The Syrian Sweets Shop in Erdogan’s Turkey episode artwork

EPISODE · Jul 23, 2026 · 23 MIN

The Syrian Sweets Shop in Erdogan’s Turkey

from The Atlas Obscura Podcast · host SiriusXM Podcasts & Atlas Obscura

Today we visit a baklava shop in Istanbul at the intersection of autocracy, violence and urban renewal. Kelly speaks with journalist Suzy Hansen, author of the book “ From Life Itself: Turkey and Istanbul in the Age of Erdogan” about a 2019 attack on a Syrian-owned sweet shop and what it says about Turkey today.  (Note: the sweet shop we discuss in this episode, El Nour, is still open today and can be found in Istanbul’s Karagümrük neighborhood, here is a link on Google Maps.)  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Jul 23, 2026

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Today we visit a baklava shop in Istanbul at the intersection of autocracy, violence and urban renewal. Kelly speaks with journalist Suzy Hansen, author of the book “ From Life Itself: Turkey and Istanbul in the Age of Erdogan” about a 2019 attack on a Syrian-owned sweet shop and what it says about Turkey today. (Note: the sweet shop we discuss in this episode, El Nour, is still open today and can be found in Istanbul’s Karagümrük neighborhood)

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