KAPIKOY BORDER CROSSING, Turkey (AP) — A land crossing near eastern Turkey’s Van province is one of the few routes connecting Iranians to the rest of the world amid an airspace shutdown in Iran since the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Tehran over a week ago, triggering war in the Middle East.

Most travelers at the border gate in recent days had connections with Turkey through work, family, and friends, and many had moved up preplanned visits because of the war. Some had residency or citizenship in a third country and were transiting through Turkey.

Only a small number of Iranians who spoke to The Associated Press at the Kapikoy crossing said they planned to stay in Turkey to escape the war for an indefinite period.

Reza Gol, a 38-year-old plastic surgeon, said the war was not the only reason for his trip. He was traveling from Urmia in western Iran to see patients in Istanbul, where he used to live.

“It’s not clear whether we will leave Iran for good, but I can clear my head a little bit in the meantime,” he said. “You can see it’s not that crowded at the border. Everyone is staying in their houses. For now, people are not leaving everything they have behind and running away.”

Pooneh Asghari and her husband, Iranian-Canadian citizens, were reluctantly preparing to fly to Canada, although they no longer have a house there and both of them work in Iran. Asghari said they are hoping the trip will be brief.

“We’ve been living in Iran for over the last five years,” she said. “All our life is there.”

Fariba, a woman who asked to be identified only by her first name out of security concerns, was headed to İzmir in western Turkey to wait out the war with her son.

She said most of her friends and neighbors don’t have the means to escape — which might explain the lack of a major exodus across the border.

“People are very poor now,” she said. “So they are staying at home, and they are scared.”

Border restrictions and canceled flights

Iranians normally enter Turkey without visas. On Monday, Turkey’s trade minister announced the mutual suspension of crossings for day-trips, while Iranian border officials have restricted the passage of some Iranian nationals, according to travelers and local media.

However, since Thursday morning, both Iranians and third-country nationals have been crossing the mountain ringed Kapıköy border gates normally.

Turkey’s Interior Minister Mustafa Çiftçi said in a statement that 2,032 travelers entered Turkey from Iran on Wednesday, while 1,966 of them departed to Iran. More recent figures were not available.

Most of those who crossed then made their way to the Van airport to continue their journey. On Friday night, about 20 passengers, mostly Iranians, were lying on rows of chairs waiting to get a flight the next morning.

Mehregan, a 26-year-old who studies in China, was visiting her family in Ahvaz for the winter holidays when the war broke out. She drove more than 15 hours across Iran to cross into Turkey. She asked not to be identified by her full name out of fear that speaking to media would cause her problems with Iranian authorities.

The cash-strapped student decided to sleep in the airport while waiting for the next day’s flight to Istanbul, from which she would fly to China. But on Saturday, her flight was canceled because of snowstorms and she was preparing to look for a hotel in the city rather than sleeping in the airport for a second night.

“If I can’t get on a flight tomorrow from here I will miss my flight to China” and lose the cost of the nonrefundable ticket, she said.

Van, which is a 1.5-hour drive from the border, has long been a popular destination for Iranians for work, travel, and trade. The hotels and shops that normally do bustling business during Iran’s Nowruz holidays in mid-March are now expecting to take a hit.

“It gets really lively here over Nowruz. A lot of our friends come and spend their holidays here with us,” says Resat Yeşilağaç, owner of two hotels in Van. “Now it’s mostly quiet, apart from people who come because of the war. Most of them are dual nationals and they stop in Van for a day or so before flying out.”

Fears around migration in Turkey

Migration is a sensitive topic in Turkey, which was at one point hosting nearly 4 million Syrian refugees.

Turkey has been further enhancing its border defenses to be able to respond to a potential influx of people fleeing unrest after mass anti-government protests in Iran were met by a brutal crackdown in January.

Turkey’s defense ministry said in January that Turkey had 380 kilometers (235 miles) of concrete walls, 203 optical towers and 43 elevator-equipped towers along the country’s 560-kilometer (350-mile) border with Iran.

On Wednesday, Interior Minister Mustafa Ciftci said Turkey had drawn up contingency plans that involve tent camps and buffer zones to respond to a potential influx of people fleeing the war from Iran. So far that influx has not materialized.

Harrison Mirtar, 53, an Iranian-Canadian, crossed the border at Kapıköy before continuing his journey back to Canada, after a visit to his parents in Tehran. He said he was angry about the foreign intervention in his country, but he was not too worried about leaving his parents behind. They had lived through the brutal Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s.

