Talk about Turkey

New flights from Turkey to Argentina

2012-02-13T06:45:00.000-08:00

Turkey national airline carrier, Turkish Airlines (THY) has announced that from June there will be flights available to Argentina from Turkey.

CEO of Turkish Airlines, Temel Kotil said that the new flights will see Turkish Airlines planes fly into the Argentinean capital Buenos Aires. Kotil said: “There is very good business awaiting us.”

Buenos Aires is the second biggest city in South America with more than 13 million people living there, Kotil said that the new flights will leave from Istanbul four times a week and arrive in Buenos Aires on a connection from Sao Paulo, Brazil. Kotil also said that further plans are in place that will see daily flights between Turkey and Argentina.

Turkish Airlines has seen a substantial period of growth in recent years that has seen the number of flights from Turkey to global locations increased year on year. Revenue for the company increased by 35 percent in the first three quarters of 2011 over the same period in 2010 while the total number of passengers increased by 11 percent to more than 24 million in total.

The new flights from Turkey to Argentina will see a further increase in tourists in Turkey and passengers flying to Turkey, aswell as people continually looking to move to Turkey.

The Guardian votes Istanbul one of the best places to live

2012-02-06T09:10:00.000-08:00

An article in The Guardian newspaper has placed Istanbul among the best places to live in the world.

The small district of Cihangir in Istanbul was ranked in the top 10 places to live alongside Portland in the United States, Hamburg in Germany, and Maui in Hawaii.

Regarding the current state of Istanbul, the article read: “On account of Turkey’s wooing of both the EU and East Asia, the past decade has seen the city turn from lovely-if-decrepit museum piece to lovely-if-decrepit museum piece with great bars, economic growth and an ok public transport system.”

Cihangir itself is a marvellous district within Istanbul. According the article in The Guardian: “I’d consider moving here for the views alone.” Within Cihangir you can expect amazing views over the Bosphorus. The article reads: “With culture and economics so shifted to the east, this feels like where the world begins.”

With Istanbul ever growing and developing as a city, the future for Istanbul looks brighter than ever – with the city tipped to become an investment hotspot in the future and a business centre for technology.

The voting of Istanbul as one of the best places in the world to live follows the recent trend that has seen real estate in Istanbul sales going up as more and more people look to buy property in the cultural colourful city of Istanbul.

New airport to be built in southern Turkey

2012-01-30T09:26:00.000-08:00

A new airport is set to be built in southern Turkey after the final permission was given by the Turkish government for the start of the project.

The Cukurova Regional Airport project will see a new airport built that will serve Cukorova, Adana, and Mersin. The airport will also be capable to handle more than 30 million passengers per year in Turkey.

Built by Sky Line and Zonguldak Private Aviation Consortium, the airport will cost approximately 357 million Euros to build with no time frame yet on when the airport will be ready for use.

The need for more airports in Turkey follows the recent impressive statistics that show that the number of people travelling to Turkey each year by means of flying is increasing at a rapid rate. Tourism in Turkey is on the up massively, and the need for more airports to handle the inflow of passengers has led to development of new airports such as this.

More than 30 million tourists visit Turkey in 2011 – what this means for Property in Turkey

2012-01-26T08:14:00.000-08:00

Data released from Turkey’s Ministry of Tourism and Culture has revealed that Turkey attracted 31.4 million foreign tourists in 2011, up 9.8 percent over 2010.

The data shows that Turkey has steadily increased as a popular destination for tourists over the years, increasing year on year. In 2009 more than 27 million tourists visited Turkey while in 2010 the number was topped at 28.6 million – 2011 was the first time Turkey has topped 30 million foreign tourists and signals the current strength of the Turkey tourism market.

More than 10 million of the total visitors to Turkey in 2011 entered Turkey through Antalya. Antalya is a hotspot for tourism in Turkey and foreign nationals flock year round to the picturesque quality of life to be had in Antalya.

