Blog
Page 32 / 164
Why are Islamic banks still so small?
We do not call them Islamic banks in Turkey. Banks are banks, administrative apparatuses. In the past, they were termed “Special Finance Institutions” and only after the…
Growing discontent against Syrians in Turkey
I was reading the key findings of the Transatlantic Trends (TTs) 2014 survey the other day. One of them is Turks’ growing discontent with immigrants. People do not seem…
Of fake housing bubbles and Syrian refugees
I have often been asked about the housing prices in Turkey lately. My questioners often want to confirm their sense that the housing bubble is going to burst, that a…
Time for a new reform agenda for Turkey
Turkey is currently in a political transition process – a very orderly one so far. Let me tell you what we know as of this Friday. We have a new President, a new prime…
Internal Migration Dynamics in Turkey
I think I first heard it from Bernard Lewis – Turks’ endless fascination in moving westwards. He writes of the move from Central Asia into Anatolia and the Balkans, and…
Without Turkcell, Erzurum would cease to exist
My niece Ela is seven. Yesterday we were chatting. She said, “my pattern is obvious. First I am skinny, than I put on weight. This is followed by a period of me getting…
No victor but so many victims anyways
Reading the Obama interview of Thomas Friedman in the New York Times, I have come to the conclusion that we still do not know how to go from diagnosis to policy action.…
Part-time terrorists and the dwindling Turkish-Iraqi trade
I was lately struck by a rather recent story from Gaziantep, Turkey. It is so ordinary and so horrible at the same time. It is about part-time terrorists and the…
The condition of women in Turkey is no laughing matter
Our deputy prime minister, Bülent Arınç, recently let slip his opinion that “women should not laugh in front of everybody” Why does he think so? Beats me. I think it’s a…
An unfortunate statement
I think the following should be the most unfortunate statement ever coming from a central bank official: “Inflation has been obstinately high lately. We have introduced…
Cohabitation alla Turca
Turkey is about to set sail in uncharted waters. Starting August 29, we are going to have a directly elected President. That is the date for the transfer of Office right…