Ambassador to Austria and UK Permanent Representative to the United Nations and other International Organisations in Vienna
Part of9th February 2016
How many reasons are there to like Istanbul? Since I arrived in Istanbul in August 2012 I have featured over 500 #reasonstolikeistanbul on my @leighturnerFCO twitter account. The response has been mostly enthusiastic. That’s not surprising. Istanbul is a spectacular city, with an epic past, a potential-packed present and, I hope, a brilliant future. But all […]
4th February 2016
It may be time for me to shut up about conspiracy theories. I’ve written often on this subject, including: James Bond, conspiracies and the Welsh Secret Service (how, on conspiracy theory logic, the lack of any evidence for the WSS existing must make it utterly all-powerful) The perils of conspiracy theories (with bonus video of […]
19th January 2016
Let’s be frank: my Turkish isn’t much good. I’ve been learning regularly for over three years; I wish I spoke it better. Thanks to my excellent teachers, however, I’ve made some progress: you can compare, for example, my first video blog in Turkish in August 2013; my video about Lundy Island, in November 2013; and […]
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8th January 2016
I was proud to be one of a number of Consuls General, who visited the offices of Cumhuriyet on 6 January. We made the following statement, and handed over a signed text: “As representatives of EU consulates based in Istanbul, we wish for Turkish journalists across the whole political spectrum to be able to exercise […]
24th December 2015
As 2015 comes to an end, it’s time to get personal again. Let’s talk about… music. My 2014 blog, “Festive 50: From “Every Little Bit Hurts” to “Stay with Me” told how a friend said “you like music – why don’t you tweet about that?” So I did* (*a quote from one of my favourite […]
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15th December 2015
The voice is clear and strong with a hint of pain. “Love,” she sings, “is a losing game”. I’m not at a concert or watching a movie. I’m at Sentez College, a school in the Turkish city of Sakarya, to present certificates to students who have passed their Trinity College London and Cambridge English exams. […]
26th November 2015
30 November is St Andrew’s Day, named after the Patron Saint of Scotland. St Andrew offers continuity across cultures: he was crucified at Patras, in modern-day Greece, and his body was taken to Constantinople – present-day Istanbul – before being transferred to Amalfi in Italy in the 13th Century. He is Patron Saint of Ukraine as well […]
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17th November 2015
Three Turkish mobile phone companies bid for frequencies to roll out a new high-tech service known in Turkey as 4.5G. Billions of euro change hands, and the companies walk away with a variety of packages and bandwidth allocations. Who wins? I wrote a blog last February called “Business in Turkey: The rules of the Game”. […]
12th November 2015
I recently met a group of top Turkish business folk from the financial sector. They were an impressive group and a powerful advertisement for the talent Turkey has to offer. We discussed how best to boost Turkey’s role as a financial centre. Turkey needs more inward investment. It must compete for that investment with other […]
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10th November 2015
A great-looking man steps out of a hotel window in Mexico City. A couple of hours later, he drives a classic Aston Martin DB5 away through the centre of London. In between come spectacular fight-scenes, exotic locations, explosions and chases, including one where the hero drives an Aston Martin DB10 through Rome. Sounds like a […]