Second to Antalya was Turkey’s biggest city and hub of the nation Istanbul which attracted more than 8 million tourists in 2011. With so many foreign nationals heading to Istanbul and Antalya, it is no coincidence that property in Istanbul and property in Antalya has seen a boost as more foreigners look to settle in Turkey and buy some property in Turkey for that lavish and colourful lifestyle that Turkey offers.

A number of investors are utilising the increasing number of tourists to places such as Antalya and Istanbul and buying a villa in Turkey that they can then rent out to tourists who are coming thick and fast to Turkey with rental yields in Turkey being much more impressive than say rental yields in former hot spots for property such as Spain or Portugal. In Turkey you can expect to see at least a six percent rental yield every year on your property, making buying property in Turkey a luxurious business for those looking to make money and invest in property in Turkey.

The year 2012 looks set to further stamp Turkey’s authority as the premier location for property investment in the world. 30 million tourists travelling to Turkey every year – they certainly need a place to stay and what better way to experience Turkey than renting a luxury villa in a prime location such as Antalya or Fethiye.

As we look to the future, one thing is for certain – Turkey property is on the rise and rising fast. The economy in Turkey has been one of the major factors in the Turkish property market seeing such success of late. While the rest of Europe struggles under the weight of the failing Euro – Turkey rises above with a strong economy and an exotic location for tourism and investment. The foreign attitude towards Turkey is shifting, Turkey is an attractive location for summer holidays and many more foreigners in the future are set to travel to Turkey to experience what Turkey offers. In the last two years the number of tourists visiting Turkey has jumped an enormous 4 million; with 30 million tourists in 2011 surely it will not be long until we see Turkey hitting 40 million tourists per year.

New mall to be built in southeastern Turkey

2012-01-19T09:40:00.000-08:00

A United States based company is to build a new mall, aqua park, and hotel in the southeastern province of Mardin in Turkey.

Costing a huge USD 36 million to build, Chief Executive of the company MG Consulting, Martin Carver, said why the company chose to invest in Turkey rather than other nations: “Upon meeting with some local businessmen in Mardin, I have decided to invest in the project. I see no economic growth in European markets. That is why I would rather invest in Turkey.”

The shopping mall project in Mardin will total an area of 54,000 square metres and have an aqua park, a further sign of the incredible growth and development of Turkey in recent years compared with the struggling Eurozone that seems to be crumbling. Carver said: “After completing the mall and aqua park project, we will also start the construction of a five-star hotel with nearly 300 rooms.”

The last few years have seen a great deal of development in Turkey that has led to Turkey becoming one of the hot spots for investment potential in the world. Hotels, malls, real estate in Turkey – everyone is heading to Turkey for investment. Previous favourite spots for investments in Europe are no longer viable as the Eurozone struggles with a weak euro. Turkey on the other hand is on the rise as the Turkish economy booms and investors look to ride the wave of success coming out of Turkey.

Jumeirah to run hotel in Istanbul

2012-01-05T13:55:00.000-08:00

The largestluxury hotel company in the Middle East, the UAE’s Jumeirah Group has signed adeal that will see the group run the historic Pera Palas hotel in the Beyogludistrict of Istanbul.

The hotel,the oldest luxury hotel in Istanbul, more than 100 years old, will be managedby the Jumeirah starting from 2012. The Jumeirah are famously known around theworld for their 7-star Buri Al Arab hotel in Dubai – it’s safe to say that thePela Palas is in good hands.

Pela Palashad recently been renovated by its owner, Demsa under the Sabanci Group. Thedeal will see the Jumeirah increase their portfolio of hotels managed worldwidewith the acquisition of the Pera Palas.

Hotels inIstanbul are known for their luxury and high standards. Tourism in Turkey iscontinuing to rise are more foreign tourists look to Turkey over traditionallyfavoured hotspots. Hotels in Istanbul are in demand and the Pera Palas willsurely maximise its potential under the Jumeirah in 2012.

