Van

A group of divers have uncovered areas that bear traces of both a cemetery and a village at the bottom of Lake Van.

New ruins have been discovered at the bottom of the 3,712 square kilometer Lake Van, the country's largest saline soda lake.

Several natural protected areas in Artvin, Van, Kayseri and Bartın provinces have been registered and declared as "sensitive areas to be strictly protected," according to a decree published in the Official Gazette.

In line with the measures taken to clean the seas of abandoned fishing lines and nets, the Agriculture and Forestry Ministry has initiated a new project to recycle these ghost nets for using them in manufacturing plastic parts of white goods.

With an abundance of historical monuments, buildings and museums, Turkey has been a paradise for art enthusiasts, where over 8.91 million people visited in 2020 to witness the beauty of its museums and archaeological sites with their naked eye.

More than 8.91 million people visited Turkish museums and archaeological sites in 2020, despite the negative effects of the coronavirus outbreak.

The sites have an important role in the context of protecting cultural heritage, transferring it to future generations and generating a collective memory.

Four mayors from the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) in southeastern and eastern Turkey have been detained over alleged terror links, according to local media reports.

Iğdır Municipality Mayor Yaşar Akkuş, Siirt Mayor Berivan Helen Işık, Baykan Mayor Ramazan Sarsılmaz and Kurtalan Mayor Bara Akgül have been detained over suspected links to terrorism.

Turkey lifted a four-day curfew as of midnight on April 26 which had been imposed in 31 provinces to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus.

The government enforced its third weekend stay-at-home order, which included the national April 23 holiday and its following day.

Five mayors from the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) in southeastern Turkey have been detained over alleged terror links, according to local media reports.

Turkey appointed acting mayors to four municipalities in the region.

With over 1,000 personnel, Turkey has launched a new anti-terror operation in three eastern provinces, the Interior Ministry announced on March 13.
In a statement, the ministry said Operation Trap-8 Mt. Ararat-Çemce-Madur aims to neutralize all terrorists hiding out in the regions of Mt. Ağrı (Ararat), Cemce, and Madur located in the eastern provinces of Ağrı, Kars, Iğdır. 

Turkey launched Operation Kapan-3 to eliminate terrorists in the country's southeast, the Interior Ministry announced on Jan. 13.

The gendarmerie command launched the counter-terrorism operation in the rural area of Hakkari province, the ministry said in a statement.

A total of 825 security personnel, including gendarmerie and police forces, are taking part in the operation.