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Connect the World

West Africans Upset Over Attention Paid To U.S. Ebola Cases; Lava Flow Forces Evacuations From Hawaiian Town Of Pahoa; The Grim Reality of Life Under ISIS; Israel Shuts Down Al Aqsa Mosque After Shooting; Made in Germany: Innovative Prosthetics; Erdogan's Economy; Expanding Threats; Turkey's Textiles

Aired October 30, 2014 - 11:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

AMARA WALKER, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Slow burning tensions rekindled in Jerusalem, the shooting of a rabbi and the killing of the

suspected gunman putting a sacred site on lockdown.

The Palestinian Authority president says the closure of the al Aqsa Mosque is tantamount to a declaration of war. We will go live to the

severed city to get both sides of a fast moving story.

Also ahead...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JANA, ESCAPED YAZIDI HOSTAGE (through translator): They came to the village and said you have to convert to Islam or we will kill you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: The grim reality of life under ISIS. We meet a young woman who was enslaved by the militants.

And putting Ebola in context. We hear from CNN's Isha Sesay who says the focus must remain on West Africa.

ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN Center, this is Connect the World.

WALKER: Well, tensions are at a boiling point in Jerusalem after a disputed holy site is closed to the public.

Clashes broke out when police shut down the Haram al-Sharif (ph) area following the shooting of a hardline activist named Rabbi Yehuda Glick.

Now Glick was campaigning for Jews to be allowed to pray at the site, which is also referred to as the Temple Mount. Israeli police later killed

the Palestinian man suspected in the shooting.

Now this all comes just months after violence between Israel and Hamas killed some 2,000 people in Gaza and the tensions that sparked that

violence are manifesting themselves in other ways.

Egypt has begun destroying homes along its border with Gaza to create a buffer zone to prevent weapons smuggling.

Israel has been warned in an emergency UN security council meeting against building any new Israeli settlements in east Jerusalem. And now,

Sweden has formally recognized the state of Palestine.

Erin McLaughlin joins me now from Jerusalem with the very latest on the tensions there. Erin, we are seeing a lot of anger after the shootings

and the closure of this site there at the Temple Mount. Set the scene for us.

ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Amara.

Well, things here in Jerusalem are tense to say the least. This is, after all, the first time in some 14 years that the al Aqsa compound, also

known as the Temple Mount has been completely shut to worshipers until further notice at this hour not entirely clear when they plan to reopen it,

not clear if it's going to be open tomorrow for Friday prayers.

Now I was just in the old city. There's a very heavy security presence, all the shops were shuttered, the shopkeepers protesting the

closure.

Now things are also tense in the neighborhood of 32-year-old Palestinian Moataz Hejazi. He is the -- was the prime suspect in the

assassination attempt throughout last night. Israeli forces had gone from neighborhood to neighborhood looking for him. We understand from police

that they had surrounded his home in a neighborhood that was located right on the seam between the east and west of the city. They say that he opened

fire on the forces. And they returned fire, killing him.

Israeli police say that he had served 12 years in an Israeli prison for violent crime -- Amara.

WALKER: All right, Erin Mclaughlin reporting there from Jerusalem as tensions clearly escalating. Thank you very much, Erin.

Well, the Temple Mount, or as Muslims call it Haram al-Shari, have been a source of tension in Jerusalem for decades. Find out why this holy

site holds so much significance to Jews, Muslims and Christians, that's coming up in about 25 minutes right here on Connect the World.

Now witnesses say a small number of Iraqi-Kurdish Peshmerga forces have entered the besieged Syrian city of Kobani to join the fight against

ISIS militants. An activist and a Syrian-Kurd fighter say about 10 Peshmerga fighters crossed from Turkey into vehicles. More than 100 others

are in a staging area on the Turkish side of the border.

Nick Paton Walsh has the very latest. He joins us live from the Turkish-Syrian border.

So the long awaited reinforcements have arrived. What else can you tell us?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Amara, just in the last five minutes we've seen an enormous explosion hit just over the

hill behind me there lighting up the sky, orange plume with it as well, possibly that would have gone in close to roundabout the official border

crossing where we know a lot of the Peshmerga hope to go in a later stage. We're always told by the Syrian Kurds inside that's where they think the

crossing will be.

It may be, because they're softening up the area around it. We've seen another very large explosion about two hours ago in a similar place

all after we saw a B1 bomber in the sky. So, we can only presume they were all airstrikes. But we don't exactly when the remaining contingent will

pass in. Those first 10, nine or 10, a scout group most likely went in just before noon and at the dawn before a small contingent of Syrian rebels

went in.

