Editor's note: Cengiz Candar, a 40-year veteran Turkish journalist, has declared he has retired from active journalism after the Radikal website he contributed to for 10 years abruptly closed down. Candar, an expert on Middle East affairs who frequently lectures in think tanks and elsewhere, will, however, continue to contribute articles to Al-Monitor.
It was a good and timely idea to quickly publish my farewell article when the unexpected closure of Radikal was disclosed.