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Articles by Sophie Fullerton
The 'comped' price of the ticket—Chasing Jimmy through Istanbul
American writer and civil rights activist James Baldwin and pictures form his time in Istanbul. (Artwork by Zehra Kurtulus/Türkiye Today) The side street in Istanbul’s Sisli neighborhood is better known these days for its upscale menswear boutiques than for its theatrical history. But it was here, inside the smoke-filled Gulriz Sururi–Engin Cezzar Theater, that James Baldwin, the American novelist and civil-rights luminary, helped bring Turkish theater into the international repertoire.
The death penalty is putting America at odds with its allies
Of the 32 NATO member states, the United States is the only one that still practices capital punishment. So far this year, 29 executions have taken place across America. Most occurred in the politically conservative, Christian-dominated Southern states, also known as the Bible Belt. Executions are so common there that abolitionists refer to the area as the “Death Belt.” Christa Pike's execution was supposed to be the country's 30th of the year.
Forged by hand: Safranbolu’s last Ottoman locksmiths
Huseyin Sahin Ozdemir is living history, and he knows it. In late August, the locksmith invited us into his tiny workshop in the historic district of Safranbolu, Türkiye. It is here that he shapes iron and brass in 900-degree heat. The result: Ottoman-period keys, locks and nails for the town's still-functioning historic mansions and mosques. Traditional locks, keys and decorative metalwork fill the facade of Huseyin Sahin Ozdemir’s workshop in Safranbolu’s historic district, Karabuk, Türkiye.
'We are all Turkish': An Afro-Turk community that breaks the race script
Türkiye's Afro-Turk community has been deeply integrated into Turkish society for centuries. Mr. Musa, living in Aydin province, spoke with Türkiye Today in a traditional Turkish tea house. (Collage by Türkiye Today/Zehra Kurtulus) Musa sat across from me in a plastic lawn chair, working his light emerald-green tespih (prayer beads) through his fingers. Sitting next to him was his friend, whose piercing eyes could not hide his disapproval of my self-imposition on the two men's afternoon chai break.
Hidden contradictions in Laura Loomer’s pro-Ukraine pivot
For years, MAGA activist and far-right internet personality Laura Loomer had built her career on extremist claims that Muslims were infiltrating the West and that Ukraine was a state controlled by Nazis to intentionally defraud American taxpayers through its war against Russia.
Türkiye is NATO's second power, but why won't American universities study it?
American institutions have a problem. Universities and colleges across the U.S. have failed to evolve their regional studies programs to the geopolitical realities of today. Nowhere is this issue more evident than in the sidelining of contemporary Turkish studies within Middle Eastern and Eurasian programs.
From James Baldwin to modern exiles on Istanbul's Ebe Hanim Street
The Ebe Hanim Street in Istanbul's Beyoglu neighborhood is an alley tucked away from the surrounding chaos, and is easy to miss if you are not looking for it. The small street is bordered by Istanbul's unforgiving hills. During the summer months, Ebe Hanim turns into an outdoor communal living room with children playing football and neighbors reimagining the steep steps into sun loungers where gossip and observations go deep into the night.
My reality vs Naftali Bennett's: Tracing faith across Türkiye’s hidden Christian landscape
A photo collage combines the exterior of Aya Elenia Church in Sille with interior religious imagery and the Karamanli inscription written in Turkish using Greek letters, reflecting the site’s layered Eastern Roman and Ottoman-era history. (Photo collage by Türkiye Today team) During my first year in Istanbul, the Bulgarian St. Stephen Church became a quiet beacon for me each time I returned to the neighborhood of Balat.
Lifting Sanctions can Supercharge Syria’s Liberal Economic Opening
On May 13, U.S. President Donald Trump suddenly announced a "cessation" of sanctions during a major speech in Riyadh. The Syrian diaspora in the United States, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey has tirelessly advocated for sanctions relief for months after the shock collapse of the former Assad regime in December 2024. The decision possibly marks the start of a long-awaited reprieve from the widespread economic collapse plaguing Syria today.
There Are No ‘Safe Zones’ in Syria for Refugees Forced to Return Home
Israel's escalating war in Lebanon has displaced more than 1.2 million people across the country in recent weeks. Those displaced are not only Lebanese civilians but also an estimated 250,000 Syrian refugees who have fled back into neighboring Syria since Israel's bombing campaign began last month.
Rights are still under attack globally
There are times when it feels that the earth is shifting upon its axis. When the gravitational pull of events is so strong that our news curves towards it. Moments when even the light of truth gets sucked towards the darkness caused by war. Although some will try to look away, they soon discover that there is no way of doing so: the sorrow, the heartache and suffering forbids our humanity to ignore. The current war in the Middle East is one such event.
Campaigner for Afghan girls' education takes the path to freedom
Today, Matiullah Wesa walked out of an Afghan prison. The co-founder of Pen Path, an organisation forging routes to education in Afghanistan, has spent the last seven months behind bars. Only recently has his mother been allowed to visit him. Until 27 March this year, Wesa was riding a motorbike around Afghanistan, a bookcase and computer built into the mobile classroom, to areas where schools do not exist. He read from books to cohorts of girls, locked out of education.
X marks the spot where Israel-Hamas disinformation wars are being fought
The tragedies unfolding in Israel and Gaza are putting the social media platform X to the test – a test that X keeps failing. X, formerly known as Twitter, has elevated disinformation alongside fact-based reports on the conflict that range from graphic images created through AI, video game footage, and a plethora of recycled clips from Syria’s decade-long conflict. Yet X’s disinformation overload should have been expected.
Influencers are whitewashing Syria’s regime, with help from sponsors
Last November, around the same time the Irish travel vlogger Janet Newenham was filming videos of her strolls through Damascus and Aleppo, five members of a family, including three children, were killed in a Russian airstrike in northwest Syria. But none of Newenham’s 170,000 YouTube subscribers would have learned that from her upbeat dispatches — in her videos, Syria is not a country at war.
UN to vote on official day to end impunity
The UN has been urged to officially recognise the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists as the Third Committee, dedicated to dealing with human rights issues, will today be asked to vote on a draft resolution.
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