TURKEY: Wildfire Kills Ten People & more – 29th July 2025

Merhaba from Keswick Village! This is the Rorshok Turkey Update from the 29th of July twenty twenty-five. A quick summary of what's going down in Turkey.

On Wednesday the 23rd, a wildfire in the Seyitgazi district of the central city of Eskişehir trapped emergency teams when strong winds suddenly changed direction. The flames killed ten people, five forestry workers and five rescue volunteers, and sent fourteen others to the hospital. One person remains in critical condition.

The Justice Minister said prosecutors launched a legal investigation into the deaths. Opposition leaders criticized the government for failing to protect public workers, saying poor coordination turned another preventable situation into a deadly one. Crowds in Eskişehir and Istanbul held vigils to honor the victims.

Unfortunately, tragedy struck again on Sunday the 27th, when a water tanker en route to a wildfire in the midwestern city of Bursa's Kestel district veered off the road and overturned, leaving three people dead. The following day, news surfaced that the scorched forest area had been designated for a limestone quarry in twenty twenty-four, sparking backlash. What's more, authorities had already greenlit the project without requiring an environmental impact assessment, allowing a mine and crushing facility in the heart of the forest.

Şirin Şimşek, head of Bursa’s Chamber of Architects and Engineers, raised serious concerns. She said the mining plans posed dangers well before the flames, hinting the fire might serve vested business interests. Şimşek also warned that lax protections risk stripping the burned land of its forest status, paving the way for development where nature once stood.

Still on fires, on Saturday the 26th, the Istanbul governorate rolled out a new rule after the fire department raised the alarm over a sharp rise in crop residue fires. Farmers must plow a ten-meter, or thirty-three-feet, strip around their fields by Friday the 2nd to help stop the flames from spreading. Authorities say failure to comply could lead to fines.

Earlier this month, on Friday the 18th, Turkey joined more than thirty countries in condemning Israel’s actions in Gaza at a summit in Bogotá—but didn’t back a twelve-nation action plan calling for an arms embargo, trade cutoff, and legal steps against Israeli officials.

Hakan Fidan, the Foreign Minister, said the plan referenced the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, which Turkey hasn’t ratified due to Aegean disputes with Greece. He said Turkey reviewed the clause, requested a formal reservation, and may still endorse the declaration before the September deadline. However, the hesitation led to a public backlash.

On Saturday the 26th, Özgür Özel, the leader of the Republican People’s Party or CHP, argued that President Erdoğan and Fidan condemn Israel in words but continue trade, overlook the actions of US and Israeli leaders, and rely on empty symbolism while Palestinian suffering continues.

Next up, on Monday the 28th, the CHP Central Executive Board met at the party headquarters to discuss the upcoming parliamentary commission linked to the Terror-Free Turkey initiative. The commission’s mandate is to oversee the Kurdistan Workers Party’s disarmament process and propose legal and administrative frameworks for peace.

The Parliament Speaker set Thursday the 31th as the deadline for parties to submit their member lists for the commission. However, the CHP declared it will only participate if two conditions are met: equal representation from all parties and qualified majority voting, meaning decisions require a two-thirds or three-fifths vote.

The party stated they already communicated these conditions to the Parliament Speaker and now await formal confirmation.

This week, news outlets reported that on Tuesday the 16th İstanbul’s CHP-led Üsküdar Municipality took back a three-story building previously used as a student dormitory by the Ensar Foundation, a religious foundation known for its close ties to the government. The building, once an Armenian school, belongs to the Kuzguncuk Church Foundation, which leased the building to the municipality.

During the Justice and Development Party or AKP’s administration, the municipality handed it over to Ensar rent-free, while still paying the church. After the CHP took office, the new Mayor canceled many free rental agreements, including this one. The Ensar challenged the move in court and lost.

The mayor said the neighborhood residents would help decide the building's future, but pointed out that it was clearly not a dormitory.

Speaking of the CHP, recall that Ekrem İmamoğlu, the imprisoned Mayor of İstanbul and the party’s presidential candidate, lost his bachelor's degree in March after a review by the Higher Education Council?

Well, on Monday the 28th, İstanbul University canceled his master’s diploma, saying that granting him the undergraduate degree he used to enter the program was an administrative error. The university said his thesis and academic records would be removed from the national system.

The diploma cancellations were called into question with many saying they were politically motivated, especially with İmamoğlu still facing trial over corruption and a possible ban from office.

In some economic news, on Friday the 25th, Moody’s, one of the top three global credit rating agencies, raised Turkey’s credit rating one notch, which means investors now see the country as slightly less risky. This boost brings Turkey closer to a grade considered safe for investment, though it’s still one step below. Moody’s said the Central Bank’s tighter policies have helped lower inflation and brought back some trust in the Turkish lira.

The Finance Minister said the upgrade shows economic reforms are paying off.

Back in June, fourteen-year-old Mattia Ahmet Minguzzi died after a minor stabbed him. Four teenagers now stand trial, each facing the maximum twenty-four-year sentence allowed for minors. The case has sparked national debate over rising youth violence.

On Monday the 21st, Yasemin Minguzzi, Mattia’s mother, launched a sit-in at Bakırköy Square in İstanbul, demanding full sentences without any reductions. She ended the protest on Wednesday the 23rd, citing threats to her safety.

On the same day, the head of the Istanbul Bar Association’s Child Rights Center said such minors, calling them children drawn into crime, should be seen as victims shaped by systemic failure. Yasemin responded online, rejecting the label and calling them “intrinsically evil killers”. She accused the system of protecting violent offenders instead of grieving families.

On another note, on Monday the 28th, the CHP stated that it lost its provincial leadership in the southeastern city of Mardin after nine members resigned together. They submitted their resignation letters directly to the CHP headquarters and gave no public reason.

The party added that the provincial board had collapsed and the provincial leadership post is now vacant. Following this, the CHP’s central office is expected to step in quickly to reorganize the Mardin branch. Party insiders say the CHP may appoint a special committee until it can hold a formal local congress.

In healthcare updates, on Friday the 25th, the Health Ministry launched a new feature on the Central Doctor Appointment System to reduce unnecessary hospital visits and make better use of resources. Instead of going straight to a specialist, patients now first see a prompt to visit their family doctor. If they choose that route, the family physician examines them and, if necessary, books a specialist appointment directly using a reserved quota. The aim is to reduce hospital crowding, speed up referrals, and handle basic health issues at the family doctor level.

Even though the healthcare system needs improvement, this has raised questions on whether adding another layer to the process is really the best way to fix it. Moreover, family physicians say that the added workload could make their jobs even tougher.

Finally, on Friday the 25th, the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey or TOBB announced that the country added two more products to the European Union’s list of protected geographical indications. Mut olive oil from the western city of Muğla became the 37th item, and Kırkağaç melon from the central west city of Manisa followed as the 38th.

The EU list already includes baklava from the southern Gaziantep, and Ezine cheese from the northwestern Çanakkale province. The TOBB is reportedly working on seventy more applications.

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

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