MEHMET DEMIRCI
Raleigh, NC
919 480 4922

In 2024, Marbella hosted its first bullfight in nine years, featuring prominent matadors Morante de la Puebla, José María Manzanares, and Roca Rey. This event marked a significant return of the controversial tradition to the city, drawing a considerable crowd and reigniting local and visitor enthusiasm. The presence of these renowned matadors underscored the event’s importance, while also sparking renewed debates on animal rights and cultural heritage, highlighting the ongoing tension between tradition and modern ethical standards.

In 2024, Marbella hosted its first bullfight in nine years, featuring prominent matadors Morante de la Puebla, José María Manzanares, and Roca Rey. This event marked a significant return of the controversial tradition to the city, drawing a considerable crowd and reigniting local and visitor enthusiasm. The presence of these renowned matadors underscored the event’s importance, while also sparking renewed debates on animal rights and cultural heritage, highlighting the ongoing tension between tradition and modern ethical standards.

In 2024, Marbella hosted its first bullfight in nine years, featuring prominent matadors Morante de la Puebla, José María Manzanares, and Roca Rey. This event marked a significant return of the controversial tradition to the city, drawing a considerable crowd and reigniting local and visitor enthusiasm. The presence of these renowned matadors underscored the event’s importance, while also sparking renewed debates on animal rights and cultural heritage, highlighting the ongoing tension between tradition and modern ethical standards.

The town of Jacumba Hot Spring, 75 kilometers away from the city of San Diego, is one of the crossing points frequently used by illegal immigrants from Turkey. The majority of the group of approximately 300 illegal immigrants we witnessed passing through consists of Chinese, Turks and Kurds. There are even dentists, engineers, photographers and housewives in the group.

Approximately 100 Turkish immigrants had to leave Turkey due to economic conditions and political pressures; He aims to establish a new life in this country by seeking asylum in the USA. The cities where immigrants come from include Giresun, Van, Gaziantep, Konya, Izmir, Adana and Istanbul.

The town of Jacumba Hot Spring, 75 kilometers away from the city of San Diego, is one of the crossing points frequently used by illegal immigrants from Turkey. The majority of the group of approximately 300 illegal immigrants we witnessed passing through consists of Chinese, Turks and Kurds. There are even dentists, engineers, photographers and housewives in the group.

Approximately 100 Turkish immigrants had to leave Turkey due to economic conditions and political pressures; He aims to establish a new life in this country by seeking asylum in the USA. The cities where immigrants come from include Giresun, Van, Gaziantep, Konya, Izmir, Adana and Istanbul.

The town of Jacumba Hot Spring, 75 kilometers away from the city of San Diego, is one of the crossing points frequently used by illegal immigrants from Turkey. The majority of the group of approximately 300 illegal immigrants we witnessed passing through consists of Chinese, Turks and Kurds. There are even dentists, engineers, photographers and housewives in the group.

Approximately 100 Turkish immigrants had to leave Turkey due to economic conditions and political pressures; He aims to establish a new life in this country by seeking asylum in the USA. The cities where immigrants come from include Giresun, Van, Gaziantep, Konya, Izmir, Adana and Istanbul.

The atmosphere outside of The United States Capitol in Washington, DC on January 20, 2021.​

The atmosphere outside of The United States Capitol in Washington, DC on January 20, 2021.

The Atmosphere outside of The United States Capitol in Washington, DC on January 20, 2021.

President Biden.

President Biden

President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally, Saturday, Sept. 19, 2020, at the Fayetteville Regional Airport in Fayetteville, N.C.

President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally, Saturday, Sept. 19, 2020, at the Fayetteville Regional Airport in Fayetteville, N.C.

Vice President Kamala Harris held a campaign rally in Raleigh, North Carolina on Friday afternoon. Her latest visit comes two days after former President Donald Trump, her Republican foe, was in Asheville for a rally. Vice President Kamala Harris held a campaign rally in Raleigh, North Carolina on Friday afternoon. Her latest visit comes two days after former President Donald Trump, her Republican foe, was in Asheville for a rally.

