As Syria’s civil war continues and the response from the international community reaches a stalemate, the Syrian refugee crisis is one of the most pressing challenges facing the region. Recent figures have placed the number of Syrian refugees outside of the country’s borders at 2 million and that number is growing. 
In a special two-part series, we’ll take a look at the reality for refugees fleeing the bloodshed in Syria. In this first part of the series, we find out how Egypt – a country in post-revolution flux - has gone from welcoming those fleeing the violence in Syria - to demonizing them. Monocle’s Eastern Mediterranean Correspondent – JOSEPH DANA – reports.

Syrian Refugees in Egypt, Part One of a Special Two Part Series on Syrian Refugees

There is no denying the current speed of urbanisation in Istanbul. From new airports to new bridges, the city is transforming at a dizzying rate and not without protest. The roots of urban planning in modern Istanbul can be found in informal housing units known as Gecekondu, which blossomed in the city during the population boom of the 1950s and 60s. Over the years, Gecekondu neighbourhoods have developed tight knit communal bonds and demonstrated successful bottom up urban planning but now developers are targeting them for redevelopment. Monocle’s Joseph Dana reports on how the Gecekondu have gone from being the darling of Istanbul’s urbanisation to the target of New Istanbul’s land desires.

Istanbul's Informal Housing Neighbourhoods

In part two of our series on Syrian refugees, we turn our focus to Turkey. Unlike Arab countries grappling with the refugee crisis, Turkey has so far warmly welcomed Syrians into the country.  Recent figures suggest that there are now more than 600,000 Syrians throughout Turkey, scatted among apartment blocks in Istanbul to refugee camps dotting the border. But how deep is Turkey’s commitment to Syrians fleeing their civil war and might domestic political concerns stem the tide? Regardless of the pressures on the Turkish government, many Syrians believe that the country is quite possibly the safest escape from the chaos at home. Monocle’s Eastern Mediterranean Correspondent – Joseph Dana—reports from Gaziantep on Turkey’s border with Syria.

Syrian Refugees in Turkey, Part One of a Special Two Part Series on Syrian Refugees

In this two part radio series for Monocle 24, I travel from Cairo to Istanbul to the Turkish border with Syria to report on the plight of Syrian refugees in the eastern Mediterranean. As the crisis deepens in Syria,  Syrians fleeing the country are facing hardships and their presence is becoming a destabilising factor. What does the future hold and how will the region cope with the refugee crisis?

Syrian Refugees in Focus

Newspapers often reflect the histories of the places or countries. Nowhere is this more apparent than in Turkey. Since the founding of the Turkish republic, the newspaper you read, whether Milliyet or Hurriyet, is a quick indicator of your political persuasions. It might be a surprise then to hear that Turkey’s second oldest newspaper serves a community of 600 families… in Greek. Monocle’s Eastern Mediterranean Correspondent Joseph Dana sends us 
this report about a little known newspaper that is single-handedly helping to 
keep Turkey’s Greek community alive.

Turkey's Second Oldest Newspaper

Book review of Ari Shavit's "My Promised Land" and Max Blumenthal's "Goliath" for Monocle 24's Review programme. Air date 21 December 2013

Current Books about Israel/Palestine for The Review

The steep hillsides that line the Bosphorus in Istanbul have long attracted writers, intellectuals and artists. But what about fashion designers? How has the city’s melange of influences from around the Middle East and Europe affected local fashion? A new generation of designers is exploring Istanbul’s many layers in order to find inspiration grounded in time honoured Turkish craft techniques and adherence to the principle that quality always trumps quantity. With designs infused with Istanbul’s briny complexion, they are creating the opposite of fast fashion. From the antique sellers of Beyoglu to the markets of Kadikoy, Monocle’s Joseph Dana ventured out into Istanbul with some of these designers to discover how the fashion scene is developing in Turkey. 

A look at the new crop of designers reinvigorating the Turkish fashion scene

What happens when the upper echelon of a country's police force is dismissed in one giant swoop? What if this dismissal is part of a corruption probe that threatens the economic health of an emerging country? Well, that is the situation currently unfolding in Turkey as Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is fighting for his political survival after a massive corruption scandal has threatened his 11 year rule. In the latest development in the scandal, approximately 350 senior police officers were removed from their posts in Ankara and other cities in Turkey. So, what is going to be the outcome of hundreds of formerly powerful police officers suddenly out of work or demoted, and at what cost to Turkey will Erdogan attempt to silence his opponents. Joining us now on the line from Istanbul is Monocle's Eastern Mediterranean correspondent Joseph Dana to shed some light on the situation. Air Date 8 January 2014

Live report on another purge of the police force in Turkey

Religion has always played an oversized role in the urban life of Istanbul. The city was once the most powerful Muslim urban area in the world and the past five years has seen a push to reclaim that distinction. Along with plans to build new infrastructure, including mega airports and bridges, the Turkish government is quietly attempting strengthen the urban dimension of Islam in Istanbul, but not all residents are happy about the blurring of the line between religion and the urban environment. Nowhere is the dynamic more profound than in the battle over the Hagia Sofia. Monocle's Joseph Dana reports from Istanbul. 

The Battle for The Aya Sofia

Turkey’s recent corruption probe—the one that has unsettled emerging financial markets across the world and shows no sign of letting up—has presented challenges for the Turkish economy but not for all sectors.
Over the past three years, Turkish startups have surged, thanks in part to handsome capital flowing in from the Silicon Valley. Given Turkey’s ideal location between the Middle East, Europe and Central Asia, investors are eager to tap into the vibrancy of the tech entrepreneurial scene in Istanbul. Monocle’s Joseph Dana recently attended a seminar on Turkish Entrepreneurship hosted by Hello Tomorrow, a not-for-profit European initiative aimed at stoking young start ups around the world. He sent us this report.


Surveying Turkey's Start Up Scene

You might not have heard of Bruno Schulz, the Polish Jewish writer who became the personal artist of a Nazi SS officer during World War Two before his tragic death days before a planned escape, but the story of his artistic heritage is certainly a curious one. When some of Schulz’s famed frescos surfaced in 2001, researchers from the Israeli holocaust memorial were dispatched to the Ukraine with a simple mission: bring them to Jerusalem at all costs. So, who owns Bruno Schulz? 

Who Owns Bruno Schulz?

Earth Architecture, the mysterious art of creating buildings out of compressed mud in a sustainable fashion, is making a surprise comeback in one of the places of its origin. In the Jordan Valley, near the ancient city of Jericho where 10,000 year old structures built only of earth still stand, a group of Palestinian architects from Ramallah are busy building new homes using mud brick and other compressed earth materials. For the architects, their obsession with sustainable materials is as much political as it is ecological and they are beginning to turn some heads as Monocle's Joseph Dana found out in the West Bank.  Original Air Date: 5 March 2013 on Monocle 24

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