign manager, who prosecutors say funneled monthly payments to Cuellar’s wife.

Prosecutors claim the payments began in 2014, shortly after Cuellar’s trip to Azerbaijan. In text messages and emails, Cuellar allegedly communicated directly with Elin Suleymanov, then Azerbaijan’s ambassador to the U.S., discussing contracts, payments, and legislation favorable to the country. 

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Ancient ‘female-centered’ society thrived 9,000 years ago in Çatalhöyük

Ancient DNA from Stone Age burials in Turkey has finally put to rest a decades-long debate about whether the 9,000-year-old proto-city of Çatalhöyük was a matriarchal society. The research finally confirms what experts have long suspected: Women and girls were key figures in this agricultural society.

“With Çatalhöyük, we now have the oldest genetically-inferred social organisation pattern in food-producing societies,” study co-author Mehmet Somel, an evolutionary geneticist at Middle East Technical University in Turkey, told Live Science in an email. “Which turns out to be female-centered.”

The new research was published Thursday (June 26) in the journal Science.

Located in south-central Turkey, Çatalhöyük was built around 7100 B.C. and was occupied for nearly 1,000 years. The vast settlement — spread over 32.5 acres (13.2 hectares) — is known for its houses that were entered from the roofs, burials beneath the house floors, and elaborate symbolism that included vivid murals and a diverse array of female figurines.

When archaeologist James Mellaart first excavated Çatalhöyük in the early 1960s, he interpreted the numerous female figurines as evidence of a matriarchal society that practiced “mother goddess” worship, perhaps as a way of ensuring a good harvest following a major economic transition from foraging to cereal-based agriculture.

In the 1990s, Stanford archaeologist Ian Hodder took over excavations at Çatalhöyük, and his research suggested instead that the society was largely egalitarian, without meaningful social or economic differences between men and women.

To further investigate the social organization at Çatalhöyük, in a new study, a team of researchers that included both Somel and Hodder analyzed the DNA of 131 skeletons dated to between 7100 and 5800 B.C. that were buried beneath house floors.

The researchers connected 109 people across 31 buildings and found that all first-degree relatives (parents, children and siblings) were buried together in the same building, while second-degree (uncles, aunts, nephews, nieces and grandparents) and third-degree relatives (such as first cousins and great grandparents) were often buried in nearby buildings. This suggests that nuclear or extended families had a role in structuring Çatalhöyük households, the researchers wrote in the study.

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Florida Authorities Bust Massive Global Child Pornography Ring — Over 1M Videos Seized, Including Infants Sexually Assaulted

Florida authorities have obliterated a monstrous international child pornography network, seizing over one million videos and images depicting the sexual abuse of children—including helpless infants.

Eight degenerates, including seven Florida residents and a Turkish kingpin, now face the wrath of the law for their roles in this stomach-churning operation.

The bust, spearheaded by Florida’s Statewide Prosecution and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), uncovered a sophisticated dark web operation with ties to Turkey, where the alleged ringleader, Emre Bozuyuk, laundered money through hacked financial accounts.

But the most damning revelation? Many of the buyers found this filth through TikTok.

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, a father of three, didn’t mince words at Monday’s press conference, calling the perpetrators “truly evil” and vowing to lock them away where they’ll “never see the sun again.”

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Tensions escalate as US, Turkey, Israel race to carve up Syria

The tragedy of Syria is a message to the whole world of how the political West’s aggression can destroy an entire nation and push what was once a civilized society into the madness of the Dark Ages. The so-called “Syrian Civil War” that started in 2011 pushed the unfortunate country into a bloodbath for nearly a decade and a half. It should be understood that the very notion of “civil war” in this case is false, as Syria was faced with a brutal and truly unprovoked crawling NATO aggression on virtually all sides. The political West used tens (if not hundreds) of thousands of Islamic radicals from all over the world to invade Syria while also suffocating the country with crippling sanctions, blockades, isolation and even direct attacks every once in a while.

