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Durrie Bouscaren

Reporter

Durrie Bouscaren is an Istanbul-based reporter for The World. She covers migration, politics and social change in Turkey, Iran and the Middle East. Before moving to Turkey, Bouscaren covered local news for St. Louis Public Radio and Iowa Public Radio. She was the 2018 John Alexander Fellow for NPR, where she spent two months in Papua New Guinea investigating gender based violence. When not reporting, she can be found riding her bike along Istanbul’s old city walls, or figuring out how to grow grapes on her roof.

A traditional café interior with several men seated around wooden tables, surrounded by walls adorned with framed photographs and cultural decorations.

An afternoon at the iconic Martyrs’ Café in Baghdad

Culture

An iconic café in the heart of Baghdad has witnessed decades of change to Iraq’s history. Through it all, the place has remained a constant — a place for intellectuals and other customers to reflect and connect — a tradition its owner hopes to hold onto.

In a hub for fast fashion, ‘deadstock’ brands turn textile waste into small-batch design

Fashion

Turkish artist captures pop culture through traditional miniature techniques

Arts, Culture & Media

After Assad’s fall, long-displaced Syrians begin to return home

Syria

In southern Turkey, a surf school helps earthquake survivors process trauma and loss

Lifestyle

Small businesses already feeling the pain after Instagram block in Turkey 

Arts, Culture & Media

Instagram has gone dark in Turkey — after the Turkish government unexpectedly blocked the app late last week. The move does not bode well for a community of small, Instagram-based businesses in the country. 

The enduring harvest of the ‘Tears of Chios’

Lifestyle

The domesticated versions of wild Mediterranean shrubs are the world’s sole source of gum mastic — a clear resin that has been used by humans for at least 2,500 years. Today, some growers are trying to keep up that tradition.

‘It’s a lifelong injury’: From Gaza to Doha, children bear the scars of war 

Israel-Hamas war

An estimated 17,000 kids have lost or been separated from their parents in Gaza, according to UNICEF. At least 3,000 have suffered a limb amputation. The small Gulf nation of Qatar has taken in more than 1,600 Palestinians in recent months, including dozens of injured children.

Iranian rapper Toomaj Salehi has been sentenced to death in Iran.

Iranian rapper receives death sentence for his work and support of human rights 

Justice

The work of 33-year-old Iranian rapper Toomaj Salehi is as poetic as it is technically challenging — covering topics ranging from government corruption to the 2022 Mahsa Amini protests, he channels the voice of Iran’s disillusioned youth. This week, a revolutionary court in Isfahan overruled a previous court decision granting leniency for Salehi, and sentenced him to death.

A local soda is making a comeback in Turkey

Food

Gazoz is an old-school, hyper-local soda that’s been ubiquitous in Turkey since it was invented more than a century ago. Every town has a signature brand, often incorporating local flavors like pine, lavender, or sweet almond. The World’s Durrie Bouscaren reports from southern Turkey on why this beloved drink is having a moment.