Fake Turkish Big Brother House

Nine young Turkish women thought they were part of a "Big Brother" reality show, but in fact had been tricked and locked up at a resort villa while the perpetrators allegedly sold their images on the Internet.

The nine were freed when Turkish military stormed the resort villa near Istabul on Monday. Britain's Sky News reports that the women knew something was wrong when the show failed to follow the usual format of putting them through tests and kicking some of them out of the house.

Sky News says that when the women demanded to be released, they were told they would first have to pay around $30,000 fine.

The private Dogan news agency in Turkey says the women had responded to an ad saying the show would be broadcast on a major Turkish TV station and had to sign a contract stipulating they could have no contact with their families or the outside world.

HaberTurk newspaper, quoting a person identified as the mother of one of the women, says the nine were not abused or harassed sexually, but were told to fight each other and to wear bikinis and dance by the villa's pool.

There were conflicting reports by Turkish media on how the authorities were tipped off. One says family members became concerned and called police, while another says one of the women was able to get word to a family member about their plight.

Turkish companies organize first Baghdad trade fair

The first commercial fair in the Iraqi capital since the US invaded the country seven years ago will be arranged by a Turkish company. Seventy-five Turkish companies will attend the fair to snap up their share of the $25 billion construction material market.

There have been no commercial fairs in Iraq since 2003, when US troops stormed the country to overthrow Saddam Hussein's dictatorship with a promise to bring democracy in the Middle Eastern nation. The US army succeeded in toppling the Iraqi ruler, but has failed to establish order in the country. Security is still the most essential issue for investors in Iraq, where dozens are killed by bombs nearly every day.

Forum Fuarcılık, a Turkish fair organization company, is arranging the fair, which will run between Sept. 27 and 29. A presentation on investment opportunities in Iraq will be organized as part of the fair. Additionally, the general directors of the construction, electricity and shopping center divisions of Iraqi public companies working under the auspices of the ministries of trade, industry and construction will hold special meetings during the fair to describe the opportunities available to Turkish companies interested in Iraq.

Protests rise as Turkish renovation work turns church into mosque

Istanbul - Restoration work that would result in an historic Greek Orthodox church being recognized as a mosque has caused uproar in Turkey, reported the daily Milliyet newspaper on Tuesday.

At issue is the 178-year-old St Dimitrios church in the northern Turkish village of Silivri.

The village was once a Greek settlement but, after the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne, ethnic Greek residents had to leave in a forced resettlement that swapped 1.5 million ethnic Greeks from Turkey for 600,000 ethnic Turks living in northern Greece. After the resettlement, the church was briefly used for prayers while work was underway to build a mosque for the new Muslim residents. A minaret was attached to the building, but its cross was never removed.

Later, the church was used for storage and as a stall. However, current work on the church is being billed as 'restoration of the Ortakoy Mosque,' causing an uproar.

'There is no doubt that this structure is a church. It's a church even if it was briefly used as a mosque,' said Turkish architect and college instructor Oktay Ekinci.

Adding to the grievances is the fact that the renovation work was approved by local leaders of the AKP Justice and Development Party, which runs the government at the national level. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said in the past that protecting minority rights is a priority in Turkey.

Turkish navy commandos capture pirates off Somalia

Turkish commandos captured five pirates in the Gulf of Aden on Friday as part of a NATO mission to combat piracy off the coast of Somalia, the military said.
The navy commandos, aided by a helicopter, raided a skiff as the pirates on board were about to launch an attack on a ship.

NATO member Turkey has sent a warship to the Gulf of Aden under an international mission deployed off Somalia since the turn of the year to try to prevent attacks.

Somali sea gangs, operating in the strategic shipping lanes linking Asia and Europe, have made millions of dollars in ransom from hijacking vessels in the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden.

Piracy has ballooned off the Somali coast in recent years where the sea gangs continue to defy foreign navies patrolling the vast shipping lanes linking Asia and Europe.

Turkish Food and Culture

I have always been keen in broadening my cooking repertoire and have been thinking about exploring Turkish cuisine. I have been doing a bit of research into the recipes and have found out some interesting things.

Turkish food is one of the three major cuisines in the world the other two being French and Chinese. It is made up of simple recipes which uses quality ingredients. The most popular dish in Turkey is Kuru Fasulye.

It is cooked in all regions of Turkey, particularly in winter. If no fresh meat is availble, dried meat is used. In some regions it is prepared without meat and it can also be cooked by replacing the meat with finely choped tripe or with “pastırma”. It is served with bulgur pilaf and vegetable salad.