More Arab tourists set to flock to Turkey

2012-01-04T15:36:00.000-08:00

Bursa, thenorth western city of Turkey has aims to attract at least 500,000 Arab touristsin 2012 as more Arabs look to Turkey as a tourist destination.

Statistics showthat last year more than 800,000 tourists visited Bursa in total, with 300,000of them coming from Arab nations. Mehmet Akkus, chairman of the South Marmararegion of the Association of Turkish Travel Agents (TURSAB) said that theorganisation wants to make Bursa the capital for tourism of the Middle Easst by2013.

Akkus said:“Bursa will host a Turkish-Arab tourism gathering in April 2012 at whichrepresentatives from 22 Arab countries will attend.”

Bursais home to many cultural buildings and picturesque settings, as well as mosques.Arabs are looking more to Turkey as the unsteady political states in the Arabworld are no longer attractive for people in the region to travel to, Turkeywith its secure political state is welcoming more and more Arab tourists eachyear.

Pfizer to run 20 countries from head office in Turkey

2011-12-16T07:44:00.000-08:00

Giant in the pharmaceutical world, Pfizer, will use its head office in Turkey to run other offices in 20 countries including those in Central Asia and Eastern Europe.

A statement on the company website by regional manager Berk Gurdogan said that Pfizer Turkey will now be responsible for the management of countries including: Belarus, Bulgaria, Croatia, Lithuania, Romania, and Ukraine. Gurdogan is the 35^th Turkish national to hold a global position of power within Pfizer.

The decision by Pfizer to base its regional head office in Turkey follows a recent trend of companies uprooting to Turkey as Turkey develops into a leading country and a global force. Pfizer follow other multinational companies like Microsoft and Coca-Cola who have also made moves into the Turkish market.

Arab banks interested in Turkey

2011-12-13T09:23:00.000-08:00

An executive of the Union of Arab Banks has said that many Arab banks are looking closer to Turkey for opportunities to get a foot hold in the growing Turkish finance market.

Adnan Ahmed Yusuf Abdulmalek said: “Banks from Arab countries and Gulf countries are highly interested in Turkey. If barriers were eliminated by Turkish authorities, there would be many Arab banks and a large group of investors investing in Turkey’s banking sector.”

Abdulmalek said that banks in Turkey could benefit greatly from investments from Arab banks. He said: “The interest from the Arab banks will be even higher now on.” Abdulmalek said that Bank Audi had recently been granted a license to found a unit in Turkey, and other banks such as Emirates International Bank and Qatar International Bank could follow suit shortly. Abdulmalek said: “If the investment climate in Turkey’s banking sector improved and Turkey would authorise licenses for more foreign banks, leading banks in the region such as Dubai Islamic Bank would want to open branches in Turkey.”

As Turkey continues to become a major influence both politically and economically in the Arab world, it is only natural that ties with investment between the two worlds become more closer linked. Investing in Turkey makes economic sense at the current time and many more businesses and people in the Arab world will look to Turkey in the future for investment opportunities.

Dow Jones Indexes says Turkey has most sophisticated financial market in region

2011-12-12T07:51:00.000-08:00

According to a senior director of Dow Jones Indexes, the Istanbul Stock Exchange (IMKB) is the most sophisticated financial market in its region, beating competitors from the Middle East, North Africa, and Eastern Europe.

Dow Jones Indexes Senior Director of International Markets and Products, Deborah Ciervo praised the high level of knowledge and expertise in trade execution within the IMKB. Ciervo said that this gave the IMKB a continuous flow in the market.

The IMKB has recently started a new campaign to educate Turkish company directors on the benefits of listing. There have been seminars since 2010 being held up and down the country to educate directors. The new campaign has led to 25 initial public offerings (IPOs) in 2010 and 18 IPOs in the first half of 2011.

According to Ciervo, the Turkish stock market is more developed and participation in more integrated and secure. IMKB has an integral role in the Federation of Euro-Asian Stock Exchanges (FEAS) which highlights the importance of the IMKB. Ciervo said: “FEAS is based in the IMKB, as their largest member, and is motivated towards FEAS’ goal of facilitating more liquid, transparent markets in the region, which will take time.”