I explored the Ruins of Presidents Park in Croaker, VA. This park used to be a popular tourist attraction from 2004-2010, but now it’s a display of over forty 20-foot tall, 10 ton busts of U.S. presidents from George Washington to George W. Bush.

Giant busts of 42 U.S. presidents are sitting in a field in Virginia. 

Protesters, police clash at Raleigh protest of Floyd’s death; buildings damaged, looted. The streets of Downtown Raleigh were filled with protesters and police in riot gear Saturday evening, May 30, 2020. The event started peacefully, with protesters singing and chanting throughout downtown, but within an hour after the crowd began marching, police released tear gas and pepper spray. Protesters threw fireworks, rocks and water bottles at police and vandalized several downtown businesses.

Protesters, police clash at Raleigh protest of Floyd’s death; buildings damaged, looted. The streets of Downtown Raleigh were filled with protesters and police in riot gear Saturday evening, May 30, 2020. The event started peacefully, with protesters singing and chanting throughout downtown, but within an hour after the crowd began marching, police released tear gas and pepper spray. Protesters threw fireworks, rocks and water bottles at police and vandalized several downtown businesses.

Protesters, police clash at Raleigh protest of Floyd’s death; buildings damaged, looted. The streets of Downtown Raleigh were filled with protesters and police in riot gear Saturday evening, May 30, 2020. The event started peacefully, with protesters singing and chanting throughout downtown, but within an hour after the crowd began marching, police released tear gas and pepper spray. Protesters threw fireworks, rocks and water bottles at police and vandalized several downtown businesses.

Protesters, police clash at Raleigh protest of Floyd’s death; buildings damaged, looted.The streets of Downtown Raleigh were filled with protesters and police in riot gear Saturday evening.The event started peacefully, with protesters singing and chanting

Protesters, police clash at Raleigh protest of Floyd’s death; buildings damaged, looted. The streets of Downtown Raleigh were filled with protesters and police in riot gear Saturday evening, May 30, 2020. The event started peacefully, with protesters singing and chanting throughout downtown, but within an hour after the crowd began marching, police released tear gas and pepper spray. Protesters threw fireworks, rocks and water bottles at police and vandalized several downtown businesses.

A polar bear plunge is an event held during the winter where participants enter a body of water despite the low temperature. In the United States, polar bear plunges are usually held to raise money for a charitable organization. In Canada, polar bear swim

A polar bear plunge in Jordan Lake, North Carolina 01/01/2023

A polar bear plunge is an event held during the winter where participants enter a body of water despite the low temperature. In the United States, polar bear plunges are usually held to raise money for a charitable organization. In Canada, polar bear swims are usually held on New Year's Day to celebrate the new year.

Zion Valley

Iceland

Iceland

Raleigh’s tallest Confederate monument began coming down early Sunday, a gesture aimed at healing more than a century of racial division.Crews work on removing the North Carolina Confederate monument at the North Carolina State Capitol in Raleigh, N.C., S

Raleigh’s tallest Confederate monument began coming down early Sunday, a gesture aimed at healing more than a century of racial division. Crews work on removing the North Carolina Confederate monument at the North Carolina State Capitol in Raleigh, N.C., Sunday, June 21,

Hundreds of protesters crowded into downtown Raleigh on every Tuesday for against Gov. Roy Cooper’s stay-home order for North Carolina. Protesters from a grassroots organization called ReOpen NC gather to pressure Gov. Roy Cooper to reopen the state in Raleigh.

Armed group marches in downtown Raleigh to protest coronavirus stay-at-home order. The group  stop by the Subway restaurant for their lunch break.. 04/09/2020 Raleigh, North Carolina

Armed group marches in downtown Raleigh to protest coronavirus stay-at-home order. The group stop by the Subway restaurant for their lunch break. In Raleigh, NC, April 9, 2020

The ‘Green Energy’ That Might Be Ruining the Planet

The biomass industry is warming up the South's economy, but many experts worry it's doing the same to the climate. Will the Biden Administration embrace it, or cut it loose?

