Nicholas Birch lived in Istanbul, Turkey, from 2002 to 2009, working as a freelancer. His work—mainly from Turkey and Iraq—has appeared in a range of publications, including the <em>Washington Post</em>, <em>Time Magazine</em>, the <em>Guardian</em> and the <em> Times Literary Supplement</em>. He was a stringer for the <em>Wall Street Journal</em> and the <em>Times of London</em> until the end of 2009. He now lives in London.

The Kemalists' Veil of Tolerance

[caption id="attachment_55246534" align="alignnone" width="594"] Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party MP Nurcan Dalbudak (L) is greeted…

Poetry Leads the Turkish Republic

[caption id="attachment_55247131" align="alignnone" width="620"] Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan shows a book from the Turkish…

Erdoğan, the Lone Wolf

[caption id="attachment_55247709" align="alignnone" width="620"] Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan now has zero friends. (Ozan Kose/AFP…

The Gloves Come Off in Turkey

[caption id="attachment_55248211" align="alignnone" width="620"] Traditional camel wrestling in Burhaniye district of Balikesir, Turkey on January 26…

Turkey's Leaky Ship of State

[caption id="attachment_55248733" align="alignnone" width="620"] Turkish riot police use a water cannon to disperse protesters during a demonstration…

Dividing a Nation

[caption id="attachment_55249173" align="alignnone" width="620"] People hold placards as they protest against Turkey's prime minister, Recep Tayyip…

Turkey's Liberal Twilight

[caption id="attachment_55249718" align="alignnone" width="620"] Turkish riot police use gas to disperse demonstrators during the Gezi Park protests…

Breaking the Drum

[caption id="attachment_55237358" align="alignnone" width="620"] The Turkish Parliament in Ankara in May 2012, when it began work on a new…

Suleyman the Embarrassment

[caption id="attachment_55236911" align="alignnone" width="620"] Circa 1545, Sulayman the Magnificent, Sultan of Turkey (1494–1566), Ottoman Emperor…

Promoting Injustice

[caption id="attachment_55236723" align="alignnone" width="620"] Demonstrators hold placards reading: “We All Are Hrant Dink, We All Are Armenians,”…