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Young people sit on the stairs next to the Roma bostan to take in the view. Lorena Rios

Its former mayornow Turkeys authoritarian presidentsaid the Gezi Park protests of 2013 were merely for the sake of a few trees. Today, activists are struggling to preserve green space against a sea of government-supported construction.

The first time I milked a cow was three years ago, Rana Soylemez, a 30-year-old Istanbulite, admits. The historic city is known around the world for its beauty, but only 2 percent is classified as public green space.

I am not dreaming about living in rural areas, Soylemez says, inside a hidden caf surrounded by a lush canopy of trees in a trendy central neighborhood. You [shouldnt] have to escape the city if you want a quality life, she adds. You dont have to be part of this madness; we can change it.

Istanbuls population has risen from 1 million to 14 million since 1950. Its current construction boom is a trademark of Turkeys ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).

Holding a firm grip on procedures such as zoning permits, building licenses, land allocation, and the selection of companies in public tenders, the AKP uses construction as leverage to achieve its goals. Currently, $64 billion in government funds are earmarked for big infrastructure investments like airports, bridges, motorways, and hospital complexesprojects as utilitarian as they are controversial.

Turkeys president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, dreams of positioning his country among the worlds top ten largest economies by 2023. In 2013, then-Minister of Transport, Maritime Affairs, and Communication Binali Yildirim boasted a 10-year, $250-billion infrastructure portfolio. Yet many locals resent trading green public space and heritage for glitz and glamour. City government attempts to soften the environmental damage from the building boom include planting about 26.5 million tulips across the city every year. Its a mostly appreciated effort, as tulips were very symbolic for the Ottomans and people still value them; however, the occasional sight of security guards standing in front of Taksim Squares new flower beds takes away from the pleasantness.

While Istanbul won European Capital of Culture in 2010, it lost its bid this year to become the European Green Capital. Erdogans Turkey Vision 2023 differs greatly from the dreams of citizens like Soylemez who want to protect green space from further development and privatization.

Soylemez is part of a small group of volunteers tending the Roma bostan (Turkish for garden) in the heart of the city. The bostan grew out of the 2013 Gezi Protests. Hundreds of thousands gathered in Istanbuls main square at the time to support environmentalists after the government announced it would demolish it for a mosque and a shopping center. The construction of the mall has been halted, but work on the mosque is underway. The protests, which Erdogana former mayor of Istanbulpublicly denounced as being for the sake of a few trees, served as an awakening for those unhappy with the governments murky policies and exclusionary planning process. At least three protesters at Gezi Park were killed and 8,000 injured at the hands of Turkish security forces.

Roma Bostan sits on a hill in the affluent neighborhood of Cihangir, facing the historical peninsula, the throne of the Ottoman and Byzantine Empires. During the violent dispersal during Gezi, protesters retreated from Taksim Square into nearby narrow streets to find shelter. Since then, the neighborhood has kept an anti-establishment reputation with anti-AKP youth often hanging out in its bars and cafes.

Striking domes and minarets unfold in all directions, but a city block of concrete buildings and construction cranes now obstructs the once-impeccable view of the Bosphorus strait from the one-acre garden. By law, Roma Bostan is designated as public space, but its prime location in front of the sea makes it a likely candidate for development. In fact, the municipal government now wants to turn it into a four-story caf, but the plan has faced opposition from a small group of activists.

Cinhangir is full of cafs, Soylemez says intensely. The last thing we need is another place to drink tea.

Roma Bostan is well-known locally as a spot where people bring their own drinks and sit on the hill to enjoy the view. In 2015, Soylemez joined a group to get visitors to stop leaving their trash behind and turn it into a place where people can grow their own food and still socialize.

Today, the garden now grows 20 different fruit species and runs on a permaculture design that saves water while fostering a sense of community. The bostan is mostly funded out of pocket, a smiling Soylemez says. We have a donation box and receive donations of seedlings and chicken manure from local farms. A pizza restaurant in the neighborhood gives us ash from their ovens to enhance soil, she adds. The people who still gather next to the garden to enjoy a few beers stopped littering. And Soylemez, who lives near the garden, now picks up fresh produce whenever she feels like it.

There are instances across the country of people standing up to AKP-supported, environmentally destructive constructionfiling lawsuits and collecting signatures, facing tear gas and police brutality in the process. In the Black Sea Region, locals have resisted the erection of hydroelectric plants and power plans at the expense of the environment. Back in February 2016, the small province of Artvin, for example, blocked roads, set tents, staged protests, and earned the title of a junior Gezi from Erdogan. Their resistance managed to keep the mining projects away, but their fight will continue, as Turkeys High Court recently rejected the 2016 cancellation of the project.

