★ In his charm offensive, Mr. Devlet Bahçeli, the head of the extreme-right Nationalist Action Party, visited the pro-Kurdish DEM, the Equality and Democracy Party, politicians, reports the Turkish daily Duvar.

  Previously, Mr. Bahçeli was opposed to any talks with the pro-Kurdish parties. He had advocated the closure of these parties.

  The Justice and Development Party-led administration allowed The DEM party politicians to visit Abdullah Öcalan, the jailed leader of the Kurdistan Workers Party, an entity considered to be a terrorist organization by the U.S., European Union, and Turkey.

  Mr. Devlet Bahçeli's Nationalist Action Party is a coalition with the Justice and Development Party.

  Many in Turkey think that the two coalition parties want to get Turkey's Kurds and their politicians on their side for changes to the Constitution they propose.

  The Equality and Democracy Party leaders said that they are much more hopeful compared to the previous processes of rapprochement between Turkey and the Kurds.

★ According to the news outlet Bianet, clashes between the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the Turkish-backed groups intensified in the new year.

  SDF mainly contains the Kurdish YPG militia. The U.S. has supported them over the years.

  Turkey considers SDF and YPG a terrorist organization and an extension of the rebel Turkish Kurds who have bases across the border in northern Iraq.

★ Also in the headlines:

  -Istanbul's urban area grows 75 pct in 10 years, Dr. Şenol Hakan Kutoğlu from Zonguldak Bülent Ecevit University finds.

  -Turkish police arrested three suspects after a shooting at the Association of salvation churches in Istanbul, the Istanbul governor's office said in a statement on Thursday.

  -Turkish authorities suspended traffic in the Bosphorus Straight in both directions to search for two siblings who fell into the sea. The Straight is among the waterways with the heaviest traffic in the world.

★ According to the Istanbul Planning Agency, 2.7 million people out of 15 million live in poverty in Istanbul.

  The agency, affiliated with the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, conducted a study based on official data. The study found a deepening divide between the wealthy and poor in the city. In 2024, the richest 10% earned almost 14 times more than the poorest 10%. 40% of the people said they barely made a living. Nearly 56% of Istanbulites failed to pay credit card bills.

  The agency said that the primary problems of the people of Istanbul are the economy, traffic, and the anticipated earthquake.

★ The Turkish Statistical Institute disclosed the official inflation rate for December is 44%, a decline from the previous month of three points.

  However, the independent ENAG inflation research group said it was 83.4%.

  Mehmet Şimşek, The Finance Minister, said the decline in inflation will continue and that they expected inflation to be in line with the 2025 targets. He added that their priority is to solve the cost of living problem of the citizens.

  Last week, the government announced an increase of only 30% for the 2025 minimum wage.

  According to the Turkish daily Duvar, this week, the government announced that it will give a 16% increase to the pensions of the retirees. The lowest pension will be around 6500 Turkish liras, lower than the hunger threshold.

  According to the statistics by the Confederation of Turkish Trade Unions, the hunger threshold for a family of four exceeded 21,000 Turkish liras in December, and the poverty level was 68,675 Turkish liras, or $1942. Read the details >> here <<

★ According to Reuters, a survey among Turkish businesses showed that manufacturing in Turkey slowed down at the lowest rate in December compared to the past eight months.

  The purchasing managers index was 49.1 and neared 50, the threshold that indicates growth.

  Read the details >> here <<

★ The Irish magazine Evoke carried a review titled "Istanbul is a foodies paradise that is fast becoming a fashion capital."

  The article writes that breakfast in Istanbul is an indulgent affair. There is nothing continental about morning meals in the world's only transcontinental city.

  Just the breakfast may tempt you to travel to Istanbul.

  There is an abundance of street food. Among them are roasted chestnuts. In addition, there are many high-end restaurants.

  A four-day trip would not be enough to learn the 1600-year-old history from Byzantium to Constantinople and beyond. The megacity hosts 12 million tourists each year. Among them are many stars from Hollywood.

  Istanbul has many fashion and jewelry designers, also, with branches in major cities such as London, New York, and Dubai.

  Istanbul is also a hub for arts with many creative artists.

★ On January 2, Ferdi Tayfur, one of the most significant figures of Arabesk music in Turkey and a film actor, passed at a hospital in Antalya, reports the Turkish news outlet Bianet.

  Tayfur was born in Adana in 1945. At a young age, he was interested in music and began singing at wedding halls. He then participated in a music competition organized by the state-run Adana Radio. He came second and moved to Istanbul to work at a music hall.

  In the early 1970s, he came out with records. His breakthrough came in 1975 with the album "Fountain". He then starred in a film by the same name, attracting 12 million viewers.

  With succeeding hit songs, he became one of the leading representatives of Arabesk music.

  In 1993, a concert in Istanbul's Gülhane Park attracted over 200,000 people.

  Along with music, he starred in many Turkish films, composing the soundtracks for some of them.

  He also published books, among them "The Price of Fame" and "I Once Was a Tree".

  His funeral was held today in Istanbul.

★ ÇEV Sanat will hold its "Peace Concert," bringing together young artists and world-famous cellist Pablo Ferrandez, at Zorlu PSM on January 13.

  ÇEV Art President Berrin Yoleri will organize the concert, and the famous actress Ceyda Düvenci will volunteer as the presenter.