So the reinforcements are arriving drip, drip, et. cetera.

But it's the main road down here that the Turkish military will be moving up and down for the last 24 hours. I can hear pretty heavy gunfire

now actually down in Kobani below me. We don't know if the Peshmerga will move in en masse or if they're going to go in smaller groups, but of course

we do know that ISIS are comparatively ready one must imagine. We don't know their full strength inside the town. We do know there is quite

intense gunfire down there actually at this stage and a bit of tracer rounds you might see pass in the night sky behind me.

One blast there as well.

We do know we saw two ISIS figures, we think, on the far hill to the east where we know they control, climbing a telecom tower about three hours

ago. Unclear what they were doing.

But ISIS still in the town, obviously as you can hear the exchange of gunfire behind me. And I'm sure awaiting the arrival of the Peshmerga --

Amara.

WALKER: Yeah, I know the Kurdish refugees there are clearly welcoming the reinforcements that have been coming in as all that noise and some of

the airstrikes continue there. But, Nick, you know people are still angry, aren't they, at the Turkish government despite the government allowing the

Iraqi-Kurdish fighters to cross into Turkey to get into Syria.

WALSH: Well, there has, as we awaited the Peshmerga's arrival yesterday, there was some criticism that maybe they were taking so long

because of the Turkish government. We don't necessarily have any major rationale to back that up.

Of course, there's long-term resentment here between Turkish Kurds and the Turkish government. And we saw a lot of riot police on hand to try and

make sure that there was no confrontations, or at least repress anything they considered untoward as the Peshmerga pulled through the town of

Stirich (ph) near the border last night.

But I think people broadly should accept that the Turkish government have let these Peshmerga travel through. They have sat their army on the

hills overlooking Kobani and bought a lot of criticism because of that, not letting the Turkish military intervene directly.

But then those who advocate Turkey's position would say, why would they? They don't consider the Syrian Kurds to be anything really other

than allies to terrorists. They don't want to see the Syrian Kurds emerge from Kobani too victorious.

Some very loud explosions behind me now, Amara now, actually. You can't see them, but they are interrupting what I am hearing behind me.

And of course they presumably -- Ankara, the Turkish government don't want to see anyone victorious in Kobani feel too emboldened. So, a lot of

the Syrian Kurds feel they've established whatever they want on the Turkish border.

That gunfire really quite loud, actually, the worst we've heard so far today. And this really is the first serious dark of night we've seen --

Amara.

WALKER: All right, Nick Paton Walsh with the latest there at the Turkish-Syrian border. Thanks, Nick.

And there are reports of a grim discovery in another area where ISIS operates relatively freely. It happened east of Hit in Iraq's Anbar

province. And residents say they found the bodies of 200 members of a Sunni awakening force from the Abu Namir (ph) tribe.

Now this video purports to show their fighters preparing to take on ISIS. A senior Iraqi security official tells CNN ISIS militants captured a

large number of the men in the past two weeks and another 48 bodies were discovered Wednesday and some 200 men remain unaccounted for.

As the number of Ebola cases continues to rise, health experts are fast tracking trials of experimental vaccines . What's said to be the

largest Ebola vaccine trial is getting underway at the Lausanne University Hospital in Switzerland. It is one of two vaccine trials in Switzerland

coordinated by the World Health Organization in the United States.

The nurse who was told to stay home over concerns she might have Ebola has defied a state quarantine policy. You see Kaci Hickox there leaving

for a brief bike ride with her boyfriend. And you may remember she returned from Sierra Leone last week after helping take care of Ebola

patients there. And just a few minutes ago CNN learned from the police chief where Hickox lives there is no order to arrest her for violating that

quarantine.

West Africa is still bearing the brunt of the outbreak. Nearly 5,000 people have died, mostly in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

Now CNN's Isha Sesay is monitoring things from the capital there. And Isha, I know you've been watching coverage of the crisis play out where the

impact has been the greatest, not Nigeria which has been declared Ebola free by the WHO, but in West Africa. Isha, what's been the response there

over this heavy attention over the handful of Ebola cases in places like the United States is getting? And I know clearly you have been frustrated.

ISHA SESAY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Amara.

Hi there, Amara.

I think for a lot of people, myself included, it is a very bizarre situation we find ourselves in. The -- you look at the situation on the

ground in the three worst affected countries by Ebola -- Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia where there are over 13,000 cases, almost 5,000 people

have died. Families have been torn apart, communities are in tatters. These countries are on the brink, yet to look at the coverage coming out of

the United States, you would think that the United States was under siege. You would think that there was a pandemic about to erupt on U.S. shores

when that is not the case.

