TURKEY: 5G Auction & more – 2nd Sep 2025

Merhaba from Keswick Village! This is the Rorshok Turkey Update from the 2nd of September twenty twenty-five. A quick summary of what's going down in Turkey.

On Saturday the 31st of August, Turkey confirmed that it will finally auction off 5G frequencies on the 16th of October. The government will sell eleven different frequency packages worth at least two billion dollars, which are crucial for wide coverage and fast data speeds.

The country’s three main operators,Turkcell, Türk Telekom, and Vodafone, will compete for licenses that will last until twenty forty-two. They will also have to share 5% of their annual revenue with regulators. Commercial 5G service is expected to start in April twenty twenty-sixteen.

For residents, this means faster phones and smoother streaming. But 5G is also seen as a backbone for things like smart traffic systems, remote healthcare, and factory automation, which could reshape Turkey’s economy in the long run.

On Thursday the 29th, a Reuters survey suggested Turkey’s growth in the money supply was about 4% in the second quarter, but growth for the full year is likely to slow to around 3%, falling short of the government’s 4% target.

The weaker pace follows the central bank’s sharp interest rate hikes, which reached nearly 50% in an effort to cool inflation. That policy has partly worked: prices that were rising more than 75% last year are now increasing at roughly 33%.

Economists see the slowdown not as a collapse of the economy but as a natural part of the adjustment process after years of runaway inflation and unorthodox policies.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday the 27th, the police carried out a major raid at Istanbul’s historic Grand Bazaar, seizing jewels and antiques valued at around thirty million dollars. The operation focused on several shops suspected of trafficking in smuggled diamonds and other illicit goods. Authorities detained multiple individuals during the raid and said further investigations are underway to uncover broader smuggling networks.

The Grand Bazaar, a UNESCO World Heritage site, is one of the world’s oldest and largest covered markets, attracting millions of visitors annually and hosting thousands of shops. Experts say the scale of this seizure is unprecedented in recent years, highlighting ongoing challenges in policing high-value trade.

Also on Wednesday the 27th, Turkey’s military academies held their joint graduation under strict security. Last year’s ceremony became controversial when new lieutenants raised their swords and shouted, “We are Atatürk’s soldiers” honoring the country’s founder. The government, often seen as distant from Atatürk’s secular principles, treated the act as a challenge to its narrative, launching investigations that led to several dismissals.

To avoid a repeat, this year’s event dropped the sword ritual and ended the ceremony with music from the state-backed TV drama Awakening: The Great Seljuks, which is about the 11th-century Turkic empire. The series, widely viewed as pro-government, emphasizes Islamic unity and imperial grandeur, themes often used by officials to reinforce national identity. The choice sparked backlash online, with many interpreting it as a deliberate push against Atatürk’s legacy.

In other news, on Tuesday the 26th, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy proposed that Turkey, along with several Gulf and European countries, host inclusive peace talks with Russia to help end the conflict in Ukraine. Inviting Turkey reflects its ongoing diplomatic efforts to mediate between Ukraine and Russia, and their allies and adversaries, such as brokering the Black Sea grain corridor. Hosting such talks would deepen Turkey’s role in Ukraine’s search for peace and reinforce its place as a broker in regional and global diplomacy.

On Monday the 1st of September, Turkey’s Presidential Communications Directorate and its Disinformation Combat Center rejected reports that the country had agreed to accept three million Uyghurs from China, calling them completely baseless. They said no talks or agreements exist between Turkey and China on this issue.

The rumors, which spread widely on social media, triggered concern in Turkey where the treatment of Uyghurs in China’s Xinjiang region has long drawn criticism for reports of mass detentions and restrictions on religious freedom.

Officials urged citizens to rely on verified information, especially on matters with international sensitivities.

Turkey will invest 1.5 billion dollars to build the Oğulbey Technology Base near the capital, making it the country’s largest single investment in defense tech. The new facility will become Europe’s biggest integrated air defense production center and aims to boost exports in drones and electronic systems. The base is expected to serve as a cornerstone for Turkey’s technological and industrial growth in the coming decades, with long-term plans to anchor regional defense innovation and self-sufficiency.

Speaking of the defense sector, on the same day, Turkey also unveiled its new integrated air defense system, called Steel Dome. The first batch includes forty-seven vehicles worth about 460 million dollars, equipped with mobile radar, interceptor missiles, and electronic warfare tools, all developed by Turkish firms such as Aselsan and Roketsan.

Steel Dome marks a shift from reliance on foreign suppliers, creating a layered, domestically built defense network against drones, missiles, and aircraft. Officials say the project strengthens Turkey’s independence in defense technology, while analysts believe it will significantly improve the country’s ability to protect its airspace, even though full operational details remain limited.

On Tuesday the 2nd of September, a major fire in the center of İstanbul scared the residents. The fire broke out at a shop inside the Istanbul Wholesale Market, known as İSTOÇ, in Istanbul's Bağcılar district. Flames quickly spread to neighboring businesses, prompting the dispatch of multiple fire brigades from across the city.

Witnesses reported small explosions and partial collapses in some buildings as crews battled the blaze. After intense efforts, teams managed to bring the fire under control. The İstanbul Governor said that, according to initial findings, seventeen businesses were heavily damaged in the incident.

On Saturday the 31st, a tragic shooting happened at Boğaziçi University’s South Campus in Istanbul. A twenty-year-old man, identified as A.K., shot and killed a fifteen-year-old girl working at a wedding in the campus housing area. The suspect, who had eighteen prior criminal records, then shot himself at the scene. Reports say the perpetrator had a relationship with the girl, which many saw as child abuse rather than dating.

The incident sparked public outrage. Many highlighted the irony that students, graduates, and staff face strict security checks at university festivals to prevent alcohol use, but someone with a long criminal record could enter the campus armed.

Reports of a scam known as cash trapping are increasing at ATMs. In this scheme, fraudsters tamper with the cash dispenser by placing glue or a blocking device, which causes the banknotes to get stuck. When the customer assumes the machine malfunctioned and walks away, the hidden scammer retrieves the money.

Experts warn that jammed banknotes are not always the result of a technical fault. Even machines with advanced security systems have been manipulated in this way, according to Sparkasse Bank in Germany. Most ATMs do not display error messages when this happens, making it easy for people to mistake the scam for a simple malfunction.

Authorities advise checking the cash dispenser before making a withdrawal, staying at the ATM until the transaction is complete, and reporting any suspicious incidents to the bank or police.

Finally, this week, the state-run e-Government platform, which allows citizens to access public services online, has introduced a new Electricity Fault Notification Service that lets citizens report power outages, electrical failures, and street lighting issues directly online.

The system, developed with the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources and the Electricity Distribution Services Association, builds on a service first launched in twenty nineteen as a mobile app for reporting lighting faults. The government later expanded it in twenty twenty-three to cover broader electrical problems. Authorities say the update will make it easier and faster to resolve disruptions while offering secure reporting.

Since its launch, the app has been downloaded more than seven hundred thousand times, and nearly two million reported issues have already been addressed through the system.

Aaand that’s it for this week! Thank you for joining us!

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