Here’s a multibillion-dollar question that could help determine the fate of the global climate: If a tree falls in a forest—and then it’s driven to a mill, where it’s chopped and chipped and compressed into wood pellets, which are then driven to a port and shipped across the ocean to be burned for electricity in European power plants—does it warm the planet?

Most scientists and environmentalists say yes: By definition, clear-cutting trees and combusting their carbon emits greenhouse gases that heat up the earth. But policymakers in the U.S. Congress and governments around the world have declared that no, burning wood for power isn’t a climate threat—it’s actually a green climate solution. In Europe, “biomass power,” as it’s technically called, is now counted and subsidized as zero-emissions renewable energy. As a result, European utilities now import tons of wood from U.S. forests every year—and Europe’s supposedly eco-friendly economy now generates more energy from burning wood than from wind and solar combined.

Michael Grunwald is a senior staff writer forPolitico Magazine. 

My room I was sharing with two of my colleagues at the Chankaya Palace E-Block basement was only three floors below the office of our President. When my internal line number 2054 rang, it took me only 30 seconds to the office of the President if there was any emergency. Most of the time I was breathless and I tidied myself up with a deep breath before I entered the office. This office, where the President hosted many important guests, was sunny and it was close to the peak of the hill of 1071 m altitude, viewing Ankara. There was only one problematic issue about the room for me and this was that the part where the guests were hosted was in front of the huge windows. As the sunlight always came from the opposite angle, I had to use photo-flash at all times of the day. Most of the times me, my camera and the President were together in this very elegant, but also modest room.

Everybody knew that I went to all corners of the room to create extraordinary photographs as much as I could and that I was striving to spend more time there. I witnessed many significant discussions in this room, where many important decisions were taken, however, my job concentration made me completely deaf to all things. When I was trying to shoot a good photograph, sometimes the assistant or the principal clerk wanted me to leave, saying, “Have you not been able to take that photo yet?”, but most of the time I continued working as I did not hear what they said. Sometimes I left without having taken any photos as I understood that President Gül, who I was following very carefully, was in low spirits and I thought that I should not be around. Sometimes he himself made a gesture, meaning I should leave. Sometimes I was the third party in discussions. As I was going around trying to take a good photo at the right time, and when the Pakistani President asked, “So many photos are being taken but we have not seen anything yet”, our President wanted me to answer and I said that we were preparing an album of memoires.

Everybody know President Gül was interested in photography. Whenever he saw a classical camera I was using for trials, he used to ask, “Is this new?” and he wanted to use it.

Sometimes when I went to his office to show an album or photographs after a visit, we had chats about photography. He made some comments about them and I showed him some photos, asking him whether he remembered when they were taken. For some of these photos, he sometimes shared important details about the background, saying, “This moment was when the name of the third bridge was decided on.”

In Istanbul our President’s office for the summer was in the area of Tarabya where the Huber Mansion was. The Huber Mansion is currently under construction and he had used it for a brief period and his office and the residence at Tarabya were converted into a magnificent place by the First Lady’s arrangements. It was worth watching the admiration of the guests. I could have thought that this was exaggeration if I had not heard the French President Holland say to the President, “It will be really very difficult to host you at Versaille Palace after having seen this place” myself. I had also witnessed the admiration of the German President Joachim Gauck for the Tarabya residence.

I have always believed in the positive effect of places on people. Therefore, I used to think that the President’s Istanbul programs were always more colorful and that the positive effect of the place was reflecting on his face. This positive effect was usually at a high level, but we also had problematic times… Our plane having been crashed by Syria was only one of these moments. The President was waiting for the Commander of the Air forces for the briefing and his thoughtful state at the meeting table is one of the moments from the Tarabya office I have not forgotten.

I considered every moment I had in the Ankara or Istanbul offices special and I tried to document those moments besides photographs too…

For 990 days I have witnessed numerous nice and special moments with the President Abdullah Gül. I considered my job an important experience for myself. During this period in 33 months I generated more than 200 thousand photographs. I documented numerous important events with my camera. There have been many events I have not forgotten; the funeral for our 12 soldiers who died at the helicopter accident in Afghanistan, our President attending the senate opening with his wife for the first time, our visiting him at the hospital because of his ear illness and the expression in his eyes when he took his son’s diploma in his hands at his graduation are the special moments for me beyond photos. And of course there are others that will stay with me forever.

