Turkey’s Erdogan administration is engaged in a dual-track campaign of meticulous aesthetic curation and intensive domestic policing in preparation for Ankara’s hosting of the upcoming 2026 Nato Summit, an occasion set to feature the participation of US President Donald Trump, local media reports show.

During July 7-8, the presidential palace in Bestepe district will be the setting for what is the 36th such annual gathering. The last time President Recep Tayyip Erdogan hosted a Nato summit was back in 2004. This year’s occasion provides Erdogan with a rare opportunity to portray himself as a prominent peer of the world’s big league leaders, rather than as a leader of an important middle power.

The most visible effort ordered by officials in preparation for the summit is a government-funded urban makeover. Residential apartment buildings and houses along the official VIP routes that will be used by Nato country heads of state have been repainted in the past week, with all bills met by the public purse.

Hastily-erected high-rise barriers have, meanwhile, been placed along roadways to obscure vacant lots, construction sites and less affluent quarters of Ankara from the view of those passing by in limousines.

Capital on standby

Nine central districts of Ankara will be under near-total lockdown during summit week, according to orders issued by Ankara governor Yakup Sahin.

All public sector employees not directly required for summit logistics, health or core security will be on compulsory administrative leave.

A blanket prohibition has been announced on public gatherings, symposiums, graduation ceremonies and concerts from July 6 to 12. And the capital’s ubiquitous stray dogs has been cleared from designated security zones.

Streets sterilised with move against grassroots mafia

Ankara’s “informal street economy”, or, in other words, the grassroots mafia operating in the city streets, has also been swept aside as part of the aesthetic sanitisation campaign. Ankara police launched targeted technical surveillance and physical removal operations against the notorious network of illegal, “freelance” parking attendants who informally control and extort fees on public byways.

Working under strict instructions from the Ankara chief public prosecutor’s office to secure the capital’s perimeter, police arrested 30 suspects over the weekend for violating the highway traffic law.

“Operation Turquoise” picks up lawyers, academics, LGBTQ activists, politicians and union reps

Ahead of the summit, “Operation Turquoise” has  also been in the news, with police initiating a sweeping wave of detentions.

Video: A "standard" raid on a home by Turkish police. It was executed as part of Operation Turquoise.

On June 23, the capital’s chief prosecutor’s office stated that it issued detention warrants for 241 people deemed suspects, with 209 of them detained so far.

Under the operations conducted by the Ankara police service’s counter-terrorism branch, detention warrants were issued for 148 suspects, including 30 allegedly affiliated with Islamic State, 23 with DSIH, 22 with TKP/ML, 20 with TKIP, 16 with MLKP, 16 with DKP/BOG, 12 with DHKP/C and nine with THKP/C.

Under separate operations conducted by the Ankara gendarmerie’s counter-terrorism branch, detention warrants were issued for 93 suspects, including 44 allegedly affiliated with TKP/ML, 26 with Islamic State and 23 with DHKP-C / MLKP.

Among those taken into custody were journalist ‌and LGBTQ+ ⁠rights activist Yildiz Tar, who is ​editor-in-chief at Kaos ⁠GL, leftist politicians and several lawyers, Reuters cited rights group statements as saying. The Progressive Lawyers Association (CHD) said three of its members were detained.

Media reports also suggested that Emel Memis, a professor at Ankara University Political Science Faculty (Mulkiye), was among the detainees.

Photo: An academic, Emel Memis, was reported as detained.

Bird watchers swept up, detention numbers boosted

Among those swept up by the counter-terrorism dragnet were dozens of middle-aged and elderly citizens, predominantly women aged from 50 to 60, local news portal Medyascope reported.

Relatives revealed that 44 of the detainees had merely been participants in a bird-watching excursion organised by TEMA, a prominent Turkish environmental and reforestation foundation.

According to their accounts, the bus used for the trip coincidentally crossed paths with an active mining protest in Ankara Province’s Beypazari district a few weeks ago, leading security forces to flag the group during routine identity checks.

“They are holding elderly people completely unlawfully, denying them basic needs simply to present high detention numbers to the media for the Nato summit,” the son of a 64-year-old female detainee told Medyascope .

Islamic State suspect killed in raid, wife wounded

During one home raid carried out as part of Operation Turquoise, an alleged Islamic State militant was killed in an active firefight, according to media reports.

During an exchange of gunfire, the individual’s wife was critically wounded during and remains in Ankara hospital.