Donate

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.

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
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

A local soda is making a comeback in Turkey

Food
Man cuts quartz in factory.

Lungs of stone: How Silica has sickened a generation of quartz cutters

Health & Medicine
collapsed building

Parents seek justice for children crushed in collapsed hotel during Turkish earthquake

In the year following catastrophic earthquakes in Turkey, the quest for accountability has been elusive. But a group of parents whose children died in a hotel collapse have brought a landmark criminal case to court.

shepherd with sheep amid rubble

A year on, a Kurdish village near Turkey’s earthquake epicenter says it’s been overlooked

The town of Pazarcık and its surrounding villages were devastated during the earthquakes in Turkey last year. Displaced survivors are spending the winter in tents and containers. They say aid is limited and they’ve been overlooked by the government, due to their cultural identity. 

Turkish breakfasts are elaborate and offer a wide variety of options eaten over the course of an hour or two. Diners are not expected to eat everything on the table. 

In Istanbul, the classic ‘Turkish breakfast’ comes under fire for food waste

Food

Turkey is famous for its elaborate breakfasts, featuring a huge spread of a wide variety of foods that can take hours to eat. Critics say the traditional breakfast is indulgent and leads to food waste. Others say it’s part of the culture and here to stay.

Antakya’s Uzun Çarşı, a historic covered bazaar, was partially destroyed during the Feb. 6 earthquakes. Workers have cleared much of the debris from walkways and shopkeepers have reopened, sometimes directly across from piles of rubble.

In Turkey’s hardest-hit province, earthquake survivors adapt to a life without buildings

Natural disasters

Six months after twin earthquakes devastated southern Turkey and northern Syria, the residents who remain are carving out a life amid the rubble.

building that was destroyed

Life returns to Antakya, a city nearly leveled by earthquakes in southern Turkey

Natural disasters

​​​​​​​Two months after devastating earthquakes killed more than 57,000 people in Turkey and Syria, survivors are living in tent camps and shipping containers outside the ruins of their former homes. As mobile businesses and streetside kebab shops return to the city of Antakya, some people are determined to stay in their hometown to grieve and rebuild.