Each second at Chankaya Palace was full of teachable experiences. For 33 months I discovered a world, about which I knew nothing before. I followed up the correct moment instead of shooting every moment. I think somebody around me taking my photos all the time would disturb me too. Therefore, while I was doing my job, I tried to leave moments for the President to feel comfortable.

I have tried to explain a structure such as Presidency, usually not shared with others, from the eyes of a photographer for everybody to understand. These photos making notes in history are not mine any longer, but they belong to everybody who want to see them. 

My room I was sharing with two of my colleagues at the Chankaya Palace E-Block basement was only three floors below the office of our President. When my internal line number 2054 rang, it took me only 30 seconds to the office of the President if there was any emergency. Most of the time I was breathless and I tidied myself up with a deep breath before I entered the office. This office, where the President hosted many important guests, was sunny and it was close to the peak of the hill of 1071 m altitude, viewing Ankara. There was only one problematic issue about the room for me and this was that the part where the guests were hosted was in front of the huge windows. As the sunlight always came from the opposite angle, I had to use photo-flash at all times of the day. Most of the times me, my camera and the President were together in this very elegant, but also modest room.

Everybody knew that I went to all corners of the room to create extraordinary photographs as much as I could and that I was striving to spend more time there. I witnessed many significant discussions in this room, where many important decisions were taken, however, my job concentration made me completely deaf to all things. When I was trying to shoot a good photograph, sometimes the assistant or the principal clerk wanted me to leave, saying, “Have you not been able to take that photo yet?”, but most of the time I continued working as I did not hear what they said. Sometimes I left without having taken any photos as I understood that President Gül, who I was following very carefully, was in low spirits and I thought that I should not be around. Sometimes he himself made a gesture, meaning I should leave. Sometimes I was the third party in discussions. As I was going around trying to take a good photo at the right time, and when the Pakistani President asked, “So many photos are being taken but we have not seen anything yet”, our President wanted me to answer and I said that we were preparing an album of memoires.

Everybody know President Gül was interested in photography. Whenever he saw a classical camera I was using for trials, he used to ask, “Is this new?” and he wanted to use it.

Sometimes when I went to his office to show an album or photographs after a visit, we had chats about photography. He made some comments about them and I showed him some photos, asking him whether he remembered when they were taken. For some of these photos, he sometimes shared important details about the background, saying, “This moment was when the name of the third bridge was decided on.”

In Istanbul our President’s office for the summer was in the area of Tarabya where the Huber Mansion was. The Huber Mansion is currently under construction and he had used it for a brief period and his office and the residence at Tarabya were converted into a magnificent place by the First Lady’s arrangements. It was worth watching the admiration of the guests. I could have thought that this was exaggeration if I had not heard the French President Holland say to the President, “It will be really very difficult to host you at Versaille Palace after having seen this place” myself. I had also witnessed the admiration of the German President Joachim Gauck for the Tarabya residence.

I have always believed in the positive effect of places on people. Therefore, I used to think that the President’s Istanbul programs were always more colorful and that the positive effect of the place was reflecting on his face. This positive effect was usually at a high level, but we also had problematic times… Our plane having been crashed by Syria was only one of these moments. The President was waiting for the Commander of the Air forces for the briefing and his thoughtful state at the meeting table is one of the moments from the Tarabya office I have not forgotten.

I considered every moment I had in the Ankara or Istanbul offices special and I tried to document those moments besides photographs too…

For 990 days I have witnessed numerous nice and special moments with the President Abdullah Gül. I considered my job an important experience for myself. During this period in 33 months I generated more than 200 thousand photographs. I documented numerous important events with my camera. There have been many events I have not forgotten; the funeral for our 12 soldiers who died at the helicopter accident in Afghanistan, our President attending the senate opening with his wife for the first time, our visiting him at the hospital because of his ear illness and the expression in his eyes when he took his son’s diploma in his hands at his graduation are the special moments for me beyond photos. And of course there are others that will stay with me forever.

