★ Ruling Justice and Development Party Deputy Chair Numan Kurtulmuş told the pro-government daily Yeni Şafak that the June 2023 presidential and general elections may take place sooner.

  Mr. Kurtulmuş said that it depends on the circumstances. However, early elections are currently not on the administration's agenda, he added.

  There are different opinions about if Mr. Erdoğan, the current president, can stand as a candidate due to the term limits.

  Experts say that if he cannot stand as a candidate, early elections may allow him to be a candidate.

★ On Wednesday, a Turkish appeals court upheld Osman Kavala's life sentence, reports Agence France-Presse.

  Osman Kavala is a critic of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. He is a businessman and a philanthropist.

Erdoğan administration accused him of bankrolling nationwide protests of 2013, which the government claimed were seeking to overthrow the Erdoğan regime.

  There were seven other defendants that the courts sentenced to 18 years each.

  Turkey's Supreme Court can still review the sentencing.

  Critics say that Mr. Kavala is innocent. Erdoğan administration wants to make him an example to others who may be critical of his administration.

★ According to the Turkish daily Duvar, Istanbul Metropolitan area Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu has slammed interior minister Süleyman Soylu during a press conference for the latter's accusations that some of the municipality's staff have affiliations with terrorist groups.

  İmamoğlu said the Constitutional Court ruled to ban security investigation for the personnel to be recruited by public institutions in response to the ministry's claim that the municipality requested no security investigation for the new recruitments.

  İmamoğlu added that they requested the names of personnel allegedly linked to "terrorist organizations" from the ministry when this debate stirred one year ago, but officials denied the request.

  "In the meantime, they haven't taken any legal action against those they claim to be terrorists," he added.

  Lastly, Mayor İmamoğlu said Soylu was dangerous to national security and the ruling Justice and Development Party.

  Mr. İmamoğlu is from the opposition Republican People's party. He wrested the mayoralty from the ruling Justice and Development Party in the 2019 local elections. The daily Duvar writes that infuriated by losing Turkey's largest city to the main opposition, the Justice and Development Party administration has been making him face investigations on bogus charges.

  The daily adds that despite these attempts, Mr. İmamoğlu's job approval rate has been increasing in the public opinion surveys.

★ According to Reuters, on Wednesday, Hulusi Akar and Ali Mahmoud Abbas, defense ministers of Turkey and Syria, held talks in Moscow in a clear sign of normalization between the two countries in the decade-long Syrian war.

  During the Syrian war, Mr. Erdoğan's administration took the size of the rebels, openly arming various factions, including some Islamic fundamentalist groups.

  In the meeting between the two defense ministers, the intelligence chiefs of the two countries were also present.

★ According to daily Duvar, Turkey lowered gas prices by 43% for places of worship, including cemevis, and 16% for industrial consumption. The lower prices will be effective from the first day of 2023.

  The move came after Russia reportedly postponed Turkish gas importer and distributor BOTAŞ's $20 billion debt.

  Turkish President Erdoğan also announced this week that the total volume of natural gas discovered in the Black Sea now amounts to 710 billion cubic meters after one more field emerged. Experts, however, say that the existence of gas fields may be conjecture and that the Erdoğan administration is trying to influence the public for the upcoming elections in the new year.

★ On Wednesday, President Erdoğan eliminated the retirement age requirement for two million Turks, reports Reuters.

  Analysts see the elimination as another move to get more votes in the 2023 elections.

  Last week, the daily Duvar reported that Mr. Erdoğan's administration increased the minimum wage by 55% to $455 in local currency. However, economists say that this won't help with the massive inflation.

  The opposition Future and Progress Party leader Ali Babacan criticized the hike and said the inflation rate is close to 200 percent. Babacan called the government to hold early elections in March.

★ Between December 28-30, Art of İst Atölye exhibited video installations of 28 artists. The videos consisted of the memories artists had while drawing their works.

  Artist Asuman Savuk was the curator of the exhibition.

  The name of the exhibition was "After Yesterday Before Tomorrow." It not only displayed  the artists' works but also showed how they made them.

  The exhibition aimed to present the most realistic and libertarian way to live and draw for the pleasure of the visitors.

  The exhibition, where different techniques meet with charcoal, met with art lovers at Bakırköy Yunus Emre Cultural Center - Çetin Emeç Exhibition Hall.

★ Netflix announced that Turkish-made series and movies increased interest in Turkey.

  According to the Cultural Affinity Research carried out by Netflix in 7 countries, interest in visiting Turkey increased 2.6 times increased by those who watch Turkish productions. Interest in learning Turkish also increased by 4.6 times.

  The country where the interest in Turkish has increased the most is the U. S.

