Hannah Lucinda-Smith

Istanbul

Turkey Correspondent at The Times

Turkey Correspondent at Monocle

Turkey correspondent with @TheTimes and @MonocleMag, contributor to @TheEconomist @WIRED + others Author of ZARIFA and ERDOĞAN RISING @PulitzerCenter grantee

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Articles

16 of the best hotels in Istanbul

1 month ago | thetimes.com | Hannah Lucinda-Smith

If you’re ready to spread your wings and try a new European city break, Istanbul, on the continent’s eastern edge, will surprise and delight in equal measures. For sightseeing, the marquee attractions (Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, Topkapi Palace) are a cinch to wander between, and while the city sprawls, ferry rides along and across the mighty Bosphorus Strait are the stuff of unforgettable holidays.
15 of the best hotels in Fethiye

1 month ago | thetimes.com | Hannah Lucinda-Smith |Nick Redman
16 of the best affordable hotels in Istanbul under £200

1 month ago | thetimes.com | Hannah Lucinda-Smith |Nick Redman
16 of the best places to visit in Turkey

1 month ago | thetimes.com | Hannah Lucinda-Smith
14 of the best hotels in Oludeniz

Mar 4, 2025 | thetimes.com | Hannah Lucinda-Smith
Assault on Aleppo puts Erdogan one step closer to Damascus dream

Dec 3, 2024 | thetimes.com | Hannah Lucinda-Smith

It was a sight that President Assad of Syria has long feared and, many believe, President Erdogan has long dreamt of: a Turkish flag flying from the ancient battlements of Citadel of Aleppo. Who hoisted the flag on Monday evening, days after rebel groups stormed through the city, and why is unclear. But for many observers it is another sign that Ankara, despite its denials, is playing a prominent role in the latest development in Syria’s conflict.
Assad vows to crush Syrian rebels as Russians bomb Aleppo

Dec 1, 2024 | thetimes.com | Samer Al-Atrush |Hannah Lucinda-Smith |Hugh Tomlinson

Syria’s President Assad vowed to crush the rebels who seized control in Aleppo as regime troops, backed by Russian airstrikes, desperately rallied on Sunday to prevent them from advancing further. “Terrorism only understands the language of force, and that is the language which we will crush it and eliminate it with, whoever its supporters and sponsors are,” Assad said in a phone call with the acting leader of the Moscow-backed breakaway Georgian republic of Abkhazia, according to state media.
Vegans, caviar and petrostates: the irony-free world of Cop29

Nov 24, 2024 | thetimes.com | Hannah Lucinda-Smith

Every day for two weeks, a man in a Panama hat stood outside the Olympic Stadium in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, holding a placard urging his onlookers to go vegetarian. This was a “polite protest”, the placard insisted. The man did not berate or speak to passers-by but shadowed them as they walked into the stadium, where the UN’s annual climate talks were held. But his message was clear: meat eaters are destroying the planet.
Erdogan detains opposition mayor in aftermath of Ankara attacks

Oct 30, 2024 | thetimes.com | Hannah Lucinda-Smith

President Erdogan has widened his crackdown on Turkey’s political opposition a week after Kurdish terrorists killed seven people at a defence industry facility in Ankara. Ahmet Ozer, the mayor of the Istanbul district of Esenyurt and a member of the non-Kurdish opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), was detained in a dawn raid on his home on Wednesday. He is accused of contacting the PKK, a Kurdish militia that has been fighting an insurgency in southeastern Turkey since the 1980s.
Turkey blocks Instagram for ‘suppressing condolences’ for Hamas chief

Aug 2, 2024 | thetimes.com | Hannah Lucinda-Smith

Turkey has shut down Instagram days after one of President Erdogan’s closest aides accused the platform of restricting messages of condolence for Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh. The country’s regulatory body overseeing media and communications announced that it had blocked the site early on Friday, citing a failure to remove unlawful posts.