Each second at Chankaya Palace was full of teachable experiences. For 33 months I discovered a world, about which I knew nothing before. I followed up the correct moment instead of shooting every moment. I think somebody around me taking my photos all the time would disturb me too. Therefore, while I was doing my job, I tried to leave moments for the President to feel comfortable.

I have tried to explain a structure such as Presidency, usually not shared with others, from the eyes of a photographer for everybody to understand. These photos making notes in history are not mine any longer, but they belong to everybody who want to see them. 

Most of the members of this handpicked security team successfully blend into a crowd.


Some of the most important features of this team, which somewhat resemble people from an action movie, are their thorough knowledge of technology, their intelligent security analyses and their emphasis on continuous training. The security guards, who work as if they are the invisible shadows of the president, exert the utmost effort to allow the president to do his job with ease. Instead of creating tension with their presence, they aim to make things easier for the president. As a result, they make their security plans around the president’s schedule. The team is on duty 24/7 and comprises people who have known each other for a long time. Consequently, although they have their walkie-talkies with them at all times, sometimes only a look is necessary to communicate an idea. Most of pictures was taken 11th Turkish President Abdullah Gul's term.

Most of the members of this handpicked security team successfully blend into a crowd.


Some of the most important features of this team, which somewhat resemble people from an action movie, are their thorough knowledge of technology, their intelligent security analyses and their emphasis on continuous training. The security guards, who work as if they are the invisible shadows of the president, exert the utmost effort to allow the president to do his job with ease. Instead of creating tension with their presence, they aim to make things easier for the president. As a result, they make their security plans around the president’s schedule. The team is on duty 24/7 and comprises people who have known each other for a long time. Consequently, although they have their walkie-talkies with them at all times, sometimes only a look is necessary to communicate an idea. Most of pictures was taken 11th Turkish President Abdullah Gul's term.
Mar 04, 2010 - Quantico , Virginia, USA - The Marine Corps Base Quantico acts as a training ground for a class (Golf Company) of Marine officers from The Basic School (TBS) as they practice urban warfare training, called Military Operations in Urban Terra
Mar 04, 2010 - Quantico , Virginia, USA - The Marine Corps Base Quantico acts as a training ground for a class (Golf Company) of Marine officers from The Basic School (TBS) as they practice urban warfare training, called Military Operations in Urban Terra

The crowd waves American flags on the National Mall as President Barack Obama is introduced during the inauguration in Washington D.C. Tuesday

On January 20, 2009. Barack Obama was inaugurated as the 44th president of the United States. More than 1.8 million people crowded the Washington Mall in Washington D.C. Obama became the first African-American president. Obama started his political career in Chicago.Obama is a graduate of Columbia University and Harvard Law School, where he was the first African American president of the Harvard Law Review. He worked as a community organizer in Chicago prior to earning his law degree, and practiced as a civil rights attorney in Chicago before serving three terms in the Illinois Senate from 1997 to 2004. He also taught Constitutional Law at the University of Chicago Law School from 1992 to 2004. Following an unsuccessful bid for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2000, Obama was elected to the Senate in November 2004. Obama delivered the keynote address at the Democratic National Convention in July 2004.

The crowd waves American flags on the National Mall as President Barack Obama is introduced during the inauguration in Washington D.C. Tuesday

On January 20, 2009. Barack Obama was inaugurated as the 44th president of the United States. More than 1.8 million people crowded the Washington Mall in Washington D.C. Obama became the first African-American president. Obama started his political career in Chicago.Obama is a graduate of Columbia University and Harvard Law School, where he was the first African American president of the Harvard Law Review. He worked as a community organizer in Chicago prior to earning his law degree, and practiced as a civil rights attorney in Chicago before serving three terms in the Illinois Senate from 1997 to 2004. He also taught Constitutional Law at the University of Chicago Law School from 1992 to 2004. Following an unsuccessful bid for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2000, Obama was elected to the Senate in November 2004. Obama delivered the keynote address at the Democratic National Convention in July 2004.
Thousands gathered on Thanksgiving morning for the annual Blessing of Hounds, a local ritual marking the start of fox hunting season in Southern Pines, NC since 1914.  11/25/2021 Southern Pines, NC
Blessing of Hounds Thousands gathered on Thanksgiving morning for the annual Blessing of Hounds, a local ritual marking the start of fox hunting season in Southern Pines, NC since 1914. 11/25/2021 Southern Pines, NC