Europe troubles to benefit Turkey

2011-12-08T09:25:00.001-08:00

The head of the Capital Markets Board (SPK) has stated that the current crisis in Europe could become a huge benefit for Turkey in the future.

Vedat Akgiray, speaking at the Global Change and New Opportunities conference organised by the National Association of Real Estate Investment Companies (GYODER), said: “If Europe is unable to find a solution for years to come, then this is good news for us. Since Turkey is currently in better shape, it will be a preferred investment location.”

Akgiray went on to say that should Europe prevent the crisis from worsening and find a solution to the current economic crisis, then Turkey could benefit from that situation too. Speaking of the current opportunities for Turkey as a nation for growth and development, Akigiray said: “Turkey has not had such an opportunity in the past 100 years.”

Turkey still wants to join EU despite Euro crisis

2011-12-06T08:58:00.001-08:00

Turkey Deputy Prime Minister, Ali Babacan has stated that the current economic crisis in the European Union has not stopped Turkey’s desire to join the EU in the future.

Speaking during a news conference, Babacan urged European countries to act carefully to sort out the sovereign debt crisis, warning of severe global consequences if they fail to act together and sort out the mess.

Babacan said: “We hope that EU member states who have problems do their homework, and everybody keeps their houses tidy and clean. They should be careful about their budgets and they should do reforms. When there are holes in budgets, no matter how much the European Central bank prints money it’s not going to be enough. They have to close the holes first and then put money in.”

Babacan revealed that Turkey is still looking to bring in the political reforms that would meet the conditions to become members of the EU. The Deputy Prime Minister said that Turkey needed to improve in areas such as the rule of law and the quality of democracy in order to meet the criteria for EU membership.

The EU however, is certainly no model for Turkey economically speaking, Babacan said. While the EU is struggling hugely with debts, Turkey is growing and is now ranked as the world’s 16^th largest economy with expected growth this year of around 7 percent.

Turkey could build planes

2011-12-05T07:22:00.001-08:00

Turkey’s Science, Industry and Technology Minister has said that Turkey aims to produce its own regional airliner and jets by 2023.

Nihat Ergun was speaking during a visit to Seattle in the United States to see US airline manufacturer Boeing. Ergun said: “Boeing is among companies we can cooperate with.” The minister feels that it is a great step that Turkey needs to take in its aviation aims.

Ergun revealed that there are currently more than 350 Turkish engineers who work in Boeing and Ergun feels that companies in Turkey could help manufacture parts for Boeing. Ergun said: “Some parts of Boeing wing and tail systems are already manufactured in Turkey.”

The Minister said that the journey to the US was a great experience to talk and interact with several key members of Boeing about future collaboration between Boeing and Turkey on research and development into planes. Ergun finished by saying: “Building a Boeing 737 or an Airbus A380 is not similar to making a car. We are not calling for sector to produce planes immediately.”

Nestle wants to invest more in Turkey

2011-12-02T09:20:00.001-08:00

Food giant company Nestle as revealed that there will be new investments and growth in Turkey in the near future from the company.

Nestle Turkey CEO, Hans Ulrich Mayer said that the company’s annual growth for this year has been estimated at 20 percent. Mayer said: “Turkey has been the recipient of several Nestle investments many times greater than we invest in other markets.”

Mayer also revealed that over the last four years, Nestle had made investments in Turkey totalling around 500 million USD.

The CEO said that Turkey is maintaining a strong and secure economy while other European economies and the United States are stalling and wavering. Mayer said that competition in the Turkish market is ever increasing and there is room for more investments from Nestle in the Turkish market. Mayor noted that products by Nestle in Turkey are produced locally and exported to the Middle East and North Africa.

Only last year, Nestle Turkey announced a new 55 million USD investment to make and produce cereals in Turkey. The global company has identified Turkey as a strong market for investment potential.