“They are in their homeland,” he said. “Life is going on, but with some bombs.”

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — The Canadian and Australian prime ministers on Thursday called for a de-escalation of the Iran war but added the Iranians must never gain a nuclear weapon.

Canada’s Mark Carney and his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese discussed the war during their meeting in Australia’s capital, Canberra.

The meeting came after news that a U.S. submarine sank an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean and Turkey said NATO defenses intercepted a ballistic missile launched from Iran before it entered Turkey’s airspace.

“We want to see a broader de-escalation of these hostilities with a broader group of countries than just the direct belligerents involved,” Carney said at a press conference with Albanese.

“We stress that that cannot be achieved unless we’re in a position that Iran’s ability to acquire a nuclear weapon, develop a nuclear weapon, and to export terrorism, is ended. So that process must lead to those outcomes,” Carney added.

He said the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council, which were “showing tremendous restraint,” should become involved in the de-escalation process.

Albanese said: “The world wants to see a de-escalation and wants to see Iran cease to spread the destinations of its attacks.”

“We’re seeing Gulf states, that have not been involved, attacked across the board, including the attacks on civilian and tourist areas as well. But we also want to see the objectives achieved. I want to see the possibility of Iran getting a nuclear weapon removed once and for all,” Albanese said.

Questioned by a reporter, Carney could not rule out the Canadian military ever becoming involved in the conflict.

“You’ve asked a fundamental hypothetical in a conflict that can spread very broadly,” Carney said.

“So one can never categorically rule out participation. We will stand by our allies when it makes sense,” he added.

Carney is in Australia on a trade-focused, three-nation visit that began in India last week. He addressed the Australian Parliament on Thursday and will fly to Japan on Friday.

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — The imprisoned leader of a militant Kurdish group in Turkey on Friday urged for new legislation that would advance a peace initiative with the Turkish government in the wake of their decades‑long conflict.

The appeal by Abullah Ocalan came a year after his historic call for the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, to lay down its arms and dissolve itself.

His latest message, read out in parliament by a senior member of Turkey’s pro-Kurdish party, followed weeks after a parliamentary committee recommended a series of reforms to support the peace efforts — including measures to reintegrate PKK members who renounce violence.

“The transition to democratic integration necessitates laws of peace,” read Ocalan’s message.

“We aim to close the era of politics based on violence and to open a process based on a democratic society and the rule of law,” legislator Pervin Buldan read from the message.

“We invite all segments of society to create opportunities and take responsibility in this direction,” it also said.

The PKK has waged an armed insurgency since 1984 in Turkey that has claimed tens of thousands of lives and spilled into neighboring Iraq and Syria. The group is designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.

After Ocalan’s Feb. 27, 2025 announcement, the PKK said in May that it would disarm and disband, ending more than four decades of hostilities.

The group later held a symbolic disarmament ceremony in northern Iraq — where its fighters had long found safe havens during the insurgency — and burned dozens of weapons in a cauldron before starting to withdraw its remaining fighters from Turkey to Iraq.

Earlier this month, a multi-party parliamentary commission recommended a series of reforms, including the reintegration of PKK members who renounce violence, while stressing that legal steps should be tied to state security institutions verifying that the group has surrendered its weapons.

Among other measures, the commission also called for steps to expand freedom of expression, release older or sick prisoners and ensure that nonviolent acts are not prosecuted under anti‑terror laws.

On Friday, the pro‑Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party, or DEM, also urged the adoption of such legal measures.

“The state and the executive branch are obligated to move this process forward with the seriousness and determination that matches Mr. Ocalan’s pace for a solution” DEM party co-chairman Tuncer Bakirhan said. “The responsibility now rests with the state and the executive branch.”

Ocalan, 76, has been imprisoned on the island of Imrali, off the coast of Istanbul, since 1999, after being convicted of treason. Despite his incarceration, he continues to wield significant influence over the PKK. The group initially sought an independent Kurdish state but later shifted to demands for autonomy and expanded rights in Turkey.

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — A Turkish parliamentary committee on Wednesday recommended a series of reforms to advance a new peace initiative with the militant Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, while stressing that legal steps should be tied to state security institutions verifying that the group has surrendered its weapons.

The recommendations, which were overwhelmingly approved by the National Solidarity, Brotherhood and Democracy Commission, call for a temporary legal measure to reintegrate PKK members who renounce violence, according to the final draft of a report made available to journalists.

