Locals enjoy horse-drawn sleigh rides on frozen Lake Çıldır in the eastern province of Ardahan. The frozen lake has an area of 124 square kilometers.

There are different channels that transmit what happens in Turkey to the world. Some of them try to be as impartial as possible, while others prefer to side directly with a particular group. Soner Çağaptay has a special place among them.

In the second wave of arrests and detentions, many more active duty military officers were taken in. The second wave of the Sledgehammer (Balyoz) operation, or more correctly the criminal prosecution launched into the coup attempt codenamed Sledgehammer.

There was a striking development that would upset the agenda. Concerning the Action Plan to Fight Reactionaryism, signed by Col. Dursun Çiçek, the gendarmerie’s criminal study unit confirmed that the document was signed by Çiçek.

The Cappadocia Platform on Saturday hung a banner reading, “Adam gibi adam, başbakan,” meaning “upright prime minister,” from a hot-air balloon in protest of the recent designation of a passphrase insulting Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s person at a military outpost.

Coups, memoranda and the military’s frequent meddling in politics have dealt great damage to the country. A military mentality that never trusts civilian politicians, that views itself as the sole savior of the country and that regards itself as entitled to humiliate politicians will always undermine the political stability in this country.