Construction is a visible act of development, of a bustling economy, explains Aslihan Demirtas, an architect based in Istanbul and New York City. Its a show. Your open spaces are always prone to being converted overnight into a 20th floor condominium.

On August 2016, Turkey inaugurated the Yavuz Sultan Selim bridge, $3 billion USD project that connects Istanbuls European and Asian sides. Work on a new airport, is expected to cost $14 billion and will be Europes biggest when it opens. It will also will wipe out 15,000 acres of forested land and disrupt more than 300 bird habitats and flight paths.

It is estimated that Istanbul will lose about 2.7 million trees from its northern forest with the construction of these two projects combined. Such initiatives are works of political and financial maneuvering that leave the government indifferent to the environmental impact. The [airport] and the [bridge] going through the northern forest is a natural crime, Demirtas says. Its an incision in the lungs of Istanbul. That will leave a scar.

Other megaprojects include the Eurasia Tunnel, an undersea motorway between the European and Asian shores of the Bosphorus, and a highwaycomplete with a suspension bridgefrom the industrial hub of Gebze outside Istanbul to Turkeys third-largest city, Izmir. Theres also Canal Istanbul, a man-made waterway still in the planning stage, and Three-level Big Istanbul Tunnel, the worlds first three deck undersea tunnel.

Istanbul can only have more green spaces if half of the city is destroyed by the upcoming earthquake, Ali Taptik, an Istanbul-based artist trained as an architect, says glumly. (The city sits on an active fault line.)

In the construction industry in Turkey everything is managed for immediate profit. People want to see immediate economic benefit, he says. It's the commodification of Istanbul. This approach makes it difficult for architects and urban planners to develop projects that value cultural wealth and heritage. It is not the environment vs. the city; it doesnt work that way, he adds. We need to limit construction.

This goes for proposed parks, too. Taptik and Demirtas are outspoken activists for the protection of the Yedikule Bostan, a memorial garden along Istanbuls ancient city walls. Gardening in the Yedikule Bostan is a 1,500-year-old practice, and the architects along with a group of historians, environmentalists, artists, and concerned civilianscame together to protect the space in 2013 after the government announced plans to turn it into a modern public park.

The activists want to protect not only the heritage and historical value of the Yedikule Bostan, but also the livelihoods that the particularly green and fertile land sustain. Takptik says the park proposal, which would include cafes, an artificial river, and paving over of the bostan, is unnecessary and another step towards the citys commodification. The citys plan instantly sparked a heated debate. Activists wanted to see the bostan preserved while residents supported the park proposal.

We consider the bostan and the bostanci [gardener] our cultural heritage, Demirtas explains. So we acknowledge that our fighting is very paradoxical; fighting to prevent a privately cultivated land from becoming a publicly usable park.

Gardeners and ecological activists have been the best supporters of Yedikule, Taptik says. Their work has stopped the municipalitys plan to build a park and has given visibility to the cultural and historical heritage of the garden. For the people behind Roma Bostan, their resistance has also yielded fruit. The neighborhood association where the garden is located just won a court case that forbids the municipality from building over existing green spaces.

Since Gezi, a lot of community gardens emerged from the movement with the name of bostans, Taptik continues. They have been called gardens of resistance.

Correction: A previous version of this article misspelled the name of Aslihan Demirtas.

Lorena Rios is a freelance journalist formerly based in Istanbul. She now resides in New York.

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Making Room for Nature in Erdogan's Istanbul - CityLab

Email a copy of "Turkish President Erdogan Resumes Incitement Against Israel Over Temple Mount Crisis" to a friend

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has talked of the Judaization of Jerusalem. Photo: File.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoganstoked the flames of Palestinian violence on Sunday morning, as he warned that Israel could not expect the Islamic world to remain unresponsive after the humiliation Muslims suffered with the restrictions at the Noble Sanctuary a reference to the new security measures instituted by the Israelis at Jerusalems Temple Mount thathave been presented across the Muslim World as further evidence of a Zionist plot to take full control of the ancient holy site.

Erdogan made the comments as he departed for an official visit to the Arab Gulf states, where he is attempting to mediate the festering political crisis that has pitted a Saudi-led coalition against the pro-Iranian emirate of Qatar. The Turkish leader also accused Israel of violating fundamental human values, the Turkish newspaper Hurriyet reported.

Erdogan who assumed near-dictatorial powers following an April referendum in Turkey has jailed more than 50,000 people without charge in the wake of last years failed coup against his continued rule.A consistently bellicose supporter of the Palestinians, Erdogan has frequently made antisemitic remarks, along with veiled threats to the Turkish Jewish community.

July 24, 2017 10:33 am

As The Algemeiner reported on Friday, a fascist party aligned with Erdogans own AKP Party instigated a violent protest outside Istanbuls Neve Shalom synagogue, forcing its unprecedented closure for shabbat services this week.