  According to a statement from Netflix, the company continues to deliver Turkey's original stories to 190 countries.

  "Olive Tree" and "Yakamoz S-245", which entered the "Top 10 TV Series" list in 45 countries in 2022, are among the popular productions.

★ According to Deutsche Welle, a survey found that Turkish döner kebab ousted currywurst as fast food favorite in Germany.

  Known here in the U. S. sometimes as "gyro," döner kebab gets abbreviated to "döner." Turkish workers who started going to Germany in the 1960s and 70s introduced it to Germans.

  Annual sales of döner in Germany were $3.5 billion in 2011. Just in Berlin alone, there are 1000 döner outlets, and every day Germans consume an average of 400,000 tons of it.

  In addition to Germany, other European countries also have thousands of döner outlets.

  Döner contains thin strips of seasoned meat cooked on a vertical rotisserie.

  Turks invented the vertical rotisserie in the 19th-century Ottoman Empire, and dishes such as Arab shawarma, Greek gyros, Canadian donair, and Mexican al pastor are derivations from this.

  The word "döner" means "rotating" in Turkish.

★ Make-A-Wish Turkey chapter prepared T-shirts, dubbed the "Wish upon a Star," for the new year. Twelve renowned designers helped in the design.

  Mehtap Elaidi, a Make-A-Wish board member and a designer, led the work to design the T-shirts.

  Among the designers that participated are Özgür Masur, Simay Bülbül, Eda Güngör, and Nihan Peker. Turkey's leading fashion company Vakko is making the Make-A-Wish T-shirts.

  The Make-A-Wish Foundation is a nonprofit organization founded in the United States that helps fulfill the wishes of children with critical illnesses between the ages of 2 1/2 and 18. In addition to the Turkish affiliate, it has 38 others in other countries.

  The Turkish affiliate has made the wishes of 4915 children and teenagers come true in 22 years.

★ Yaren Yachting of Turkey is about to complete the design of its electric catamaran yacht, reports the Turkish daily Ekonomim. The production will start in 2024, the company officials say.

  Nail Civelek, The CEO of the company, says that environmental sensitivity is gaining more importance among the Marine industries and boat users. The boat under design will have solar panels on its external surfaces.

  Yaren has been making conventionally powered yachts for the past 15 years.

★ Turkish daily Cumhuriyet writes that private theater troops are having a difficult time in Turkey. Although after COVID, social life started returning to normal, theater troops are still under the influence of unemployment and lack of funds.

  Due to inflation, rents that they pay to performance venues also increased dramatically. In addition, the taxes they have to pay have also increased.

  To cope with these difficulties, theater troupes are shunning large and attractive productions and staging simple and plain productions.

★ Göbeklitepe, the ancient Neolithic site in southeastern Turkey, revealed new findings. Harran University scientists announced that in drilling the soil, they found pollens dating back to 13,600 years at a depth of 30 feet.

  The scientists hope to find what the flora was when humans erected unusual structures at the site. So far, they discovered pollens for willow, walnut, pine, fir, and juniper trees.

  Among other lesser plants, artemisia or water speedwell, dandelions, a wild plant related to chrysanthemums, and various types of grass were present.

★ On December 23, Renowned Turkish psychedelic band Baba Zula had a special concert in Kadıköy to honor Turhan Selçuk's 100th birth year.

  Selçuk passed away in 2010. He was the chief cartoonist for the daily Cumhuriyet and had a cult following.

  Artists, writers, and journalists spoke later at the event.

★ Turkey has declared 2023 the year of Aşık Veysel, reports the daily Cumhuriyet. There will be many activities honoring him throughout the year.

  UNESCO is also honoring him.

  Aşık Veysel passed away 50 years ago. He was a folk poet and a troubadour. Due to smallpox, he lost his vision at the age of seven.

  Being blind did not prevent him from learning how to play the traditional long-necked lute bağlama, write poetry and compose them into simple but powerful melodies.

  He was born in the Sivrialan village of the Şarkışla district of the Sivas province in East Central Turkey.

  Many musicians arranged Veysel's melodies into classical music and guitar melodies. Veysel used a wide range of themes for his lyrics; based on morals, values, and constant questioning of issues such as love, care, beliefs, and how he perceived the world as a blind man.

Ankara, in central Turkey        : 48/32 Mostly Sunny
Antalya, on the Mediterranean    : 66/50 Mostly Sunny
Erzurum, in Eastern Turkey       : 39/12 Mostly Sunny
Istanbul, in northwestern Turkey : 57/43 Partly Cloudy
Izmir, on the Aegean             : 63/45 Partly Cloudy
Trabzon, on the Black Sea        : 55/43 Mostly Sunny