Take, for example, the situation regarding Kaci Hickox, this nurse that you just talked about, she is asymptomatic. We know that when you are

asymptomatic you cannot transmit Ebola. That is the science. That's the hard facts.

And I think for a lot of people, myself included, and people I speak to here in Nigeria and across the continent, there's a sense that -- and I

feel that the science and the hard facts have been put on the back burner. They have been sidelined. And instead what has, you know, taken the

forefront in all of this is hysteria and in some quarters politics.

And it's really troubling to me, because at the end of the day there is a public health emergency playing out in Africa. And the conversation

is really in the wrong place. If we do not contain the situation in those three countries, it will come back and become a humanitarian catastrophe,

which some people already say it is, and affect people in the United States and in Europe beyond what we see today.

So for me -- and for a lot of people on the continent, let's get back to where the real problem exists. Let's not focus so heavily on the

handful of cases in the United States. And let's get back to the source of the problem. And let's see the international community step up and do

what's necessary -- Amara.

WALKER: Yeah, Isha, it's definitely a great way for you to put things in perspective when you say it's as if the United States were under siege

when you have thousands of people dying from Ebola there in West Africa.

Let me ask you about this, because countries like Australia have been moving to ban all travel from Ebola hit countries. And you have this talk

amongst lawmakers in the United States, they want a travel ban.

But you've heard from public health officials in the United States from the president of the United States saying that this would be

counterproductive, especially when it comes to efforts to contain Ebola in West Africa. Your thoughts on that and the concern there in West Africa

when they hear about these talks about travel bans.

SESAY: My family is in Sierra Leone. I've said this before on the air. I've been very transparent about this and my connection to this

story.

My mother is there, my brother is there, my grandmother and a lot of family members and friends that I care and love about there in Sierra Leone

right now living under siege with my mother basically too afraid to leave the house.

This is their reality. They need medical personnel to get to these affected countries.

We heard from the president of the World Bank, we need 5,000 individuals to go to these affected countries to attempt to get this under

control so that we can speed up the diagnostics, so we can get better treatment. In addition to everything else that's needed -- more isolation

centers, more beds and all of that.

When you have these situations with Kaci Hickox and you have this talk of people being put under mandatory quarantine for 21 days, of course that

will have an impact. Of course it will mean that people will not want to come, because let's face it, how many people can afford to come back and

not work for three weeks? That's just a hard economic fact.

But the reality is as the president himself said -- the president of the United States, these people should be treated as heroes at a time like

this. They are needed. They are essential. And they are the only way, quite frankly, to get this situation under control.

You cannot think that if you close the borders, you cannot think that if you look the other way, this problem will just go away. It will not go

away. It will come back and it will be a problem for the entire world.

Right now we talk about it being a problem that could cost those three countries over $13 billion across two years. It could cost hundreds of

millions of dollars to the entire world if we don't get this under control.

And if not for the economic fact, let people do it out of the fact that there are people dying, let people do it due to the fact that we care

about our fellow humans, that we have that connection with people, be they American, European or wherever. We should care enough to step up and do

what's necessary to get the situation under control.

WALKER: Yeah, our Isha Sesay keeping the spotlight, the attention there on the public health emergency in West Africa. Isha Sesay, great

having you. Thank you so much.

All right, still to come, some residents in Hawaii are being told it's time to go as a slow-moving wave of lava threatens everything in its path.

And a firsthand account from one young woman who was held captive and brutalized by ISIS. Stay with us here on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WALKER: You're watching CNN. And this is Connect the World with me Amara Walker. Welcome back.

Well, ISIS is one of the world's best equipped terrorist organizations when it comes to military hardware and money, but it has other weapons as

well. It is using captive Yazidi women to attract new recruits. Ivan Watson reports on the brutal treatment these women and girls have received

at the hands of ISIS.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

IVAN WATSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Jana was a 19-year-old high school senior with dreams of becoming a doctor when ISIS first came to

her village.

JANA, FORMER ISIS HOSTAGE (through translator): They came to the village and said you have to convert to Islam or we will kill you.

WATSON: Jana, not her real name, is from the village of Kocha (ph), a community of ethnic Kurds from the Yazidi religious minority, which was

surrounded and occupied by ISIS early last August.

Soon after Jana says ISIS ordered the entire village to go to the school where they stole all the people's jewelry, money and cellphones and

then separated the men from the women.

According to a United Nations report, ISIS then, "gathered all males older than 10 years of age, took them outside the village by pickup trucks,

and shot them."