Turkey is increasingly regarded by supporters of the Palestinians as their most important source of solidarity at state-level. At a protest outside the Israeli embassy in London on Saturday, during which Muslim activists burned and stomped upon Israeli flags, Turkish flags were as much in evidence as Palestinian ones.

Muslim protesters in London wave Turkish and Palestinian flags at a July 22 protest. Photo: Screenshot.

Israels control of security at the entrances to the Temple Mount sitehas been a constant theme of Erdogans incitement against the Jewish state. In May, he declared that Turkey had a historical responsibility towards Jerusalem, given the Ottoman Empires control of the city for 4 centuries. The Muslim world had to embark on unifying efforts to protect Jerusalem against attempts of Judaization, Erdogan asserted.

Each day that Jerusalem is under occupation is an insult to us, Erdogan told a conference of Islamist clerics, going on to slam Israel as racist and discriminatory.

Continued here:
Turkish President Erdogan Resumes Incitement ... - algemeiner.com

ISTANBUL/ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan heads to the Gulf this weekend in an attempt to patch up the rift between Qatar and its neighbors, but the firm Qatari ally may find himself with little room to maneuver as a mediator.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt cut ties and imposed sanctions on Qatar last month, accusing it of supporting terrorism. Doha denies the charges.

In what has become the region's worst diplomatic crisis in years, the neighbors have since issued more than a dozen demands, telling Qatar to close down Al Jazeera television, curb relations with Iran and shutter a Turkish military base.

Erdogan has said the demands are unlawful and has called for an end to the crisis, citing the need for Muslim solidarity and strong trade ties in the region.

"We will work until the end for the solution of the dispute between the brotherly nations of the region," he said in comments after prayers on Friday. "Political problems are temporary, whereas economic ties are permanent, and I expect the investors from Gulf countries to choose long-term ties."

While looking to defend Doha, Erdogan is also wary of alienating its neighbors. He will visit Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar during the two-day trip that starts on Sunday.

The UAE was Turkey's seventh-largest export market last year, worth $5.4 billion, while Saudi Arabia was No. 11 and Egypt was No. 13, according to official data. Turkey also wants to sell defense equipment to the Saudis.

"This visit, in a way, would help to demonstrate that despite its positioning as a firm backer of Doha, Turkey still has the ability to dialogue with the other countries at the highest level, primarily Saudi Arabia," said Sinan Ulgen, a former Turkish diplomat and an analyst at Carnegie Europe.

Nonetheless, Ankara is negotiating from a "handicapped position", given its vocal support for Qatar, he said.

"In terms of how much Ankara can accomplish and how effective the potential mediation role that Turkey could undertake, the expectations are quite low in that regard."

The dispute has so far proven intractable and Erdogan has said Saudi Arabia should solve the crisis.

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson shuttled between Gulf countries last week but left without any firm signs the feud would be resolved soon. On Friday, Tillerson said he was satisfied with Qatar's efforts to implement an agreement to combat terrorist financing, and urged Arab states to lift the "land blockade".

Qatar, while not a major trade partner for Turkey, holds strategic importance not least because of the military base established by Ankara after a 2014 agreement. Turkey says as many as 1,000 soldiers could eventually be stationed there.

There are also ideological ties.

Qatar's neighbors have demanded it end support for groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood, seen by Gulf countries as a threat to their dynastic rule. Erdogan, whose roots are in political Islam, backed a Muslim Brotherhood government in Egypt before it was overthrown in 2013.

"There has been diplomatic traffic before this visit. There have been high-level talks," a Turkish official told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity. "There is a climate in which some concrete steps can be taken."

On Friday, Qatar's emir called for dialogue to resolve the crisis, saying that any talks most respect national sovereignty. In his first speech since the ties were severed, a defiant Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani described his country as facing an unjust "siege".

That is a sentiment that Erdogan firmly shares.

"Qatar is being hard done by," the Turkish official said. "It is important for the whole region to eliminate this injustice."

Additional reporting by Daren Butler in Istanbul and Ece Toksabay in Ankara; Editing by Mark Trevelyan

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Backing Qatar, Erdogan may have little room to maneuver in ...

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan is putting at risk his countrys centuries-old ties to Germany, Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said in a newspaper interview, as tensions escalate between the NATO allies.

Bilateral relations have deteriorated following the arrest by Turkey of six rights activists, including one German, two weeks ago as part of a wider crackdown since a failed coup against Erdogan in 2016.

He is jeopardising the centuries-old partnership.

It is dramatic, as there is really a lot that connects us. But we cant allow ourselves to be blackmailed, the minister said in an interview with daily Bild published on Monday.

