We're ın Ephesus ast the moment andf as Adrienne so eloquently put it, we've seen a lot of old shit. 3 days ago was Troy, 2 days ago Pergamum, yesterday Ephesus. Wish the Romans and Greeks could have built something that didn't become a ruin! Stunning stuff though...
İn the meantime Turkey and İraqi relations are becoming a little tense, which is nice. Just tried to check the bbc website about latest developments but it was censored here - can anyone send us the report from today? (not a link as it won't open).
Lucked out with the weather though it's p(&ssıng down right now.
Unlucky England
Cheers,
Alex and Adrienne
7 comments:
I emailed a couple of the latest reports from the Beeb to you. Hope that helps! Must say that your trip to work seems more interesting than mine.
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Rebels from the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, will announce Monday a unilateral cease-fire following a deadly attack on Turkish forces, a spokesman for Iraqi President Jalal Talabani told CNN.
Talabani has been meeting with leaders in Iraq's Kurdistan region to quell tensions with Turkey after PKK rebels ambushed a Turkish infantry unit early Sunday and killed at least 12 soldiers.
Eight soldiers are still missing.
The attack happened in southeastern Turkey, but Turkey's military said the rebels were based in northern Iraq.
Sunday's attack has raised the prospect of a major Turkish military incursion into northern Iraq targeting the Kurdish separatists.
Last week Turkey's parliament voted overwhelmingly to authorize possible military strikes inside Iraqi territory against PKK fighters accused of operating from bases there.
Amid U.S. and Iraqi calls for restraint, Foreign Minister Ali Babacan, currently touring the Middle East, vowed that Turkey would continue to pursue diplomatic efforts.
"But in the end, if we do not reach any results, there are other means we might have to use," he said.
Responding to Sunday's ambush, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan urged the U.S. to take "speedy steps" toward cracking down on the PKK in Iraq, according to The Associated Press.
Erdogan said U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice had expressed sympathy and asked "for a few days" in a telephone conversation late Sunday.
In an interview conducted prior to the attack, Erdogan told the UK's Times newspaper that Turkey would do "whatever is necessary" to defend itself.
"If a neighboring country is providing a safe haven for terrorism ... we have rights under international law and we will use those rights and we don't have to get permission from anybody," said Erdogan, who was due to meet UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown on Monday in London.
Erdogan also said the U.S. risked "losing an important friend" if lawmakers passed a bill declaring as "genocide" the mass killings of Armenians by Turks during World War I.
In addition to those killed and missing, up to 16 soldiers were reported wounded in Sunday's ambush. The Belgian-based pro-Kurdish Firat news agency released the names of seven Turkish troops it claimed had been captured by separatists. It said an eighth soldier had also been captured, AP reported.
Turkish forces retaliated to Sunday's attack by killing 34 PKK fighters, according to a statement on an official government Web site.
Cross-border shelling continued on Monday as AP reported sightings of convoys containing dozens of military vehicles headed from the southeast town of Sirnak toward the Iraqi border.
Meanwhile around 3,000 protesters gathered in Istanbul on Monday for a second day in a row to call for an immediate military strike, CNN's Paula Hancocks reported. Small protests also took place in Ankara, the Turkish capital, and elsewhere in the country.
After an emergency meeting Sunday of Turkey's military and political leaders, President Abdullah Gul issued a statement saying: "We will continue on our path of determination in fighting the terrorist organization. We respect Iraq's national borders. But [we] will not tolerate those who help and harbor terrorists."
p.s. you guys are NUTS.
The BBC's latest report: Turkey and Iraq have agreed to work together to deal with the problem of Kurdish PKK rebels in northern Iraq.
Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan said Ankara would put the emphasis on diplomatic means to solve the crisis.
Mr Babacan rejected any ceasefire with the PKK, saying this was not possible with a "terrorist organisation".
Turkey is coming under intense pressure from the public and military to use force against the PKK, after its parliament approved cross-border raids.
Turkey, along with the US and EU, considers the PKK to be a terrorist organisation.