The commission also calls for measures to expand freedom of expression, release older or sick prisoners and ensure that nonviolent acts are not prosecuted under anti‑terror laws. It proposes an end to the practice of appointing government trustees to replace elected mayors from the country’s pro‑Kurdish party.

Designated a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union, the PKK has waged an armed insurgency since 1984 that has claimed tens of thousands of lives and spilled into neighboring Iraq and Syria.

The group initially sought an independent Kurdish state but later shifted to demands for autonomy and expanded rights in Turkey.

The commission report says state verification that the PKK has laid down its arms and dissolved itself is “the most critical threshold in the process.”

The recommendations stop short of proposing parole for the PKK’s imprisoned leader Abdullah Ocalan, instead urge compliance with rulings by the European Court of Human Rights and Turkish Constitutional Court on improving detention conditions. Reflecting strong public opposition to leniency toward the PKK, the draft report avoids calling for a blanket amnesty, suggesting instead that fighters’ cases be reviewed individually.

“The report is not an amnesty arrangement,” Parliamentary Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş stressed ahead of the vote, describing the commission’s work as “a clear expression of the determination to build the future together without denying our suffering.”

The report says that “legal regulations must not create a perception of impunity or amnesty in society.”

The recommendations were approved by 47 votes in favor, with two opposing votes and one abstention, Haberturk broadcaster reported.

It was not clear what the next step in the process would be.

The commission was formed in August to oversee the peace effort after the PKK, following an appeal by Ocalan, announced in May that it would disarm and disband, ending more than four decades of hostilities. The group later held a symbolic disarmament ceremony in northern Iraq and began withdrawing its remaining fighters from Turkey.

There was no immediate statement from the PKK, which has pressed for formal legal guarantees from the government for the process to move forward.

In a televised address, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan welcomed the commission’s report, saying it has “put forward a perspective that will give momentum” to the reconciliation efforts.

The draft report also recommends broader democratization steps, including a review of media laws to ensure that freedom of expression and the right to legitimate criticism are protected. It proposes that if a mayor is removed from office, the successor be chosen through an internal election by the municipal council instead of being appointed by the government.

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — A brawl erupted in Turkey’s parliament on Wednesday after lawmakers from the ruling party and the opposition clashed over the appointment of a controversial figure to the Justice Ministry in a Cabinet reshuffle.

Opposition legislators tried to block Istanbul Chief Prosecutor Akin Gurlek, who President Recep Tayyip Erdogan appointed to the top judicial portfolio, from taking the oath of office in parliament. As tempers flared, legislators were seen pushing each other, with some hurling punches.

As Istanbul chief prosecutor, Gurlek had presided over high‑profile trials against several members of the main opposition party, the Republican People’s Party or CHP — proceedings that the opposition has long denounced as politically motivated.

The former prosecutor was later seen taking the oath surrounded by ruling party legislators.

Erdogan also named Mustafa Ciftci, governor of the eastern province of Erzurum, as interior minister.

Hundreds of officials from CHP‑run municipalities have been arrested in corruption probes. Among them was Istanbul’s mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, widely seen as Erdogan’s chief rival, who was arrested last year.

The government insists the judiciary acts independently.

No official reason was given for Wednesday’s shake‑up, though the Official Gazette said the outgoing ministers had “requested to be relieved” of their duties.

The new appointments come as Turkey is debating possible constitutional reforms and pursuing a peace initiative with the militant Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, aimed at ending a decades‑long conflict. Parliament is expected to pass reforms to support the process.

ANTAKYA, Turkey (AP) — Architect Buse Ceren Gul is on a mission: restore a 166-year-old Greek Orthodox church that was long a beacon of her hometown’s multicultural past. She believes restoring the church left mostly in ruins by the earthquakes in southern Turkey three years ago will help locals reconnect to their city.

The magnitude 7.8 earthquake on Feb. 6, 2023, and another hours later were among Turkey’s worst disasters. In Antakya, the quakes destroyed much of the historical town center.

After years of planning, campaigning and fundraising, Gul’s team recently uncovered St. Paul’s Church from the rubble that reached up to 5 meters (16 feet).

“The old city is central to the earliest memories of anyone who grew up here,” the 34-year-old Gul told The Associated Press, strolling around the church.

“‘Have we vanished?’ I asked myself when I first saw the site in the aftermath of the quakes,” she said.