Chancellor Angela Merkels chief of staff said on Sunday that Turkeys behavior was unacceptable and Germany had a duty to protect its citizens and companies, but also wanted to maintain strong bilateral ties.

Tensions were already high after bitter recriminations during a referendum in April on extending Erdogans powers and a pullout of German troops from a Turkish air base that began this month.

Ankara has refused to let German lawmakers visit soldiers at two air bases.

Volker Kauder, head of Merkels conservative bloc in parliament, said this was unacceptable.

It worries me that we have a NATO country that forbids visits by other NATO members, Kauder told broadcaster ARD.

This is an intolerable situation and we must say clearly to Turkey: this is not on.

Germany has warned its nationals traveling to Turkey that they did so at their own risk, and Schaeuble was quoted on Friday as comparing Turkey with the former communist East German state, the German Democratic Republic.

In March, German authorities barred Turkish ministers from speaking at mass rallies of expatriates backing the presidents referendum campaign.

Erdogan responded by accusing Berlin of fascist actions.

The activist arrests were part of a broader crackdown since last years failed coup.

No fewer than 150,000 people have been sacked or suspended from jobs in Turkeys civil service, military and private sector and more than 50,000 have been jailed.

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Erdogan gambling with centuries-old ties to Germany: Minister - Vanguard

Istanbul - Seventeen directors and journalists from one of Turkey's most respected opposition newspapers go on trial on Monday after spending over eight months behind bars in a case which has raised new alarm over press freedoms under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The suspects were detained from October last year under the state of emergency implemented after the July 15, 2016 failed coup blamed on the US-based preacher Fethullah Gulen.

The opposition fears the emergency has been used to go after anyone who dares defy Erdogan and if convicted, the defendants face varying terms of up to 43 years in jail.

The trial is seen as a test for press freedoms under Erdogan in Turkey, which ranks 155th on the latest Reporters Without Borders (RSF) world press freedom index, below Belarus and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

According to the P24 press freedom group, there are 166 journalists behind bars in Turkey, most of whom were arrested under the state of emergency.

Erdogan, however, insisted in an interview earlier this month there were just "two real journalists" behind bars in Turkey.

Blank space columns

Cumhuriyet (Republic), which was set up in 1924 and is Turkey's oldest mainstream national title, has been a thorn in the side of Erdogan in recent years.

It is one of the few genuine opposition voices in the press, which is dominated by strongly pro-government media and bigger mainstream dailies that are increasingly wary of challenging the authorities.

A total of 17 staff of the newspaper - including writers, cartoonists and executives - will go on trial from 06:00 GMT at the imposing palace of justice in Istanbul.

Those appearing in court include some of the best known names in Turkish journalism including the columnist Kadri Gursel, the paper's editor-in-chief Murat Sabuncu and the respected cartoonist Musa Kart.

Also being tried in the case is the investigative journalist Ahmet Sik who in 2011 wrote an explosive book "The Imam's Army" exposing the grip Gulen's movement had on the Turkish state.

The book was initially banned and caused a sensation when published on the internet as "000Kitap" ("000Book").

Eleven of the 17 suspects including Gursel, Sabuncu, Kart and Sik, are held in jail with the other six free under judicial supervision.

Being tried in absentia in the case is the paper's former editor-in-chief Can Dundar, who was last year handed a five-year-and-10-month jail term over a front-page story accusing the government of sending weapons to Syria.

He has now fled Turkey for Germany.

Those held will on the first day of the trial have been imprisoned for 267 days, with the exception of Sik, who has been held for 206 days.

Since their arrests, Cumhuriyet has continued publishing the columns of the jailed journalists but with a blank white space instead of text.

'Turkish journalism on trial'

Supporters have labelled the charges against the newspaper staff as absurd and simply an attempt to muzzle the newspaper.

They are charged with supporting in the newspaper's writings no less than three groups considered by Turkey as terror outfits -- the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), the ultra-left Revolutionary People's Liberation Party-Front (DHKP-C) and Gulen's movement, which Ankara calls the Fethullah Terror Organisation (FETO).

But supporters insist that the paper has always been bitterly critical of the three groups, including Gulen's organisation. Gulen denies any link to the failed coup.

The indictment accuses Cumhuriyet of beginning a "perception operation" with the aim of starting an "asymmetric war" against Erdogan.

"It's journalism in Turkey, not just Cumhuriyet, that is being put on trial," said RSF secretary general Christophe Deloire.

"Journalists are yet again being treated as terrorists just for doing their job," he added.

The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, in an opinion released last month, said it found that the detention of the staff was arbitrary and that they should be immediately released and given the right to compensation.

It said that their imprisonment "resulted from the exercise of their rights and freedoms" and said it was concerned by the "vagueness" of the charges of aiding terror groups.

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Turkey puts on trial 17 staff from anti-Erdogan daily - News24