Here is today’s Turkey news in English, Sunday 1 November 2026. MHP leader Bahçeli proposed 19 new provinces, President Erdoğan set off for talks in Seoul, Borsa İstanbul named an acting general manager, and the heavy rain warning for Muğla was extended to Tuesday morning.
Politics and diplomacy
– **Bahçeli proposes 19 new provinces and 78 new districts**: The MHP leader set out a ‘100 provinces, 1,000 districts’ plan; no list of new provinces has been published. – **Erdoğan visits Seoul from 1 to 4 November**: Official talks with President Lee Jae Myung are due on Tuesday, with agreements to be signed. – **Mecca defence agreement heads to the parliament floor**: The pact with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, the Kızılay bill and 2027 budget talks are on this week’s agenda. – **Montenegro visa rule for Turkish citizens takes effect**: Holders of valid Schengen, US, UK or Irish visas or permits can still enter for up to 30 days. – **Osman Kavala marks ninth year in prison**: In a written statement, Kavala said he still hoped to see steps towards the rule of law.
Markets and economy
– **Borsa İstanbul names acting general manager**: Atila Türeli was appointed after Korkmaz Enes Ergun was detained; no court decision had been reported by Sunday evening. – **Dünya newspaper owner detained**: Umut Güner was detained in the same fund investigation. – **New Capital Markets Board chairman**: Muhsin Atcı was appointed to head the SPK. – **New 50 billion lira Nefes loan tranche**: Small businesses can apply from Tuesday for up to 5 million lira. – **OIC export target of 30% by 2028**: Trade Minister Bolat set the goal at the B57+ summit in Istanbul.
Antalya, Muğla and the south coast
– **Muğla rain now expected until Tuesday morning**: Forecasters and MUSKİ extended the heavy rain and thunderstorm warnings. – **Antalya–Alanya motorway 35% complete**: The 122-km road will cut the journey from 2.5 hours to 36 minutes. – **Ersoy in Antalya**: The tourism minister spoke about the new archaeology museum and foreign booking platforms. – **IRONMAN 70.3 Türkiye results**: About 1,900 athletes from some 80 countries raced in Serik. – **Golden Orange awards**: Taş ve Tüy won best film at the Antalya festival.
Across Türkiye
– **Course record at the Istanbul Marathon**: Kenya’s Philimon Kiptoo Kipchumba won the men’s race in 2:08:44. – **Staged-crash insurance probe in Batman**: 21 of 43 suspects detained in 11 provinces were arrested.
New guides
– **Living in Didim and Altınkum**: Transport, neighbourhoods, rents, asking prices and buying checks. – **Living in Datça**: Dalaman and Bodrum routes, the ferry, protected-area building rules, rents and asking prices.
Tomorrow we will follow Erdoğan’s visit to South Korea, the week in parliament and the rain in Muğla from 08:00.
Sources
- Bahçeli proposes 19 new provinces and 78 new districts (Turkey Daily News)
- Borsa İstanbul names acting general manager (Turkey Daily News)
- Dünya newspaper owner detained (Turkey Daily News)
- Muğla rain now expected until Tuesday morning (Turkey Daily News)
Photo: Benh LIEU SONG / CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
