The view is widely held that Turkey is ruled by a moderate Islamist party, the AKP, that is committed to democracy and integration with Europe and that it is the old secular elite that stands in the way of modernization and human rights.  Many also believe  that the decline in Israel’s previously good relations with Turkey can be explained entirely  by Israel’s assault on the Mavi Marmara.

If you’d like a more realistic view of  what is going on in Erdoğan’s Turkey and how the foreign press is meekly lapping up the bromides served to it you should read Clare Berlinksi’s  brilliant essay here.  A choice quote:

When Western journalists note in a casual aside that press freedom has experienced certain setbacks under the AKP, they are failing to do justice to the severity of this calamity and its ramifications for Turkey and the region. The calamity is exacerbated by the tendency of the foreign media to repeat, without scrutiny, the very idiocies peddled in the Turkish press, where the range of opinion on offer has become severely limited. The result is the growth of a grossly distorted and dangerous consensus about Turkey, here and abroad - to wit, that Turkey under the AKP has become more democratic and politically healthier, even if it is a bit up the duff with Islamism

Now read the rest yourself.