Ethnic groups in Iran

Final preparations are almost complete for the opening of Mor Efrem (St. Ephrem) Syriac Ancient Orthodox Church in Istanbul, the first church built in the history of modern Türkiye.

While the church in the Bakırköy district is planned to be opened in two months, comprehensible work is being carried out to eliminate the last deficiencies.

A bride has received a total of 3 kilograms of gold as a gift at a wedding of a Kurdish tribe in southeastern Turkey. Click through for the story in photos...

I was wandering around in a historic caravansary a little outside Kashan in Iran, a Turkic city that dates back to antiquity. A group of students, from the University of Tehran, I later found out, were sightseeing at the historical building just like me. They were having a conversation among themselves.

It's difficult to understand for people outside this region, but without any discrimination, Turks, Iranians, Arabs, Kurds or other peoples of this huge region consider great people of the past as their cultural forefathers.

As the Russian bombardment to defend Bashar-al Assad's forces heats up in the Turkmen-dominated Bay?rbucak region in northwest Syria, waves of locals have flooded to safe zones close to the Turkish border. 

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davuto?lu has condemned a bombing attack targeting Turkmen villages in Syria, while the Turkish Foreign Ministry has summoned the Russian ambassador over the incident.

While caskets with the flag wrapped around them are laid to rest every day, the number of martyrs is now in the double digits. The bodies of civilians are kept in deep freezers; children are watching the bloodbath on the streets. 

Society is agonizing in despair. Three or four people there, five or ten people here continue calling for peace in the hope that maybe someone will hear. 

In Turkey and elsewhere, identity politics have defined the last 30 years. Across the spectrum - from Islamist to secularist politics, from Kurdish nationalism to Turkish nationalism - cultural identity has become the key conduit for political expression.

One of the earliest references to Nevruz is in the 11th century Divanü Lügati't-Türk, and one of the earliest legends points to its Kurdish origins All sorts of flowers open in spring
The bed of silk cloth has been spread out
Paradise's place has been spied, its sides warm
Cold won't come now.
-    Dîvanü Lügati't-Türk (11th century)

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) militants have abducted at least 90 people from Assyrian Christian villages in northeastern Syria, a monitor that tracks violence in Syria said on Feb. 24.