A different fate lay in store for the women.

JANA (through translator): They separated the girls and the women who had children and the old women. They took us girls to Mosul to a big three

story house.

WATSON: Jana says there were hundreds of girls in the house and they got visits from the men of ISIS.

JANA: They came to the room and looked around at the girls. And if they liked one, they chose her and took her. If the girls cried and didn't

want to leave, they beat the girl.

The guy who chose me was 70 years old and he took me to his house. There were four Yazidi girls there already. They hit us and they didn't

give us enough to eat or drink. They told us we were infidels.

He put me in a room and put a gun to my head and I was on the ground. And he said I will kill you because you won't convert to Islam.

That night, they came and took and 11-year-old girl away. And when she came back, she told me they raped her.

NAZAND BEGIKHANI, ADVISER TO KURDISTAN REGIONAL GOVERNMENT: These women have suffered severe psychological trauma. They've been

systematically raped not only by one person, but by different men at the same time.

WATSON: Dr. Nazand Begikhani is an adviser to the Kurdistan regional government and an expert on gender violence. She says ISIS kidnapped more

than 2,500 Yazidi women last August after mounting an offensive that triggered a mass exodus of hundreds of thousands of Yazidis and other Iraqi

minorities.

Since then, she says the captive women have been bought and sold across Iraq and Syria like cattle.

BEGIKHANI: They had two main aims -- first to recruit youngsters by giving them these young girls and women. And secondly, to humiliate and

expose these women into slavery and systematic rape.

WATSON: That fits and account we heard from an ISIS fighter held in a Kurdish prison in Syria.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): When someone joins ISIS, they give him a girl, marry him off and maybe $2,000.

WATSON: Since August, Kurdish authorities succeeded in rescuing only a fraction of the thousands of kidnapped Yazidi women.

BEGIKHANI: So far, we managed to rescue about 100 women.

WATSON: Begikhani says all of those rescued say they were raped.

If you could say something to the men who took you to his house, what would you want to tell this guy?

JANA (through translator): I don't want to tell him anything. I just want to kill him.

WATSON: Ivan Watson, CNN, Irbil, Iraqi Kurdistan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALKER: And there you hear about the brutal treatment of women in this conflict.

Now on the other side of the spectrum, Ivan has also reported on women who are taking up arms against ISIS. Here is the beginning of his report

we ran on Wednesday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WATSON: Don't be fooled by the pretty song, these women are part of a militia that is ISIS's most deadly enemy in Syria.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: All right, Ivan Watson joining me now to discuss women and war.

And we just showed two of your reports there, Ivan, quite contrasting. You see ISIS enslaving women, those Yazidi women. And then on the other

side you have the Kurdish fighters, seeing them as equals, a valuable players in the fight against ISIS.

What stood out to me is that you said only a fraction of the 2,500 plus Yazidi women who were kidnapped have been rescued. Are there plans

for any more to be rescued?

WATSON: Well, the problem is that there's a hot war being fought. The Kurdish Peshmerga, the Syrian guerrilla fighters, the Iraqi security

forces, the U.S.-led air coalition, they are all battling ISIS, but ISIS is to some degree succeeding in holding on to its front lines. And short of

them being routed, these women continue to be held hostage.

The young girl that I talk to, that 19-year-old girl Jana, she says that he mother and two of her (inaudible) are still in the hands of ISIS

now more than two months after they were initially kidnapped. So there is no white knight coming to rescue these thousands of kidnapped people.

And even more disturbing are the multiple accounts that they're being shipped across borders, shipped, for example, to Syria to the ISIS

stronghold city of Raqqa.

One Yazidi-Kurdish activist that I talked to who is based in Iraqi Kurdistan, she tells me she has the names of more than 4,600 Yazidi women

that she believes have been kidnapped. When the crisis initially began in August she said she was receiving up to 70 phone calls and messages a day

from these women calling desperately for help. Now she can't get a single one of those hostage victims on the phone or online for messaging.

So it's getting harder and harder to track these thousands of kidnapped and arguably slave women to get in -- to track them and to get in

touch with them -- Amara.

WALKER: Not knowing how they're doing, if they're alive, it's just a horrific story.

Ivan Watson, appreciate that report. Thank you so much.

And live from CNN Center, this is Connect the World. Coming up, tensions flare in Jerusalem after police close a key holy site in the city.

We will have the latest in the situation.

Also ahead, try to escape a hot lava stream can be difficult if the main roads are blocked by the molten river of fire. A complete report

coming up from the scene.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WALKER: Lawmakers in Burkina Faso are scrapping a proposal that would have let President Blaise Compaore run for office again. And this is why,

protesters burning the parliament building and marching on the presidential palace.