Turkey praised by Arab media for strong role in region

2011-12-01T07:26:00.001-08:00

At the recent Turkish-Arab Media Forum, Turkey as a nation has been heavily praised by fellow Arab journalists for the strong positive role that Turkey is playing in the Arab region.

The forum brought together more than 200 journalists from the Arab world to Istanbul. The theme for the forum was labelled as: “Media, new opportunities and possibilities in the axis of change and continuity.” Speaking at the forum, Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Annc said: “It is our wish to see brotherly Arab countries change in the direction of justice and to enjoy an atmosphere of peace and tranquillity instead of chaos.”

Turkey has often been noted as a model for other Arab nations to follow, the Turkish government is strong and secure and provides a prime example for the region. Participants at the forum were extremely complimentary of the Turkish government for what they had done with Turkey; Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan was also highly praised for his work in Turkey.

Arab Journalists Union secretary-general, Makram Mohamad Ahmad praised Turkey highly and Erdogan, saying: “Only if Islamic political parties take the Justice and Development Party (AKP) as an example, they could achieve their goals.” Another participant at the forum, Refika Fejjari noted: “Turkey reinvented the Arab world, however, Arabs reinvented Turkey with the Arab Spring.” The huge praise for Turkey continued from another Arab journalist, Ghani Oukazi said: “All the world is watching Turkey with eyes wide open.”

Turkey has been gaining a lot of praise recently for their efforts in the Arab world. Turkey is uniquely placed in the world as a gateway between the West and the East; the current Turkish government is making huge grounds on developing and growing as a nation and has been labelled as an example for the developing Arab world to follow.

Foreign doctors interested to work in Turkey

2011-11-30T08:06:00.001-08:00

More and more foreign doctors are applying for jobs in Turkey following a recent statutory decree change that allowed foreign doctors and nurses to work in Turkey.

The new change, introduced on November 3^rd, has seen more than 2,000 foreign doctors apply for jobs since the change. Doctors from established nations such as Germany, France, the United Kingdom and even the United States have all shown an interest in working in Turkey.

The change calls for a 5 percent quota of the total number of doctors in Turkey to be allowed to be foreign nationals. There are currently 120,000 doctors in Turkey, meaning that there can be a total of up to 6,000 foreign doctors in Turkey, competition is fierce. However there is no quota for the total number of foreign nurses that can work in Turkey; there are expectations that more than 50,000 foreign nurses could be employed in Turkey in the future.

The number of foreign people looking to work in Turkey is on the rise in recent years as Turkey becomes a more popular destination due to the positives to be had in Turkey. The amazing lifestyle and culture of Turkey is drawing foreigners from all over the world to come to Turkey.

Every province in Turkey will have science centres

2011-11-29T07:06:00.001-08:00

Turkey’s Science, Industry and Technology Minister, Nihat Ergun has said that Turkey will open science centres in every province by the year 2013.

Ergun said during a visit to the United States: “Technology firms will directly finance some sections of these science centres.” Ergun was in the US for an official visit to the Exploratorium Science Centre in San Francisco. The Exploratorium currently employs over 300 people and has an annual budget of $33 million.

Ergun said that there are currently 380 science centres in the US alone. There is also 250 in Europe and 300 in China. Turkey wants to increase the number of science centres in Turkey in order to compete with these nations and regions.

Car giants to invest in Turkey

2011-11-25T08:45:00.001-08:00

Three car manufacturers have announced that they are to invest a total of 287.1 million euros in car production at two different factories in Turkey, boosting foreign direct investment in Turkey.

The Turkish branch of Toyota announced that they are to make an additional investment of 150 million Euros to strengthen their existing production plant in the Black Sea province of Sakarya. The new investment will create an extra 400 jobs in the area. A statement from the company read: “With the production of the Verso model as well as the new project, the total production quantity in Turkey and our settlement here will increase.”