The PKK has claimed to have captured several Turkish troops following an attack on Sunday that left 12 soldiers dead. The Turkish military has only confirmed that eight soldiers are still missing.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is meeting UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown to discuss the crisis.
'Other tools'
Mr Babacan said every effort would be made to avoid upsetting Iraq by taking cross-border military action against the PKK.
We will not allow any party or any group, including the PKK to poison our bilateral relations
Hoshyar Zebari
Iraqi foreign minister
Turkish press warning over PKK
"There are political dialogue, diplomacy, economic and cultural tools as well as military measures," he said after talks with Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari.
"We do not want to sacrifice our cultural and economic relations with Iraq..."
But Mr Babacan said Turkey would not consider a ceasefire with the rebels, following reports that the PKK might agree to stop fighting.
"Ceasefires is possible between states and regular forces - the problem here is that we're dealing with a terrorist organisation," he said.
Mr Zebari said his country would actively help Turkey deal with the PKK "menace".
"We agreed that the position we should take is a common position to fight terrorism wherever it is and we will not allow any party or any group, including the PKK to poison our bilateral relations," he said.
Sent along Tuesday reports from the BBC via direct email and also a separate email. We are very worried for your safety. Maybe time to rethink your position. Take care of each other and remember you are loved by many!
Hi treasured loved ones. This from the BBC.
My advice....Don't go back yet. Wait at least two weeks more. It's not worth it.
"Turkey threat looms over Iraqi Kurds
By Crispin Thorold
BBC News, Irbil
The talk on the streets of Irbil is of a pending Turkish strike
Irbil is Iraq's boomtown. Relatively peaceful, and with large sums of international money helping to drive economic growth, over the past few years this city in Kurdish northern Iraq has thrived.
Things have got so good that President of the Regional Government Massoud Barzani recently boasted he would turn Irbil into a "new Dubai".
Staying in Irbil often feels like the first stop on the long journey towards Central Asia and, although it is in the heart of the Middle East, the city has its own distinct identity.
Kurds form the vast majority of its population, business is conducted largely in Kurdish and in the markets it is Kurdish music that blares from the loudspeakers.
Key city
All the talk in Irbil's souqs at the moment is of the threat of Turkish military operations in northern Iraq.
One man, wearing the traditional clothes of the peshmerga, the Kurdish fighting forces, summed up the local sentiment.
"Turkey wants to attack Kurdistan and I don't agree with this", he said.
"I denounce them and if they do it we will fight them."
Irbil is a critically important city for the political ambitions of the Kurds, who have a degree of autonomy here that they don't enjoy anywhere else in the Middle East.
The two main factions, the PUK (Patriotic Union of Kurdistan) and the KDP (Kurdistan Democratic Party), have stopped fighting and their leaders have negotiated a political accommodation.
While Massoud Barzani, the head of the KDP, is the president of the Kurdish regional government, Jalal Talabani, the head of the PUK, is the president of the Iraqi government.
In other words, the Kurds of northern Iraq have fared well in recent years, unlike citizens in most other parts of the country.
'Take the fight to Turkey'
There is a real sense here, though, that the threat of Turkish military operations against the PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party) could destabilise this semi-autonomous region.
Iraqi Kurds have controlled a fertile mountainous area since 1991
The PKK, the target of Turkey's wrath, was formed in southern Turkey and most of its operations have been carried out there.
But while people here may be united in their anger towards the Turkish threat, they are also frustrated with their fellow Kurds in the PKK.
"I think it is wrong", one man said. "The PKK should go back into Turkey and struggle. There is a new government in this area. We are in the beginning.
"If they want to go to Turkey they should go there to fight for their rights".
The sense you get from many people here is that the PKK is in part responsible for bringing trouble onto Irbil's doorstep.
The PKK may say that it is fighting for Kurdish rights, but many of the Kurds in Northern Iraq say they would like the PKK to take that fight elsewhere.
