January: Turkey's authorities decided to rebrand their country's international image. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan issued a communiqué, tweaking the country's internationally recognised name from "Turkey" to "Türkiye".[1]
January 1: Turkey lifts its embargo on Armenia.[2]
February 16: The Council of Higher Education announced that the threshold score in the Higher Education Institutions Exam was removed.[8]
March
March 2: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey, the HES Code application, which had been implemented since April 10, 2020, and the obligation to wear masks in open areas were lifted as a result of the Coronavirus Scientific Advisory Board meeting held on March 2, 2022. However, the Advisory Board announced that the HES Code application would continue in public transport and the use of masks in closed areas will continue.[9]
March 10: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba discussed the Russian-Ukrainian War in Antalya. Negotiations on ending the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the evacuation of civilians and a ceasefire were not fruitful.[11]
March 29: Russian and Ukrainian delegations met in Dolmabahçe, Istanbul as part of the Russia-Ukraine Peace Talks. Even though the meeting ended without positive results, the Ukrainian authorities stated that they would like to see Turkey among the guarantor countries.[13]
April
April 7: The case file on the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Consulate General of Saudi Arabia in Istanbul on October 2, 2018 was transferred to Saudi Arabia.[14]
April 26: As a result of the decision taken by the Coronavirus Scientific Advisory Board, the obligation to use masks in closed areas was removed. However, it was announced that the obligation to wear masks in public transportation vehicles and hospitals would continue.[16]
May 25: For the first time in 15 years, Israel and Turkey held a meeting at the level of the Minister of Foreign Affairs. Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu met with his Israeli counterpart, Yair Lapid, in Tel Aviv, where regional issues and relations between the two countries were discussed.[20]
The first meeting of the delegations of Finland, Sweden and Turkey was held in Ankara, Turkey.[21]
June
June 2: The United Nations agrees to officially change the English name of the country from Turkey to Türkiye.[22]
June 20: The second meeting of the delegations of Finland, Sweden and Turkey was held in Brussels, Belgium.[24]
June 21: A forest fire started around Marmaris's Bördübet village.[25]
June 22: An Iranian spy gang, which was preparing to attack Israeli tourists in Istanbul, was caught as a result of the operation organized by the MİT and the Istanbul Police Department.[26]
June 23: As part of the normalization process of Israel–Turkey relations, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu met with his Israeli counterpart, Yair Lapid, in Ankara.[27]
June 24: The suspect, who was stated to have started the Marmaris forest fires, was arrested.[28]
After the death of specialist doctor Ekrem Karakaya at Konya City Hospital while on duty, the healthcare professionals decided to leave work on 7 and 8 July as a sign of protest.[35]
July 7: Israeli Transport Minister Merav Michaeli announced that an aviation agreement would be signed between Israel and Turkey after 71 years.[36][37]
July 9: Credit rating agency Fitch Ratings downgraded Turkey's credit rating from "B+" to "B", citing rising inflation, widening current account deficit and other economic risks.[38][39]
July 11: President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan met with Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan. During their meeting, the two leaders emphasized the importance of the normalization process between Armenia and Turkey.[40]
July 13:
A forest fire started in Datça, Muğla. The fire was brought under control after 24 hours. The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry reported that 700 hectares of agricultural and forest areas were damaged and 7 people were injured.[41][42]
A forest fire started at two different points in Çeşme, İzmir. The fire was brought under control after 24 hours. A total of 120 hectares of land was damaged in the two fires. Seven people were detained in connection with the cause of the fire.[43][44]
Turkish, Ukrainian, Russian and UN delegations held a summit in Istanbul to discuss a solution to the Grain Crisis caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the creation of a grain corridor by opening Ukrainian ports.[45][46][47]
July 21: An earthquake with a magnitude of 4.6 occurred in Gönen, Balıkesir. The earthquake was felt in the surrounding cities.[48]
July 22: The solution tp the Grain Crisis caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the agreement to open a grain corridor by opening the Ukrainian ports of Chornomorsk, Odesa and Yuzhne was signed by President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, United Nations Secretary General António Guterres, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu and Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar in Dolmabahçe, Istanbul.[49][50]
National swimmer Aysu Türkoğlu became the youngest Turkish swimmer to cross the English Channel in 16 hours and 28 minutes.[53][54][55]
August
August 4:
A fire broke out in the historical Balıklı Greek Hospital in Zeytinburnu, Istanbul. 104 patients in the hospital were evacuated and no one was killed or injured in the fire. The hospital became unusable as a result of the fire. Bakırköy Chief Public Prosecutor's Office launched an investigation on the issue.[56][57]
The results of the Public Personnel Selection Exam held on 31 July became void due to a scandal that saw the questions leaked beforehand. Halis Aygün was dismissed as the President of Measuring, Selection and Placement Center and Bayram Ali Ersoy was appointed instead. The center announced that it had postponed in its sessions due to be held on August 6–7 and August 14.[58]
The Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change announced that the ship named "NAE Sao Paulo", which was brought to Turkey for dismantling from Brazil, would not be allowed to enter Turkish territorial waters on the grounds that it contains asbestos.[61]
The first meeting of the tripartite memorandum between Finland, Sweden and Turkey was held in Vantaa, Finland.[62]
September
September 1: An armed attack took place on the headquarters of the TFF in Riva, Istanbul, while the board of directors held a meeting. While no one was killed or injured as a result of the attack, two suspects who carried out the attack were caught.[63][64]
September 26: PKK militants opened fire on a police house in the Tece neighborhood of Mersin's Mezitli district, and a bomb attack was carried out.[68]
October
October 6: Within the scope of the normalization process between Armenia and Turkey, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan met for the first time at the European Political Community summit held in Prague.[69]
December 26: President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced that there were 170 billion cubic meters of natural gas reserves in the Black Sea. Thus, the total natural gas reserves in the Black Sea reached 710 billion cubic meters.[85]