Mr. Compaore has been in office since a 1987 coup. Burkina Faso's constitution bars him from running in an election planned for next year.

And some demonstrators say they will keep up the pressure until the president resigns.

You're watching Connect the World live from CNN Center. Welcome back. I'm Amara Walker.

A slow-moving stream of hot lava is creeping very close to dozens of homes in Hawaii. The fiery flow has already damaged roads and power lines,

cutting off communications. Martin Savidge reports from Hawaii.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This morning, about 80 members of the Hawaii National Guard will be deploying to the town of Pahoa. They'll

be there to provide present patrols. They'll also be there to man the various roadblocks beefing up the local authorities in helping to provide

security.

But security is not the only concern for local residents.

Nearly an inch of rain fell on Pahoa Wednesday, but it did nothing to slow the lava's advance.

The lava front is only 15 feet wide, but as more lava fills in behind it, the destructive potential grows.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As it moves through the community, it moves through the area, it has the possibility of widening, which could then make

the impact even bigger.

SAVIDGE: As a result, authorities told more residents in the projected path it was time to go.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's tough. From one minute to the next I cry and then I, you know, deal with it.

SAVIDGE: The lava is threatening major roadways on the island. Their loss could take a commute or ambulance ride from minutes and turn it to

hours over alternate routes.

At the Hawaii Academy of Arts and Science in Pahoa, a private high school, these advanced science and engineering students had to help their

town.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The power poles would just have burned up.

SAVIDGE: No power poles, no power, or vital communication lines.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Temperatures can be 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit or higher, which will destroy most anything in its path.

SAVIDGE: In just 90 minutes.

They came up with a brilliant plan.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The initial drawing is shown right here.

SAVIDGE: They call it a power pole protection barrier and gave the idea to the local power company.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They came out and they said, hey, this is actually really cool. We're going to run with it.

SAVIDGE: So the utility company did what the science kids said and you know what it works.

These pictures taken of one protected pole already hit by the lava shows the pole survived. Now, all around town, the poles are being

protected thanks to some hometown heroes.

It's amazing what those students at the school have managed to come up with, but it isn't all good news. You see, that school where they learned

so much and worked out those great ideas is currently in the path of the lava flow.

Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALKER: Quite incredible what those smart science kids came up with. Well, the last time lava was a threat in this area was the 1980s, and it

destroyed nearly 200 homes.

The latest world news headlines are just ahead, plus we will discuss why this holy site in Jerusalem is the source of so much tension between

Muslims and Jews. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WALKER: Hello and welcome, this is CONNECT THE WORLD. The top stories this hour. Around 10 Iraqi Kurdish forces have entered the

northern Syrian city of Kobani. They are the first of a larger Peshmerga contingent sent to help Syria Kurds battle ISIS militants. More than 100

more Peshmerga fighters are standing by for orders on the Turkish side of the border.

The Red Cross says 192 people are still missing in Sri Lanka after a massive landslide. It hit the Badulla district on Wednesday, and police

say 10 people were killed. Bad weather stopped the search and rescue efforts Wednesday.

In Tunisia, a secular party has won the most seats in parliamentary elections. The Nidaa Tounes party has secured 85 of the 217 seats, while

the governing Ennahda party -- Islamist party won 69.

Israeli police say they shot and killed a Palestinian man suspected in the drive-by shooting of a controversial Jewish activist. Rabbi Yehuda

Glick remains hospitalized in serious condition. The rabbi has long pushed for more Jewish access to the Temple Mount.

Police closed that holy site, also called Haram al-Sharif in the wake of the rabbi's shooting. Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas

condemned the closure, calling it a "declaration of war."

Let's get a closer look, now, at why this particular site is so important to Jews, Muslims, and Christians. Joining me now from London is

Simon Waldman. He's a lecturer in Middle East and Mediterranean studies at King's College London. Simon Waldman, great to have you, thanks for

joining us.

SIMON WALDMAN, LECTURER, KING'S COLLEGE LONDON: Thank you for having me.

WALKER: Well, let's start with the first question: why is this site so sacred to Christians, Jews, and Muslims?

WALDMAN: Well, this is a holy site for the three Abrahamic faiths. The Temple Mount or the Haram al-Sharif specifically is the first most holy

site for Jews, the third most holy site for Muslims, and of course, it's a source of great tensions as well, especially today.