Another car manufacturer increasing investment in Turkey is Tofas, the domestic carmaker operating under the Italian Fiat brand. The company has started production on a new Combo model car in Bursa which will see a total investment of 137.1 million Euros in to Turkey. A statement read: “The business volume will reach 1.4 billion Euros and will be an important contributor to the economy in the middle to long term.”

Cars in Turkey is a big and important business, the market for cars in Turkey is huge as more people invest in a car in Turkey and the quality of cars in Turkey rises further and further.

Erdogan to be on the cover of Time magazine

2011-11-25T06:08:00.001-08:00

Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan will appear on the cover of Time Magazine on November 28.

Erdogan is set to appear on the Europe, Asia, and Pacific regional editions of the world famous US magazine. The magazine cover for the Erdogan edition reads: “Erdogan’s Way” and shows the Prime Minister in a black and white photo with his arms crossed in front of him.

Erdogan becomes only the 9^th Turk to ever appear on the cover of Time Magazine since the magazine was first initiated in 1923.

The report inside the magazine shows a detailed description of Erdogan’s recent visit to Cairo in Egypt and reads: “Cairo greeted Recep Tayyip Erdogan like a rock star, with thousands of his fans carrying posters of him, cheering and chanting slogans at the airport.”

The report went on: “Erdogan is the kind of leader which the people rising against tyrants would like to see in their countries. Turkey’s success shows Arab Islamists that they can modernise their countries without severing their religious roots. According to his admirers in the West, Erdogan’s Turkey shows political Islam does not need to be an enemy of modernity.”

Erdogan is a popular leader amongst the West. The Turkish Prime Minister has overseen the rapid growth and development in Turkey of late that has seen Turkey become one of the best growing nations in the world.

David Cameron says UK united with Turkey to fight terrorism

2011-11-24T08:07:00.001-08:00

UK Prime Minister, David Cameron and Turkish President Abdullah Gul held a joint press conference in which Cameron reaffirmed the UK’s strong allegiance with Turkey in fighting against terrorism.

Speaking during the conference, Cameron said: “On terrorism, we stand shoulder to shoulder. We condemn the PKK attacks in Turkey. We’ve taken action against the PKK right here. And in return we look to Turkey as a key partner over the international terrorism that threatens us.”

President Gul talked about both the UK and Turkey as two countries that share common values of aspiring for peace. Gul also stated that Turkey and the UK had a valuable strategic partnership and referred to the current times as a “Golden Age” in reference to the relationship between the UK and Turkey.

It is also thought that the two leaders discussed issues of trade between Turkey and the UK and issues of visa regulations.

New reciprocity law to increase Foreign Direct Investment

2011-11-23T09:15:00.001-08:00

According to the Investment Support and Promotion Agency of Turkey (IPSAT), the draft law that will see the abolishment of the reciprocity rule for foreign property buyers will result in an influx of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Turkey.

The current law prevents certain foreign nationals from investing in to Turkey on the grounds that Turkish nationals can’t invest in those countries either. The new law would allow nationals from all countries the right to invest in Turkey and buy property in Turkey. The new law would see nationals from all countries buying property in Turkey and would evidently have a positive impact on the amount of yearly FDI in Turkey.

IPSAT President Ilker Ayci said: “Turkey’s appeal to investors is on the rise. Potential investors are impressed by Turkey’s high growth rate and increasing industrial output.”

Ayci went on: “Foreign investors take a country’s living conditions into consideration when deciding on an investment. This is because most investing companies transfer their managers and high-ranking staff with their families.” The new law would make living and working in Turkey even easier for foreign nationals.

Turkey’s Grand National Assembly is set to discuss the new law later this month. Turkish real estate is already a leading market and the removal of the reciprocity laws will see further growth of the Turkish real estate market.

Abdullah Avci named as coach of Turkish national team

2011-11-18T08:31:00.001-08:00

Turkey has moved swiftly to replace Guus Hiddink as coach of Turkey, naming Abdullah Avci as the chosen man to lead Turkey to the World Cup 2014.

