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.

building that was destroyed

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

​​​​​​​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. 

Life returns to Antakya, a city nearly leveled by earthquakes in southern Turkey
Men remove debris as they search for people in a destroyed building in Adana, Turkey, Feb. 6, 2023.

After deadly quake in Turkey, rescue teams struggle to help amid frigid temps

After deadly quake in Turkey, rescue teams struggle to help amid frigid temps
Syrian children who are refugees in Turkey face many barriers to learning.

In Turkey, refugee children face hurdles to school enrollment

In Turkey, refugee children face hurdles to school enrollment
cat on a chair

Desperate pet owners turn to illegal drug markets to cure a rare cat virus 

Desperate pet owners turn to illegal drug markets to cure a rare cat virus 
A view of Almaty from Kok Tobe Park, a popular hilltop tourist attraction accessible by cable car.

Stuck without passports in Kazakhstan, Russians who avoided the draft face a ticking clock

Stuck without passports in Kazakhstan, Russians who avoided the draft face a ticking clock
Multicolored displays of Korean marinated salads are a mainstay at Almaty’s Green Bazaar.

In Kazakhstan, timeless Korean recipes are loved and maintained

In Almaty's Green Bazaar, vendors sell a variety of foods that represent the culinary heritage of hundreds of thousands of Koreans who call Kazakhstan home.

In Kazakhstan, timeless Korean recipes are loved and maintained
Wind catchers in Yazd, Iran are an ancient form of natural air conditioning.

Long before electricity, wind catchers of Persia kept residents cool. Climate-conscious architects are taking notes.

This 12th-century invention was a reliable form of air-conditioning in Iran for centuries. And as temperatures continue to rise around the world, this ancient way of staying cool has gained renewed attention for its emissions-free and cost-effective design.

Long before electricity, wind catchers of Persia kept residents cool. Climate-conscious architects are taking notes.
neighborhood sidewalk

'How long will this continue?': People in Istanbul see their rents double as inflation soars

This summer, Turkish inflation reached levels not seen since the 1990s, and nowhere is it more clear than the rental market. Tenants are seeing their rents double, or even triple, in just one year.

'How long will this continue?': People in Istanbul see their rents double as inflation soars
Syrians sit at a coffee shop

'I'm being strangled here': Refugees returned by Turkey to Syria say conditions are bleak

In the Turkish city of Istanbul, police have continued a stepped-up campaign of random ID checks in immigrant neighborhoods. This week, officials acknowledged that 19,000 people have been deported over the past eight months. It’s not clear how many of them are Syrians.

'I'm being strangled here': Refugees returned by Turkey to Syria say conditions are bleak
Views from the Cedars of God, a 25-acre forest preserve just six miles from the monastery. Situated in the Kadisha Valley, the site represents one of the last remaining pieces of old growth cedar forest in the country. Some of the trees are believed to be

These monks are on a mission to protect Lebanon's sacred cedar trees — before it's too late

Lebanon’s old-growth cedar forests have been decimated by centuries of logging. Now, rising temperatures from climate change are set to take the rest.

These monks are on a mission to protect Lebanon's sacred cedar trees — before it's too late
view of the city

Solar power is the 'only business that's booming' amid financial and electricity crises in Lebanon, experts say

As people faced with electricity blackouts install solar panels on their rooftops, they say they're seeing some relief — but it comes alongside frustration with the government's inability to power the country.

Solar power is the 'only business that's booming' amid financial and electricity crises in Lebanon, experts say
woman near a machine

‘They’re hurting themselves’: In Lebanon, women risk their lives to get an abortion illegally 

In Lebanon, a pregnancy can only be terminated if three doctors agree that a woman's life is at risk. But this doesn't stop abortions from happening. 

‘They’re hurting themselves’: In Lebanon, women risk their lives to get an abortion illegally 
In just the first month of the war, scientists reported more than 80 dolphin deaths on the Turkish coast, according to the Turkish Marine Research Foundation. 

A spate of dolphin deaths in the Black Sea prompts scientists to search for answers

Since February, hundreds of dolphins have been found dead off the coasts of Ukraine, Bulgaria and Turkey. Scientists have pointed to the war in Ukraine as a possible cause. Navy sonar systems used to locate other vessels create powerful sounds that may be disorienting the marine animals. 

A spate of dolphin deaths in the Black Sea prompts scientists to search for answers
Berat Haznedaroğlu, director of the Istanbul Microalgae Biotechnologies Research and Development Center at Boğaziçi University, stands by a racetrack algae pool, a motor to one side.

This Turkish lab is turning algae into jet fuel

Scientist Berat Haznedaroğlu is the director of Türkiye’s first initiative to turn algae into fuel for airplanes — but scaling up is a challenge.

This Turkish lab is turning algae into jet fuel
detention center building

‘I feel quite desperate right now’: In leaked databases, Uyghurs search for names of the missing

Uyghurs in the diaspora are now going through the lists from leaked documents to try and identify their missing relatives. For many, it’s the first time they’ve been able to confirm what happened to them.

‘I feel quite desperate right now’: In leaked databases, Uyghurs search for names of the missing