WALKER: So, this is the first time, from what I understand, in 14 years that Temple Mount, also known as Haram al-Sharif, has been closed to

all visitors. Tell us why, Simon, that this has become one of the most contentious areas of the Arab-Israeli conflict.

WALDMAN: Well, in addition to the site being central to the religious faiths that we just mentioned, they're also symbolic for two competing

nationalist movements, the Palestinian National Movement on one hand, and then the Israelis on the other.

With the Israelis wanting Jerusalem, including its holy sites, to be part of a unified, united capital of the state of Israel. For

Palestinians, who want East Jerusalem to be their capital of their future state.

WALKER: Now, I understand the rabbi, he was a well -- or he is, rather -- a well-known right-wing activist. He's been campaigning, pushing

hard, for more rights for Jewish people to be able to come there and pray.

They're currently not allowed to do that, they're only allowed to visit the Temple Mount. Why aren't they allowed to pray there?

WALDMAN: Well, there's different competing interpretations of whether that's permissible within Judaism. But that aside, it is, of course,

highly contentious. What's happening right now is exactly what the Israeli authorities have been trying to avoid, and that is some kind of flare-up

and increasing tensions or any kind of action which could lead to violence, as we're seeing now, unfortunately.

WALKER: Yes, Mahmoud Abbas, as we said, the Palestinian leader, saying that this is a "declaration of war," the closing of the al-Aqsa

compound. Do you feel that this could lead to a new Palestinian uprising?

WALDMAN: Well, that's the big fear, that this could lead to an intifada. This is the first time in 14 years. Let's remember what

happened 14 years ago, because 2000 was a pivotal year. There was the failure of the Oslo peace process after the Camp David summit. No solution

was found there, and they stumbled over the question of Jerusalem.

And then later, in the end of September and into October, there was the visit of Ariel Sharon to this compound. And then after that, the

Palestinian intifada, which lasted four or five years and claimed thousands of lives.

WALKER: All right, Simon Waldman with King's College London, giving us some insight into the al-Aqsa compound. Appreciate that. Thank you.

WALDMAN: Thank you.

WALKER: The Temple Mount, the Garden Tomb, Jerusalem is full of places with profound significance for different religions. But the city's

stony streets have seen more than their share of violence.

Take a look at our website to read more on the city's five most- contested sites. Head over to cnn.com/belief.

I am Amara Walker, and that was CONNECT THE WORLD. Thanks so much for watching. Next up, a look at Germany's factories of the future. Good-bye

for now.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Imagine this: speeding down a slope with a prosthetic leg. It's now

possible, thanks to the technology developed at the Ottobock company in Duderstadt, central Germany.

Technician Drikus Reinecke is servicing the artificial limb of Paralympic sprint gold medalist Heinrich Popow.

DRIKUS REINECKE, ORTHOPEDIC TECHNICIAN: It can tell you all the forces that is happening in the knee, it can tell you the amount of weight

it is putting, and this is what makes it an intelligent knee.

PLEITGEN: The Genium prosthetic leg works with a microchip that allows Popow to move in ways that were not possible a few years ago.

HEINRICH POPOW, PARALYMPIC GOLD MEDALIST: It wasn't that I had to learn how to walk with this, it was more that I had to trust -- to switch

off my mind and just let it go.

PLEITGEN: Ottobock's global market share for prosthetics is about 60 percent. The company's CEO, Hans Georg Nader, says its success and

innovations are down to the nature of this family-owned business.

HANS GEORG NADER, PRESIDENT AND CEO, OTTOBOCK: Innovation and technology was always the key drive that takes the example of our anchor

product, the Helix. It took over ten years to develop the product, and in our environment driven by analysts from quarter to quarter, maybe this

product would never have become a reality.

PLEITGEN: This continued investment in research and development has made the company a leader in its field.

PLEITGEN (on camera): Most people probably have never heard of the Ottobock company, but it has almost 8,000 employees and revenues of well

over $1 billion. It's companies like this one that are the backbone of Germany's economy.

PLEITGEN (voice-over): About 60 percent of the country's total workforce is employed in small-to-medium-sized firms, the so-called

"Mittelstand." Among them are household names like appliance-maker Miele and Karcher, which manufactures cleaning equipment.

These brands have played a powerful role in reaffirming the made in Germany trademark, and now represent a sizable chunk of the country's

overall export figures.

OLAF PLOTNER, EUROPEAN SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT: Seventy percent is done by mid-sized companies. They are very successful in global competition.

This is also why some would call them hidden champions.

PLEITGEN: And those hidden champions, like Ottobock, continue to go strong, even as Europe's and German's economies seem to be facing harder

times.

Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Duderstadt, Germany.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JOHN DEFTERIOS, HOST: A country that straddles both Europe and Asia, a melting pot of traditions, and a strategic location that attracts

attention both politically and economically. This week, MARKETPLACE MIDDLE EAST heads to Turkey.

Welcome to this special edition of CNN MARKETPLACE MIDDLE EAST, this week from Turkey. We have a picturesque view of Istanbul, the city where

Recep Tayyip Erdogan began his political career as mayor.

As prime minister, he oversaw a decade of rapid expansion and a tripling of per capita incomes. But problems in Iraq and Syria are putting

pressure on now President Erdogan and the new government.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DEFTERIOS (voice-over): He was hailed the darling of the emerging markets, growing at an average of 5 percent a year for the last decade.

While global economy shrank after the 2009 financial crisis, Turkey's peaked at just over 9 percent in 2010, fueled by a construction boom and an

influx of foreign direct investment. Boasting a large manufacturing industry and home to nearly 80 million consumers, Turkey was the river of

hope in an atmosphere of economic despair.

But the tide has turned. With the economy of Europe, its largest trading partner, contracting to its west, conflicts raging on in Iraq and

Syria to the east, and a series of public protests and political scandals threatening stability within its borders, Turkey is seeing growth estimates

slashed to just over 3 percent, while inflation forecasts hit dangerously above 9 percent.

But as the European economy still struggles to expand, property specialist Anthony Labadie thinks Turkey is faring pretty well.

ANTHONY LABADIE, PROPERTY SPECIALIST, CBRE: When I was in Spain when the crisis came, I know what zero percent or negative numbers can have an

impact. What we do tend to see here is that at still 3 percent, the economy's very wealthy, and we still see investment coming through and

demand coming through, international demand as well as domestic demand.

SUREYYA CILIV, CEO, TURKCELL: Our new products, like Turkcell TV Plus. So, you see our mobile network --

DEFTERIOS: The CEO of national mobile operator Turkcell sees these new growth figures as a natural development during abnormal times.

CILIV: How many countries are growing 7, 8 percent? Even China's growth is slowing. So, I think 3 percent is better than 2 percent, better

than 1 percent, and there were years in our history where our economy declined 6 percent, 7 percent, 10 percent. So, 3 percent growth during

pretty turbulent time, is not bad.

DEFTERIOS: After standing at the prime ministerial helm of Turkey's boom years, newly-elected president Recep Tayyip Erdogan has to now ride

out the rough seas of change to achieve his goal of making Turkey one of the top ten economies by 2023.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DEFTERIOS: The spiraling threat of ISIS on the southern border is heightening tensions, of course, and this is spilling over to the business

community. It's a nasty combination of slower growth, higher inflation and, of course, the security threats. I asked the finance minister, Mehmet

Simsek, what's the best way to combat those challenges.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MEHMET SIMSEK, TURKISH FINANCE MINISTER: While geopolitical tensions have had negative impact on Turkish macro performance, Iraq is our largest

trading -- one of our largest trading partners. We have a $12 billion trade surplus with Iraq. Syria is right across the border.

So, the impact is either to trade channels or to some other indirect ways. We now host 1.6 million refugees. So far, we've spent $4.5 billion

on refugees, and the numbers of refugees are increasing. So, that's one factor. But our fiscal position is very strong, and we will continue to

handle that with no problems.

In terms of trade, ISIL surge in Iraq was a big disruption, but hopefully now, things are a little bit more stable, more predictable. And

it looks like, after the first shock, exports are picking up, in terms of our trade with Iraq.

DEFTERIOS: Does it put the target of 4 percent for 2015 under threat?

SIMSEK: Just to give you some color, in 2013, we were the fastest- growing economy in Europe, 4.1 percent. This is more modest, 3.3 percent, but it's more balanced. And considering that the eurozone is still in a

sluggish mode in terms of growth and all these geopolitical developments and domestic political noise in Turkey, I think 3.3 percent is still a

decent number.

DEFTERIOS: You recently suggested that 3 to 4 percent growth is not good enough for Turkey. And the world had at least 5 percent over the last

ten years. How do you get 5 percent or more when you almost get to this middle income trap, we're sealing that, we see today, after all that

growth?

SIMSEK: I think the key is enhancing the quality of human capital stock, which is very, very important. I'm talking about education, skill-

building, et cetera.

Secondly, clearly we need to move up the value chain. And that requires a lot more focus on R&D, innovation, et cetera. So -- but

overall, really, there are no quick fixes. We have to do comprehensive reforms.

