Duvar English Podcasts

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on July 10 announced that Hagia Sophia will be opened to Muslim worship after the Council of State – the highest administrative court in the country – ruled that the building’s conversion to a museum by modern Turkey’s founding statesman was illegal.

The first prayers at the iconic sixth-century structure will be held on July 24.

“With this court ruling, and with the measures we took in line with the decision, Hagia Sophia became a mosque again, after 86 years, in the way Fatih the conqueror of Istanbul had wanted it to be,” Erdoğan said.

In this week’s episode, Duvar English’s editor-in-chief Cansu Çamlıbel and pollster Can Selçuki discuss the underlying factors behind President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s decision to convert Hagia Sophia back into a mosque. They analyze the possible reasons for Erdoğan to risk burning bridges with the West as well as the significance of the timing of the announcement.

Çamlıbel and Selçuki seek an answer to the key question: whether this move indicates Erdoğan is poised to call for a snap election before the end of this year.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on July 10 announced that Hagia Sophia will be opened to Muslim worship after the Council of State – the highest administrative court in the country – ruled that the building’s conversion to a museum by modern Turkey’s founding statesman was illegal.

The first prayers at the iconic sixth-century structure will be held on July 24.

“With this court ruling, and with the measures we took in line with the decision, Hagia Sophia became a mosque again, after 86 years, in the way Fatih the conqueror of Istanbul had wanted it to be,” Erdoğan said.

In this week’s episode, Duvar English’s editor-in-chief Cansu Çamlıbel and pollster Can Selçuki discuss the underlying factors behind President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s decision to convert Hagia Sophia back into a mosque. They analyze the possible reasons for Erdoğan to risk burning bridges with the West as well as the significance of the timing of the announcement.

Çamlıbel and Selçuki seek an answer to the key question: whether this move indicates Erdoğan is poised to call for a snap election before the end of this year.

In this week’s episode, Duvar English’s editor-in-chief Cansu Çamlıbel hosts Future Party leader Ahmet Davutoğlu to discuss the vision of his new political party. The interview also provides candid answers from Davutoğlu, who served as foreign minister from 2009 to 2014 and as prime minister from 2014 to 2016 in Erdoğan governments, on some crucial episodes of the Turkish foreign policy in last decade when he was in a position to influence policy in Ankara.

In this week’s episode, Duvar English’s editor-in-chief Cansu Çamlıbel hosts Future Party leader Ahmet Davutoğlu to discuss the vision of his new political party. The interview also provides candid answers from Davutoğlu, who served as foreign minister from 2009 to 2014 and as prime minister from 2014 to 2016 in Erdoğan governments, on some crucial episodes of the Turkish foreign policy in last decade when he was in a position to influence policy in Ankara.

Duvar English’s editor-in-chief Cansu Çamlıbel and pollster Can Selçuki discuss what is happening in Turkish politics in the light of last week’s move by the government to strip the parliamentary statuses of three opposition politicians. They try to find answers to what President Erdoğan tries to achieve by ordering the jailing of three opposition politicians now, whether there is a snap election looming and whether there is still need for an election alliance of the opposition parties.

Duvar English’s editor-in-chief Cansu Çamlıbel and pollster Can Selçuki discuss what is happening in Turkish politics in the light of last week’s move by the government to strip the parliamentary statuses of three opposition politicians. They try to find answers to what President Erdoğan tries to achieve by ordering the jailing of three opposition politicians now, whether there is a snap election looming and whether there is still need for an election alliance of the opposition parties.

In this edition of Turkey: The Long View, Duvar English columnist Luke Frostick is joined by the president of P.E.N. Turkey, an international organization dedicated to protecting the rights of writers around the world.

In this edition of Turkey: The Long View, Duvar English columnist Luke Frostick is joined by the president of P.E.N. Turkey, an international organization dedicated to protecting the rights of writers around the world.

Duvar English’s editor-in-chief Cansu Çamlıbel and pollster Can Selçuki are joined by former Turkish diplomat Aydın Selcen to discuss the latest foreign policy moves of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) government. While analyzing the consequences of Turkey’s military involvement in Libya, they look for answers whether Ankara could manage to turn its “military success” into viable polities. They also debate if a new Turkish military intervention into Syria looms on the horizon.

Duvar English’s editor-in-chief Cansu Çamlıbel and pollster Can Selçuki are joined by former Turkish diplomat Aydın Selcen to discuss the latest foreign policy moves of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) government. While analyzing the consequences of Turkey’s military involvement in Libya, they look for answers whether Ankara could manage to turn its “military success” into viable polities. They also debate if a new Turkish military intervention into Syria looms on the horizon.