Hiddink resigned as coach of Turkey following the dismal display of Turkey and the failure to qualify for Euro 2012 next summer after defeat to Croatia in the playoffs, the big Dutchman failing to live up to his stellar reputation. Turkey hopes that Avci will be the right man to get Turkey back on track.

After being named as coach, Avci said: “I am very happy to be granted the honour of such a duty; we will take important steps to improve the national team.” Avci will have a contract with the national team until 31 May 2015.

Avci has previously managed Istanbul club Buyuksehir for the last 5 years, leading the team to promotion in 2007 and to the Turkish Cup final for the first time. Turkish Football Federation Chairman Mehmet Ali Ayinlar said: “Coach Abdullah deserved this position; I believe he will reach great success with the national team.”

US energy companies to invest in safe Turkey

2011-11-17T08:10:00.001-08:00

Seventeen companies from the US are to travel to Turkey in December specialising in green energy, energy efficiency, and environmental technologies to explore Turkey’s growing energy market.

Michael Lally, Commercial Counsellor to the US Embassy in Ankara, said: “US companies are eager to invest in Turkey because of their high confidence in the country’s growth potential. Among the 17 visiting companies 11 have no prior presence in Turkey.”

The representatives of the companies will visit Istanbul, Ankara, and Izmir between the dates of December 5^th and December 9^th for talks with Turkish companies on potential joint investments and partnerships. Lally said: “The actual number of the visiting countries was higher but needed to be reduced for the talks to reach deals.”

Lally summarised: “Companies from other sectors are also keen on partnerships with Turkish companies. Two visits by aviation and education companies are scheduled for the next year.”

While Turkey is growing and expanding at a rapid rate, the Turkish economy is relatively safe and secure compared with the rest of Europe. For these reasons, the United States would do well to increase investment deals with Turkey as both nations look to prosper from better deals between each other.

British property investors looking to Turkey

2011-11-15T09:26:00.001-08:00

More and more British nationals are looking for a property overseas and are increasingly looking to the Turkish property market to invest in.

Director of Conti, Clare Nessling, said: “Turkey offers great property prices and as tourism has risen dramatically over the past few years, rental yields are lucrative.” Nessling said that buying a property in Turkey has never been so affordable, and for these reasons, more and more British nationals are looking to the Turkish property market to invest in.

Generally, Turkey is experiencing an increase of foreign investors who are putting their money in to Turkey for various reasons. Turkey offers a stability for your investment that not many other countries in and around Europe can offer. The weakness of the Euro has left doubts in Europe while Turkey is relatively secure and you can expect a good return on your money if you invest in property in Turkey.

British nationals investing in property in Turkey are experiencing an idyllic lifestyle and can look forward to more days in the sun watching the world go by as their property value increases and their investment becomes more and more worthwhile.

Turkish Airlines wins awards in London

2011-11-14T07:59:00.001-08:00

The national flag carrier of Turkey, Turkish Airlines has won three awards at an award ceremony in London at the British House of Lords.

The ceremony, held on the 9^th of November, saw Turkish Airlines pick up the award of the ‘Best Airlines in Europe 2011’ for their impressive performances to India. The awards were presented by the Asian Guild – an organisation by Asians contributing to the economic and cultural life of Britain.

Turkish Airlines Director General Temel Kotil and Marketing and Sales Director Sezgin Saglam also received friendship awards at the ceremony.

Currently Turkish Airlines flies from Birmingham in England to New Delhi and Bombay in India and there are plans to make new daily flights to six destinations in India.

This award for Turkish Airlines is a sign of the continued growth and expansion of the impressive airline. Turkish Airlines is currently the fourth biggest airline in Europe and recently won another award at another ceremony in Stockholm to compliment the awards in London.

Turkey face Croatia in huge Euro 2012 qualifying match

2011-11-11T08:01:00.001-08:00

For the winner, a ticket to the 2012 European Championships next summer in Ukraine and Poland, for the loser, a ticket home to disappointment and frustration. Turkey plays Croatia today in a crucial match for both nations bidding for a place in Euro 2012.

