Dede

Following President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's statement that the government is extending efforts to meet Alevi-Bektashi citizens' demands, local media has alleged that five regulations will be made for cemevis, Alevi houses of worship.

Kebabs may be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Turkish food, but for a Turkish chef who recently won a Michelin star for his restaurant nestled in an Irish village, his homeland's cuisine is far more than that.

The epic tales of Dede Qorqud, passed on for centuries by the Oghuz Turks, have been added to UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

The Cem Foundation, a foundation that represents a portion of Turkey's Alevi sect, has asked the Turkish Education Ministry for the concepts of "Salafism" and "jihad" to be removed from the renewed education curriculum, saying these concepts could make "radical religious groups" feel encouraged.

The government has announced a fast-track tender for the repair of the main port on Kos, which was struck by a strong 6.6-magnitude earthquake last Friday that killed two people and caused widespread damage.

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has found Turkey guilty of violating the right to religious freedom of Alevis and discriminating against them by withholding public funds for Alevi worship houses "with no objective and reasonable justification." As a result of the verdict, Turkey has been ordered to pay 3,000 euros in damages to each of the 203 applicants.

Having almost completed its planned legislative program before officially taking over as the newly elected 64th government of Turkey, the Justice and Development Party (AKP) is expected to prioritize a fresh "Alevi opening" to address the status and rights of Alevi citizens.

An inmate of the Alevi faith, a secular version of Islam, was permitted to meet with an Alevi religious leader, known as an Alevi Dede, in prison thanks to a ruling which allowed imams to preach in prisons.

The meeting between inmate Miktat Algül, 47, and an Alevi Dede from the Cem Foundation's Ankara branch occurred on May 18 and marked a first in Turkey's history.