Thousands of people have protested at Istanbul University against the ban on beards, prompting the education authorities to produce their trump card - a ban on student demonstrations as well.

BBC: Moustaches under threat

Prof Zehra Sayers of Sabanci University in Istanbul says Sesame is so valuable that it cannot be allowed to fail.

BBC: Sesame synchrotron is a flash of unity in Middle East

According to sociologist Nukhet Sirman of the Bosphorous University in Istanbul, many Turks are only now beginning to discover their Balkan roots.

BBC: Turkey's paradoxical welcome

After attending an Islamic school for would-be imams, he played football professionally for a team sponsored by the city's transport authority, while taking a degree in management at Istanbul's Marmara University.

ECONOMIST: Charlemagne

Cengiz Aktar, a professor at Istanbul's Bahcesehir University, says we will see if Erdogan is ready for this or whether he "will go his own way and impose his own views on Turkey - in which case we will have difficult times".

BBC: Is Prime Minister Erdogan Turkey's new strongman?

When Sabanci University was opened in Istanbul during the summer, the president, prime minister and deputy prime minister were all in respectful attendance.

ECONOMIST: Import-import

"Nobody agrees with America's foreign policy, " said Sertac Yakin, a university student from Ankara who also attended the Istanbul meeting in April.

CNN: Analysis: Does Obama diplomacy work?

It is possible, for instance, to say that there is a 60% chance of a major earthquake in Istanbul in the next 30 years, says Howard Kunreuther at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

ECONOMIST: Reinsurance risks