We've done a lot, but we need to do a lot more, second generation, third generation reforms. That's exactly what we're working with Deputy

Prime Minister Babacan and myself to achieve.

DEFTERIOS: Do you think that this target to be a $2 trillion economy by the 100th anniversary of the republic is under threat as a result of

what we see today, the slower start in this period, in the last three years?

SIMSEK: Well, admittedly, those ambitious targets were set prior to the global financial crisis. The world is different today. So, I would

admit that these are very ambitious targets. Having said that, you have to have very high targets and work towards them.

DEFTERIOS: As you know, there's almost two sides to Turkey. You see almost a one-man state in the president, very powerful. And then,

international investors very comfortable with the deputy prime minister Mr. Babacan's economic policy and yourself.

But the two don't seem to meet right now. That's the biggest concern. There's a divergence in views on where Turkey should go economically.

SIMSEK: It is a very superficial perspective. Had it not been for President Erdogan's support for fiscal discipline, for privatization, for

reforms, I don't believe that Turkey would have achieved what it has achieved.

Despite global financial crisis, despite eurozone debt crisis, despite geopolitical tensions, and despite super-high commodity price cycle, Turkey

has attained 5 percent real GDP growth rate over the past 12 years. Now, that's a huge achievement, and you can't really look at that achievement

with doubt President Erdogan's significantly their shape and contribution.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DEFTERIOS: Once again, Mehmet Simsek, the finance minister of Turkey, talking about the challenges this government faces today. We did that

interview in Ankara.

When we come back, we go from the macro economic to the micro. This country has a long tradition in textiles, but the sector took off in the

1980s. When Marketplace Middle East continues, what the made in Turkey brand means at home and abroad.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DEFTERIOS: Welcome back to MARKETPLACE MIDDLE EAST, this week from Turkey. We're in the sprawling city of Istanbul, where we found a vibrant

trade in textile manufacturing. This industry really took off in the 1980s.

Today, you'll find that Turkish makers supply some of the leading global brands around the world, while others have decided to go out on

their own with a Made in Turkey label right behind them. Here's our special report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DEFTERIOS (voice-over): The Rimaks brand is not a household name, but it's been around for four decades, about the same time Turkey emerged as a

player in textiles. The family-run group is a wholesale denim manufacturer, making jeans like these like Jack & Jones in Denmark.

In that timeframe, the Turkish textile industry has expanded into a $17 billion business, representing 10 percent of the country's GDP and 20

percent of overall employment. That's according to the Turkish Clothing Manufacturers Association.

DEFTERIOS (on camera): The business has evolved rapidly since the 1980s and now covers a full range of activities. It's an often overlooked

fact, but Turkey's one of the largest cotton producers in the world and is now making the machinery used in textile manufacturing that has a value of

nearly $10 billion a year.

DEFTERIOS (voice-over): With that expansion, Turkey has lost its low- cost advantage. The average textile worker in Turkey make $5.50 an hour, double that of EU members Bulgaria, and nine times the rate for workers in

South Asia.

So, the made in Turkey label 40 years into the business means offering reliability, design, and speed, according to the industry's trade

association.

EMIR ESKINAZI, PRODUCTION MANAGER, RIMAKS: They don't have the mills. We have huge mills in Turkey. So, I don't think there will be a big

problem in the last ten years. So, I think our production will continue to increase. It will never decrease for sure.

DEFTERIOS: Today, Turkish companies make jeans and cotton apparel from A to Z, meaning from Armani to Zegna, and many big-name luxury brands

in between. Then, there is another approach. After producing jeans for others, Mavi Jeans decided to build its own brand.

CEM NEGRIN, PRESIDENT, TGSD: We had a great factory, we had all the innovation coming from the fabric, and we said we'll go for it.

DEFTERIOS: CEO Cuneyt Yavuz decided to tap Turkey's shopping mall boom and its growth to a near-trillion-dollar economy. Today, Mavi has 300

stores in Turkey alone, targeting the mid-premium market, with jeans priced at around $100 a pair.

NEGRIN: We were this great brand producing great jeans and selling abroad in great department stores, but then Turkey -- the whole

infrastructure, the whole landscape started to change, and we could no longer be a wholesaler selling only blue jeans.

DEFTERIOS: Whether it's retail or wholesale, the made in Turkey players realize with all the global competition, they by no means have this

market sewn up.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DEFTERIOS: Our special look at the denim manufacturers here in Istanbul. And that's all for this special edition of CNN MARKETPLACE

MIDDLE EAST, this week from Turkey. I'm John Defterios. Thanks for watching. We'll see you next week.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

END