  ÇEV Sanat's young artists Defne Güngör (violin), İdil Bursa (cello), Tarık Kaan Alkan (piano), and cellist Pablo Ferrandez will perform for World Peace with the universal language of music, and conductor İbrahim Yazıcı will direct the performance.

  The work "Call to Peace," which Utar Artun wrote specifically for the concert, will be performed for the first time.

  Conductor Kerem Tunçer will conduct the premiere. He continues his music education at the Hochschule für Musik Hannover and will once again emphasize the contribution of music to the call for peace and unity.

★ The exhibition, titled "A Route Beyond the Limits of the Mind: Fikret Mualla," will showcase Fikret Mualla's works from the Bor Art collection at Erimtan Museum, a venue known for its innovative display of archaeological artifacts and interdisciplinary events that embrace contemporary museology practices.

  Organized in collaboration with Bor Art, the exhibition will present a refined perspective on the Fikret Mualla works from the Hancan Art Collection.

  Running from March to September, Dr. Ebru Nalan Sülün will curate this compelling exhibition.

  Fikret Mualla, one of the prominent figures in Turkish painting, was born in 1903 in Istanbul. He began his education at the Saint Joseph French School and later attended Galatasaray High School.

  The high school nurtured his interest in painting under the guidance of his art teacher, Şevket Dağ.

  In 1920, he was sent to Switzerland to study engineering but moved to Germany in 1921, enrolling in the Poster and Draftsmanship Department of the Munich Academy of Fine Arts.

  In 1922, he transferred to the Berlin Academy of Fine Arts, where he became a student of the renowned artist Arthur Kampf.

  After completing his education in 1926, Mualla returned to Turkey and began teaching art at Galatasaray High School in 1927. However, he resigned in 1928 and returned to Germany.

  Between 1928 and 1930, he stayed in France, then returned to Turkey in 1930 to teach art in Ayvalık.

  During this period, he illustrated famous works by Turkish poet Nazım Hikmet, including "Varan 3" (1930) and "Why Did Benerci Kill Himself?" (1932).

  Another milestone in his career was a book he published in 1932 about German playwright Friedrich Schiller.

  In 1934, he held his first solo exhibition at Kapps Bookstore in Istanbul's Beyoğlu district.

  In 1939, he painted various Istanbul scenes for the Turkish Pavilion at the New York World's Fair and later that year moved to Paris, where he joined Othon Friesz's workshop at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière.

  Since 1928, Mualla had struggled with psychological issues and stayed at hospitals at times. During a hospital stay in 1954, he held several exhibitions and participated in numerous shows in Paris and its surroundings until 1964. Fikret Mualla lived in France until the end of his life, leaving an indelible mark on the art world as one of the significant figures of Turkish painting.

★ On January 4, Antalya State Opera and Ballet kicked off the new year with the performance of Tosca.

  Tosca was composed by the Italian composer Giacomo Puccini.

  Directed by Yiğit Günsoy, Lorenzo Castriota, a renowned Italian conductor, was the conductor.

  The Antalya DOB Chorus, under the direction of Mahir Seyrek, Fahrettin Arda serving as the concertmaster, and Sinem Emine Ulusoy directing the children's chorus, contributed to the production.

★ On January 5, the "Kandinsky: A Journey with the Blue Rider" exhibition, celebrating the art of Vasily Vasilyevich Kandinsky, one of the pioneers of 20th-century modern art, will open at CerModern in Ankara.

  Known for his pivotal role in abstract art, Kandinsky emphasized the connection between music and color, influencing modern art's evolution.

  The exhibition provides a closer look at the Blue Rider movement, co-founded by Kandinsky and Franz Marc, which became a symbolic cornerstone of modern art.

  Visitors can explore how artists express the Blue Rider's themes through visuals, colors, light, and music. CerModern's Flow Digital Stage, which combines advanced digital technology with artistic interpretation, hosts the exhibition, creating a dynamic and interactive environment.

  The exhibition will be through March 30.

  Kandinsky was born in Moscow, spent his childhood in Odesa, and received his art education there.

  He later studied law and economics at the University of Moscow and was offered a professorship by an Estonian University. However, he went to Munich in 1896 and studied art there. Although he returned to Moscow after the First World War and worked with the Russian revolutionaries, he emigrated to Germany and taught art there.

  He eventually moved to France and became a citizen. He died there in 1944.

★ Archaeologists discovered An intriguing artifact in the ancient city of Pisidia Antioch in İsparta province in western Turkey.

  Archaeologists believe that the ancients used the artifact for cancer treatment.

  The artifact features a crab motive and inscriptions wishing for healing. It dates back to the Hellenistic period. The word "cancer" means "crab" in Latin.

  Antioch I established the city in 280 BCE. Among the 17 antique cities named "Antioch" in Turkey, scholars remember well only two of them: one is called "Antakya" (the ancient Antioch in Hatay province), and the other is Antioch of Pisidia.

  Both of them are renowned for their remarkable architecture and have significant roles in the early phases of Christian history.

★ Archaeologists discovered a Roman-era bath floor with large mosaics featuring crocodiles, eels, dolphins, and flamingos in the ancient city of Herakleia in Muğla's Milas district in southwestern Turkey.

  The Roman-era bath is the best-preserved structure, Dr. Zeliha Gider Büyüközer, head of the Latmos and Herakleia excavations and a professor at Selçuk University's Department of Archaeology, said.

  The mosaics appeared under six feet of debris.

  Before the excavations, the local farmers used the bath as a barn.