SO KIDDLIEWINKS...WHAT WOULD YOUR ADVICE BE TO TWO YOUNG ONES WHO ARE DESPERATELY IMPORTANT TO DOZENS OF OTHERS OF FAMILY AND FRIENDS?
IS IT WORTH IT?
PAPA BALE
Hi again,
It definitely seems a BAD idea to cross the border.
Read on....
Turks 'losing patience' with PKK
Turkey has been building up forces on its border with Iraq
Turkey's president says his country is "running out of patience" with Kurdish rebel activity, as Turkey prepares to host Iraqi delegates for key talks.
Officials are due to meet in the Turkish capital of Ankara to discuss ways to stop attacks by Kurdish fighters based in northern Iraq.
The Turkish foreign minister has said the Iraqis must come up with concrete proposals for ending the crisis.
The talks come amid intense diplomatic pressure for Ankara to show restraint.
The Turkish military has already been carrying out attacks against Kurdish rebels near its border with Iraq.
We need more than words
Ali Babacan
Turkish Foreign Minister
It has threatened to mount a ground offensive across the border to flush out fighters from the banned PKK group if diplomatic efforts fail.
'Determined'
In unusually blunt comments, Turkish officials have said Thursday's talks could be the last chance to avert more serious military action.
"Although we respect the territorial integrity and unity of Iraq, Turkey is running out of patience and will not tolerate the use of Iraqi soil for the purpose of terrorist activities," Turkish President Abdullah Gul said.
"We are totally determined to take all necessary steps to end this threat."
The visiting delegation is led by the Iraqi defence minister.
Mr Erdogan said it was up to Turkey whether to launch an offensive
Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan said Turkey was "expecting them to come with concrete proposals and otherwise the visit will have no meaning".
"We need more than words," Mr Babacan said.
"We said that preventing the PKK from using Iraqi soil, an end to logistical support and all PKK activities inside Iraq and closing of its camps are needed.
"We also said its leaders need to be arrested and extradited to Turkey."
Turkish military and civilian leaders have also recommended economic measures against northern Iraq, which relies heavily on Turkey for food and electricity.
Raids
In recent days, Turkey has been building up its military presence on the border with Iraq, while PKK rebels have stepped up their attacks against Turkish troops.
The Turkish army said on Thursday that it had killed more than 30 Kurdish rebels while fending off an attack on the Iraqi border two days earlier.
Turkey's semi-official Anatolia news agency said on Wednesday that Turkish jets had bombed PKK rebel positions.
THE PKK
Formed in late 1970s
Launched armed struggle in 1984
Dropped independence demands in 1990s
Wants greater autonomy for Turkey's Kurds
Leader Abdullah Ocalan arrested in 1999
Ended five-year ceasefire in 2004
The raids followed an attack by PKK rebels on Sunday in which 12 Turkish soldiers were killed.
The Turkish military also says eight soldiers are missing.
The US has been pushing Turkey to hold back from an offensive in northern Iraq.
But Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said during a visit to Romania on Thursday that it was Ankara, not the US, that would make any decision on whether or not to launch cross-border operations.
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki said earlier in the week he would work to limit the PKK's activities in Iraq.
Speaking in Baghdad, US ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker said the Iraqi government should hinder Kurdish rebel movement in northern Iraq and prevent them from picking up supplies, Reuters news agency reported.
There are thought to be about 3,000 PKK rebels based in Iraq. They have been blamed for a number of cross-border raids.
Turkey, the US, and the EU describe the PKK as a terrorist organisation.
Turkish leaders have come under intense pressure from the public and the media to use force.
SO THERE YOU ARE.
DON'T TAKE AN UNNECESSARY RISK!
WE LOVE YOU.
PAPA BALE AND JANIS
hi guys - we don't like what we are hearing over there and are hoping that you will take an extended holiday in Turkey. Maybwe they need teachers there as well. Please stay safe.
Russ and I are heading back to Sask Friday the 26 and will stop in Calgary t meet some of the family. Russ has been fighting the flu so hope the worst is over. Fred Hack is in McKinney Place and doing better. Everyone sends there love - my thoughts are with you. DL
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