Worse yet, these sanctions were still in place even when a devastating earthquake hit the border area between Turkey and Syria back in 2023. While Ankara got aid from over 90 countries that sent nearly 150,000 people to help with disaster relief, Damascus was left to fend for itself, with the US/NATO refusing to lift some of the sanctions which would’ve enabled aid to reach Syria. Combined with well over a decade of constant warfare, all these factors contributed to the weakening of the central authority. By late 2024, inflation was so high in Syria that a regular terrorist fighter had a higher salary than even generals in the Syrian Arab Army. This crippled the country’s ability to sustain its economy, leading to a total disaster in early December last year when Assad fell.

Ever since, the situation has only gotten worse, with the new terrorist “government” engaging in the slaughter of Alawites, Christians and other minorities. It should also be noted that loyalist Sunnis were also targeted, particularly those who were protecting their Alawite and Christian neighbors. For most Syrians, the diversity of their ancient society was always seen as an asset rather than a liability, which is why they rejected the EU/NATO-backed barbaric murderers who hijacked their country. Unfortunately, there was little they could do to prevent the takeover of Syria. Now that the terrorists are in charge, the actual Syrian Civil War has only started, with minorities desperately trying to survive. Those who haven’t already been slaughtered are now fighting back with any means at their disposal.

Others were lucky enough to reach the safety of Russian military bases in Tartus and Khmeimim. Thousands are housed there, with the Russian military being the only thing standing between them and certain death. In stark contrast, the political West is now carving up Syria and facilitating the destruction of its once-vibrant society. Namely, the United States, Turkey and Israel are supporting various factions and terrorist groups, most of whom are now officially integrated into the new “government”. However, this facade of institutional unity is slowly crumbling as the interests of the occupying foreign powers keep diverging. The US, which supports several factions, including the Kurdish-led SDF, as well as the so-called “Syrian Free Army” (SFA), is looking to expand its zone of control.

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Turkiye ‘wants no confrontation’ with Israel in Syria: FM

Turkiye’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on 4 April on the sidelines of a NATO foreign ministers’ meeting that his country does not want a confrontation with Israel in Syria.

“Turkey wants no confrontation with Israel in Syria” after the massive wave of attacks Tel Aviv launched on the country in recent days, which have “undermined the new government’s ability to deter threats,” Fidan told Reuters. 

The Turkish foreign minister added that Israel’s actions in Syria are paving the way for instability in the region. 

He added that if Damascus wishes to have “certain understandings” with Israel, then that is “their own business.”

His comments came one day after a Turkish Foreign Ministry statement called Israel the “greatest threat” to peace in West Asia, condemning dozens of Israeli airstrikes that hit several military sites in Syria on Wednesday.

“Israel has become the foremost threat to the security of our region through its attacks on the territorial integrity and national unity of the regional countries. As a strategic destabilizer in the region, Israel causes turmoil and fuels terrorism,” the statement issued on 3 April reads, which also calls on Israel to withdraw from land it occupied, particularly Syria. 

The Israeli air force launched over a dozen airstrikes on various cities in Syria on 2 April, targeting the Barzeh scientific research center just outside Damascus, the Hama military airport in western Syria, and the T4 airbase near Palmyra. The Hama airport was almost completely destroyed.

Israeli airstrikes also hit the countryside of Syria’s southern Deraa governorate.

According to a report by Middle East Eye (MEE) on 1 April, the Turkish military has been preparing plans to take control of the T4 airbase, which had been bombed by Israel several times before the strikes on Wednesday. 

Plans included the installation of air defense systems, and construction has reportedly begun already. Turkiye has been illegally occupying Syria since 2016, with its enmity towards Kurdish militant groups serving as the main pretext for its presence there. 

It operated two illegal military bases prior to the fall of former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad’s government, and is reportedly planning to establish at least two more, which could potentially be used to train the forces of the new administration.

Following the latest Israeli attacks, Israeli Army Radio reported that the “primary goal” of the late-night blitz was to “send a warning to Turkish President Erdogan.”

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