My room I was sharing with two of my colleagues at the Chankaya Palace E-Block basement was only three floors below the office of our President. When my internal line number 2054 rang, it took me only 30 seconds to the office of the President if there was any emergency. Most of the time I was breathless and I tidied myself up with a deep breath before I entered the office. This office, where the President hosted many important guests, was sunny and it was close to the peak of the hill of 1071 m altitude, viewing Ankara. There was only one problematic issue about the room for me and this was that the part where the guests were hosted was in front of the huge windows. As the sunlight always came from the opposite angle, I had to use photo-flash at all times of the day. Most of the times me, my camera and the President were together in this very elegant, but also modest room.

Everybody knew that I went to all corners of the room to create extraordinary photographs as much as I could and that I was striving to spend more time there. I witnessed many significant discussions in this room, where many important decisions were taken, however, my job concentration made me completely deaf to all things. When I was trying to shoot a good photograph, sometimes the assistant or the principal clerk wanted me to leave, saying, “Have you not been able to take that photo yet?”, but most of the time I continued working as I did not hear what they said. Sometimes I left without having taken any photos as I understood that President Gül, who I was following very carefully, was in low spirits and I thought that I should not be around. Sometimes he himself made a gesture, meaning I should leave. Sometimes I was the third party in discussions. As I was going around trying to take a good photo at the right time, and when the Pakistani President asked, “So many photos are being taken but we have not seen anything yet”, our President wanted me to answer and I said that we were preparing an album of memoires.

Everybody know President Gül was interested in photography. Whenever he saw a classical camera I was using for trials, he used to ask, “Is this new?” and he wanted to use it.

Sometimes when I went to his office to show an album or photographs after a visit, we had chats about photography. He made some comments about them and I showed him some photos, asking him whether he remembered when they were taken. For some of these photos, he sometimes shared important details about the background, saying, “This moment was when the name of the third bridge was decided on.”

In Istanbul our President’s office for the summer was in the area of Tarabya where the Huber Mansion was. The Huber Mansion is currently under construction and he had used it for a brief period and his office and the residence at Tarabya were converted into a magnificent place by the First Lady’s arrangements. It was worth watching the admiration of the guests. I could have thought that this was exaggeration if I had not heard the French President Holland say to the President, “It will be really very difficult to host you at Versaille Palace after having seen this place” myself. I had also witnessed the admiration of the German President Joachim Gauck for the Tarabya residence.

I have always believed in the positive effect of places on people. Therefore, I used to think that the President’s Istanbul programs were always more colorful and that the positive effect of the place was reflecting on his face. This positive effect was usually at a high level, but we also had problematic times… Our plane having been crashed by Syria was only one of these moments. The President was waiting for the Commander of the Air forces for the briefing and his thoughtful state at the meeting table is one of the moments from the Tarabya office I have not forgotten.

I considered every moment I had in the Ankara or Istanbul offices special and I tried to document those moments besides photographs too…

For 990 days I have witnessed numerous nice and special moments with the President Abdullah Gül. I considered my job an important experience for myself. During this period in 33 months I generated more than 200 thousand photographs. I documented numerous important events with my camera. There have been many events I have not forgotten; the funeral for our 12 soldiers who died at the helicopter accident in Afghanistan, our President attending the senate opening with his wife for the first time, our visiting him at the hospital because of his ear illness and the expression in his eyes when he took his son’s diploma in his hands at his graduation are the special moments for me beyond photos. And of course there are others that will stay with me forever.