The quakes destroyed or damaged hundreds of thousands of buildings in Turkey, leaving more than 53,000 people dead. Another 6,000 people were killed in neighboring Syria.

An estimated 10,000 Christians lived in Hatay province before the earthquake, a tiny part of the overall population but one of the largest Christian concentrations in Turkey outside Istanbul.

Antakya was one of the hardest-hit cities, with the destruction threatening to erase one of its oldest streets, Saray Avenue, a hub for Christians, Muslims and Jews of different sects. The street is home to the Greek Orthodox St. Paul’s Church, which belongs to an Arabic-speaking community.

The neighborhood, like others in Antakya, has become “unrecognizable to its residents,” said Gul, who belongs to the Alevi Muslim community. “But raising the old city on its feet might prove that Antakya’s roots can be preserved once again.”

Saving its rich history

Gul was studying and working on the St. Paul’s Church’s renovation since before the earthquakes. Of the 293 cultural heritage sites damaged in the province, the church is among the few that already had approved architectural drawings, which Gul was drafting.

“When I was working on those plans, one of my mentors told me to draw in a way that the church can get rebuilt if it gets demolished,” Gul said. “I never thought this grand structure could actually be obliterated, but I drafted a point-by-point plan.”

Known as Antioch in the Middle Ages, Antakya is a biblical city dating to the sixth century B.C.E. Over centuries, its Hellenistic, Roman and Ottoman layers — and its diverse ethnic, religious and linguistic communities — survived at least five earthquakes of magnitude 7.0 or higher since 115 C.E., disasters that killed hundreds of thousands of people and leveled much of the city.

St. Paul’s Church, a part of Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch, on the eastern bank of the Orontes River, was completely rebuilt in 1900 after being destroyed by an earthquake in 1872.

After saving the rebuilding plans from the ruins of her office right after the quakes, Gul secured the support of the World Monuments Fund, a nonprofit that works to preserve endangered cultural heritage.

With the fund’s technical and financial contributions, Gul’s team cleared tons of rubble and set aside the stones they recovered intact. The team continues project planning and technical assessments for the reconstruction stage, but the work on site has stalled until more funding arrives.

“We used to be a financially self-sufficient foundation that was able to help families in need,” Fadi Hurigil, president of the Greek Orthodox Church Foundation of Antakya, which oversees the reconstruction project, told AP. “We lost up to 95% of our income after the earthquakes.”

The rents from church-owned shops on Saray Avenue that catered to tourists provided the church with its main income. Their reopening will be key to help the congregation start generating income as post-earthquake monetary aid from the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate in Damascus and other donors has dwindled, Hurigil said.

Since the beginning of the year, the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change has contracted a company for the redevelopment of the shops.

Challenges of rebuilding after the earthquake

The main challenge for the Antioch Orthodox Christians is the return of people who once filled the St. Paul’s Church’s courtyard and the Saray Avenue district. With most houses in the historical city center still in ruins, the majority of the city’s Greek Orthodox community are displaced from their ancestral homes.

Hurigil said 370 to 400 families lived in central Antakya before the quakes, of whom only about 90 have returned, though others visit the city for commemorative ceremonies.

“The community’s biggest need to be able to return to Antakya is the reconstruction of their homes and commercial properties,” he said.

Many in the Christian Orthodox Community with damaged or destroyed properties live outside of Antakya in smaller districts of Hatay province or in surrounding cities, in the absence of a wider urban planning for restoration of Antakya’s historical center.

Evlin Hüseyinoğlu is one of them. She had a family home only a few minutes walk from Saray Avenue that was rebuilt just before the earthquakes.

It had only minor damages in the quake, but the family found it financially risky to restore and settle back in the house in the absence of a decisive urban plan. They are living in Arsuz, a three-hour drive from Antakya, in what used to be their summer house.

Residents and community leaders who lived in the city for generations fear that the extended displacement of different religious and ethnic groups from the city will upend the long-established intercultural harmony that characterized Antakya.

“We grew up in Saray Avenue, now there is no Saray Avenue,” says Dimitri Dogum, 59, a St. Paul’s Church official whose family lived in Antakya for the past 400 years. “So many people have left the city already and it could take another five years until Antakya recovers.”

Dogum, who is Christian, fears that his son and the children of his Sunni Muslim friends will not form the sort of friendships and interfaith dialogue he enjoyed when he spent long days of his boyhood playing on the street together.

“People are gone now,” said Dogum. “My fear is that we will lose the culture of living together.”

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