Author: Ekrem Güzeldere

The sign for the Kazova shop and cultural centre, Istanbul (photo: Ekrem Guzeldere)

Istanbul's Kazova textile co-operative

Fighting on alone

Kazova, a textile firm that began production in 1947 but went out of business in January 2013, is about to re-open as a workers' co-operative. The 11 men and women who want to relaunch Kazova following the conclusion of the legal proceedings relating to the closure of the factory have a motto: "production without a boss". They were inspired by the spirit of Gezi. By Ekrem GuzeldereMore

"Open Forums" in Turkey: New forms of participationTurkey a year after the Gezi protests: The dream is overInterview with Turkish composer Tolga Yayalar: Inspired by the sound of GeziCulture in Turkey before and after Gezi: The end of Cool Istanbul
A Kobani solidarity demonstration in the centre of Erbil on 8 October (photo: Ekrem Guzeldere)

Turkey, IS and the Kurdish conflict

"Kobani is now everywhere"

The deputy chairman of the PKK, Cemil Bayik, accuses Turkey of supporting IS and consciously ending the peace process. He views the recent Turkish parliamentary motion authorising the use of force in Syria and Iraq as a preparation for war – albeit a war against the PKK rather than against IS. Difficult weeks now lie ahead for Turkey and the Kurds. By Ekrem Guzeldere in ErbilMore

Turkey, IS and the Kurds: Powder keg on the Turkish-Syrian borderMilitary strikes against IS: Fragile allianceIslamic State (IS): A totalitarian, expansive and hegemonic project
Breaking the fast in Brazil's "Islamic heartland", Recife. Photo: Ekrem Güzeldere

Ramadan in Brazil

Maintaining the tradition

The small Muslim community in the Brazilian metropolis Recife meets every evening in the city's only Muslim centre to break their fast with the iftar dinner. Most of the people in the community are African immigrants. Ekrem Güzeldere reportsMore

Muslims in Brazil: A culturally vibrant minorityQantara Dossier: RamadanThe Muslim Rohingya in Myanmar: In the shadow of an icon
Interior of the dome of the mosque in Jundiaì. Photo: Ekrem Güzeldere

Muslims in Brazil

A culturally vibrant minority

Brazil has a very small Muslim population, but it is one with a long history. The ancestors of many of today's Brazilian Muslims arrived in successive waves of immigration from Africa and Europe, later also from Syria and Lebanon. As Ekrem Güzeldere discovered, they are now a well-integrated minorityMore

The Muslim Rohingya in Myanmar: In the shadow of an iconAfghan refugees in Iran: Treated like second-class citizensMuslims in Laos: Hidden beyond the Mekong
The BDP's victorious candidate in Agri, Sirri Sakik (photo: Ekrem Guzeldere)

Local election re-run in Turkey

"My strategy is honesty"

On 1 June 2014, some local elections in Turkey were re-run after the results of the original polls were contested. Re-runs were held in the provincial capitals of Agri and Yalova. For the citizens of the eastern Anatolian city of Agri, the outcome was a surprise: the candidate of the Kurdish BDP party, Sirri Sakik, clearly prevailed against the ruling AKP, taking 51 per cent of the vote. Observations from Agri by Ekrem GuzeldereMore

Turkey's first Communist mayor: Great expectations, even greater challengesLocal elections in Turkey: Carte blanche for a crackdownLocal elections in Turkey: An erosion of Erdogan's legitimacy
Fatih Macoglu (photo: Ekrem Guzeldere)

Turkey's first Communist mayor

Great expectations, even greater challenges

Turkey's first ever Communist mayor was elected on 30 March. Turkish Communist Party (TKP) candidate Fatih Macoglu won 36 per cent of the 1,812 votes cast in the small town of Ovacik. He believes in people power, popular assemblies and investing in agriculture and tourism. By Ekrem GuzeldereMore

Local elections in Turkey: Carte blanche for a crackdownLocal elections in Turkey: An erosion of Erdogan's legitimacyThe Erdogan administration: Turkey's paradigm shift
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan waves to supporters from the balcony of the AKP's headquarters (photo: AP)

Local elections in Turkey

Carte blanche for a crackdown

The election result in Turkey was barely affected by last summer's Gezi Park protests, recent accusations of corruption against the ruling AKP and the on-going open conflict with the Gulen Movement. This is primarily due to the nation's economic situation and the fact that the AKP now controls most of the country's media outlets. By Ekrem Guezeldere in IstanbulMore

Eleven years of Erdogan: Hard times for the "champion" of political IslamLocal elections in Turkey: An erosion of Erdogan's legitimacyThe Erdogan administration: Turkey's paradigm shift
The memorial in Mazgirt (photo: Ekrem Eddy Güzeldere)

Memorial to the Dersim Rebellion in Turkey

Apologies and Forgiveness

A major Kurdish uprising took place 75 years ago in what was the province of Dersim (now the Turkish-named Tunceli Province). It was brutally crushed and ended with the death or deportation of thousands of villagers. Today, cautious steps are being taken to address this painful chapter of history. By Ekrem Eddy GüzeldereMore

Öcalan Announces PKK Peace Plan: Too Good to Be TruePeace Negotiations between Turkey and the PKK: Kurdish Conflict Threatens Erdogan's LegacyCapital Punishment Returns to the Turkish Agenda: A Message to Europe, a Warning to Kurds
The Mor Gabriel monastery (photo: Ekrem Eddy Güzeldere)

Syriac Orthodox Christians in Turkey

''This Is Simply Our Home''

In recent years, around 60-100 Syriac Orthodox families have returned from central Europe to Turkey. Encouraged by changes in the political atmosphere, the minority nonetheless faces a host of problems, from the expropriation of land belonging to a monastery, to a ban on special schools and kindergartens, and also a lack of places of worship in Istanbul. By Ekrem Eddy GüzeldereMore

Syriac Orthodox Christians in Turkey: A Cold Wind Sweeping the Tur AbdinTurkey's Aramaean MinorityMore Than : Just Mor GabrielMinorities in South-Eastern Turkey: Hope Mixed with Resignation
Afro-Turks during the Sixth Festival of the Calf (photo: Ekrem Güzeldere)

The Fate of the Afro-Turks

1

Nothing Left But the Colour

The Afro-Turks, whose ancestors came to the Ottoman Empire as slaves in the nineteenth century, are still struggling for recognition. Now, though, their desire to assimilate into the wider society has become greater than their desire to maintain their own identity. By Ekrem Eddy GüzeldereMore

Interview with Ishak Alaton: ''Turkey Needs a Mentality Revolution''Minorities in South-Eastern Turkey: Hope Mixed with ResignationThe Syrian Orthodox Lawyer Erol Dora: Source of Hope for the Christian Minority

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Most Recent Photo Essay

It all began in Dresden on 20 October 2014. Organised by a hitherto unknown movement calling itself "Pegida" (Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisation of the West), a small group of people took to the streets to demonstrate against what they saw as the Islamisation of the West. The banner reads "non violent and united against religious wars on German soil! PEGIDA". Although small, the march attracted a lot of attention in Germany and around the world.

Germans take to the streets: marching for and against Pegida

In the autumn of 1989, Dresden was one of the East German cities that became known worldwide for the peaceful "Monday demonstrations" against the government of the GDR that precipitated the fall of the Berlin Wall a few months later. One of the slogans chanted by the protesters at the time was "Wir sind das Volk" (We are the people). Twenty-five years on, a very different movement began organising weekly Monday demonstrations and chanting "Wir sind das Volk". In this photo gallery, we chart some of the reactions to Pegida and the developments relating to this anti-immigration and anti-Islam movement.