Each second at Chankaya Palace was full of teachable experiences. For 33 months I discovered a world, about which I knew nothing before. I followed up the correct moment instead of shooting every moment. I think somebody around me taking my photos all the time would disturb me too. Therefore, while I was doing my job, I tried to leave moments for the President to feel comfortable.

I have tried to explain a structure such as Presidency, usually not shared with others, from the eyes of a photographer for everybody to understand. These photos making notes in history are not mine any longer, but they belong to everybody who want to see them. 

My room I was sharing with two of my colleagues at the Chankaya Palace E-Block basement was only three floors below the office of our President. When my internal line number 2054 rang, it took me only 30 seconds to the office of the President if there was any emergency. Most of the time I was breathless and I tidied myself up with a deep breath before I entered the office. This office, where the President hosted many important guests, was sunny and it was close to the peak of the hill of 1071 m altitude, viewing Ankara. There was only one problematic issue about the room for me and this was that the part where the guests were hosted was in front of the huge windows. As the sunlight always came from the opposite angle, I had to use photo-flash at all times of the day. Most of the times me, my camera and the President were together in this very elegant, but also modest room.

Everybody knew that I went to all corners of the room to create extraordinary photographs as much as I could and that I was striving to spend more time there. I witnessed many significant discussions in this room, where many important decisions were taken, however, my job concentration made me completely deaf to all things. When I was trying to shoot a good photograph, sometimes the assistant or the principal clerk wanted me to leave, saying, “Have you not been able to take that photo yet?”, but most of the time I continued working as I did not hear what they said. Sometimes I left without having taken any photos as I understood that President Gül, who I was following very carefully, was in low spirits and I thought that I should not be around. Sometimes he himself made a gesture, meaning I should leave. Sometimes I was the third party in discussions. As I was going around trying to take a good photo at the right time, and when the Pakistani President asked, “So many photos are being taken but we have not seen anything yet”, our President wanted me to answer and I said that we were preparing an album of memoires.

Everybody know President Gül was interested in photography. Whenever he saw a classical camera I was using for trials, he used to ask, “Is this new?” and he wanted to use it.

Sometimes when I went to his office to show an album or photographs after a visit, we had chats about photography. He made some comments about them and I showed him some photos, asking him whether he remembered when they were taken. For some of these photos, he sometimes shared important details about the background, saying, “This moment was when the name of the third bridge was decided on.”

In Istanbul our President’s office for the summer was in the area of Tarabya where the Huber Mansion was. The Huber Mansion is currently under construction and he had used it for a brief period and his office and the residence at Tarabya were converted into a magnificent place by the First Lady’s arrangements. It was worth watching the admiration of the guests. I could have thought that this was exaggeration if I had not heard the French President Holland say to the President, “It will be really very difficult to host you at Versaille Palace after having seen this place” myself. I had also witnessed the admiration of the German President Joachim Gauck for the Tarabya residence.

I have always believed in the positive effect of places on people. Therefore, I used to think that the President’s Istanbul programs were always more colorful and that the positive effect of the place was reflecting on his face. This positive effect was usually at a high level, but we also had problematic times… Our plane having been crashed by Syria was only one of these moments. The President was waiting for the Commander of the Air forces for the briefing and his thoughtful state at the meeting table is one of the moments from the Tarabya office I have not forgotten.

I considered every moment I had in the Ankara or Istanbul offices special and I tried to document those moments besides photographs too…

For 990 days I have witnessed numerous nice and special moments with the President Abdullah Gül. I considered my job an important experience for myself. During this period in 33 months I generated more than 200 thousand photographs. I documented numerous important events with my camera. There have been many events I have not forgotten; the funeral for our 12 soldiers who died at the helicopter accident in Afghanistan, our President attending the senate opening with his wife for the first time, our visiting him at the hospital because of his ear illness and the expression in his eyes when he took his son’s diploma in his hands at his graduation are the special moments for me beyond photos. And of course there are others that will stay with me forever.

Each second at Chankaya Palace was full of teachable experiences. For 33 months I discovered a world, about which I knew nothing before. I followed up the correct moment instead of shooting every moment. I think somebody around me taking my photos all the time would disturb me too. Therefore, while I was doing my job, I tried to leave moments for the President to feel comfortable.

I have tried to explain a structure such as Presidency, usually not shared with others, from the eyes of a photographer for everybody to understand. These photos making notes in history are not mine any longer, but they belong to everybody who want to see them. 

Most of the members of this handpicked security team successfully blend into a crowd.


Some of the most important features of this team, which somewhat resemble people from an action movie, are their thorough knowledge of technology, their intelligent security analyses and their emphasis on continuous training. The security guards, who work as if they are the invisible shadows of the president, exert the utmost effort to allow the president to do his job with ease. Instead of creating tension with their presence, they aim to make things easier for the president. As a result, they make their security plans around the president’s schedule. The team is on duty 24/7 and comprises people who have known each other for a long time. Consequently, although they have their walkie-talkies with them at all times, sometimes only a look is necessary to communicate an idea. Most of pictures was taken 11th Turkish President Abdullah Gul's term.
No one has begun to estimate the number of injuries from the magnitude 7 earthquake, which destroyed much of the capital Port-au-Prince on Jan. 12. Haitian officials said the death toll was likely to be between 100,000 and 200,000. As many as 1 million pe
Faces of Haiti No one has begun to estimate the number of injuries from the magnitude 7 earthquake, which destroyed much of the capital Port-au-Prince on Jan. 12. Haitian officials said the death toll was likely to be between 100,000 and 200,000. As many as 1 million people are homeless in Port-au-Prince alone, and many are in desperate need of aid, following the January 12 earthquake that killed an estimated 200,000 Haitians and destroyed much of the capital. Non-governmental relief agencies, as well as U.S. military personnel and United Nations peacekeepers, are struggling to deliver desperately needed food, water and medical supplies. U.N. peacekeepers at one distribution site fired warning shots in an attempt to pacify starving Haitians who threatened to overrun the site..
New Mosgue and Galata Bridge.Seagulls flying over bosphorus on beautiful day in Istanbul.
New Mosgue and Galata Bridge.Seagulls flying over bosphorus on beautiful day. New Mosgue and Galata Bridge.Seagulls flying over bosphorus on beautiful day in Istanbul.

The Guantanamo Bay detention camp is a United States military prison located within Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, also referred to as Guantánamo, G-Bay, GTMO , and Gitmo, which is on the coast of Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. Indefinite detention without trial and torture have led the operations of this camp to be considered a major breach of human rights by Amnesty International.

The camp was established by US President George W. Bush’s administration in 2002 during the War on Terror. His successor, PresidentBarack Obama, promised that he would close it, but met strong bipartisan opposition from the US Congress, which passed laws to prohibit detainees from Guantanamo being imprisoned in the U.S. During Obama's administration, the number of inmates was reduced from about 245 to 41; most former detainees were freed and transferred to other countries.
In January 2018, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to keep the detention camp open indefinitely. In May 2018, the first prisoner was transferred during Trump's term; this reduced the number of inmates to 40.

The ‘Green Energy’ That Might Be Ruining the Planet

The biomass industry is warming up the South's economy, but many experts worry it's doing the same to the climate. Will the Biden Administration embrace it, or cut it loose?

Here’s a multibillion-dollar question that could help determine the fate of the global climate: If a tree falls in a forest—and then it’s driven to a mill, where it’s chopped and chipped and compressed into wood pellets, which are then driven to a port and shipped across the ocean to be burned for electricity in European power plants—does it warm the planet?

Most scientists and environmentalists say yes: By definition, clear-cutting trees and combusting their carbon emits greenhouse gases that heat up the earth. But policymakers in the U.S. Congress and governments around the world have declared that no, burning wood for power isn’t a climate threat—it’s actually a green climate solution. In Europe, “biomass power,” as it’s technically called, is now counted and subsidized as zero-emissions renewable energy. As a result, European utilities now import tons of wood from U.S. forests every year—and Europe’s supposedly eco-friendly economy now generates more energy from burning wood than from wind and solar combined.

Michael Grunwald is a senior staff writer forPolitico Magazine. 

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