The first leg will be played today at Istanbul’s Turk Telekom Arena, a fiery atmosphere will greet both teams. The second leg will be played on Tuesday in Zagreb at the TT Arena to finalise who will get the ticket to Euro 2012 and who will go home.

Both teams have a history against each other. It was only 4 years ago in Euro 2008 that Turkey defeated Croatia in the quarterfinals in a tense match, eventually winning on penalties. Both will be hoping for no such repeat this time round, both teams will want to win convincingly to avoid the agony of a penalty shootout lottery.

Croatia coach, Slaven Bilic was cautious to mention the revenge factor in the match today, saying: “Revenge is an ugly word, and I don’t want to use it because the Turks won fair and square; they didn’t cheat their way into the Euro 2008 semi-finals. They scored a brilliant goal and showed their character, so our motive is to qualify for Euro 2012, not revenge.”

Bilic stated that this match will be a cup final for Croatia, saying: “We will enter the playoff with cool heads and approach it as if it’s a cup final with no return leg.”

Turkey will be hoping for a commanding victory over Croatia in the first leg today in order to ease the pressure of the return match in Zagreb. Turkey coach Guus Hiddink said: “The return leg in Zagreb will be tense and tough. Though I don’t want to think about it, the fact of the matter is that we will also be under pressure. But we have to overcome and this and instead pile pressure on the Croats and force them to make mistakes. And fan support will also be very necessary in this regard.”

Both Turkey and Croatia are big tournament teams. Both nations normally fare well when they qualify to the big tournaments. No matter what happens, whichever one of these teams qualifies for Euro 2012 will be a threat to whoever finds them in their group come next summer.

Fitch Ratings say Turkish banks robust

2011-11-10T06:58:00.000-08:00

A new report released by Fitch Ratings has stated that Turkish Banks credit profiles are strong and robust in 2011 despite some market and regulatory challenges.

The report shows that Fitch views the medium term outlook of Turkish banks as favourable. However the near term outlook for the Turkish economy is set at uncertain as a precautionary measure due to the current economic climate surrounding Europe.

The report showed that fast Turkish credit growth has created risk management challenges for the nation and led to a moderation of capital and funding ratios. However Fitch dismissed this in their report, saying that underwriting standards in Turkey have remained generally strong and healthy while leverage in the system is also contained.

Turkey’s credit growth has begun to slow down in third quarter of this year due to regulatory measures and the weaker outlook of the world. This has reduced the potential for a dangerous rapid build-up of risk in the near term for Turkey, ensuring a safer outlook for the Turkish economy compared with other nations.

Turkish banks swift action and reputation for tight control of their finances has led to an all-round solid performance in the Fitch Ratings.

Vodafone profit in Turkey

2011-11-09T08:34:00.000-08:00

Vodafone announced yearly profits are up thanks to strong growth in emerging markets and sustained growth in current strong markets for Vodafone.

The company experienced strong growth in India and Turkey, and produced strong results in Germany, Britain, and the Netherlands. Vodafone also raised its interim dividend by 7 percent on top of a special dividend from US company Verizon.

Vodafone naturally saw some decline in countries affected by the economic crisis, countries such as Spain, Italy, and Greece saw profits slip. Developing and strong nations such as Turkey are beginning to have more and more impact for Vodafone, these nations provide a healthy income for the company.

Analyst Will Draper said: “They’re really great numbers. Revenues are up 1 percent on the consensus and they’ve raised the operating guidance towards the top end of the range. So I think they’re pretty bullet proof.”

The company also moved its outlook for yearly operating profit to the top of its predicted results, changing the forecast from earlier this year to between 11.4 billion pounds and 11.8 billion pounds compared with 11 billion pounds to 11.8 billion pounds at the start of the year. CEO Vittorio Colao said: “We’re confident that we have the right strategy to continue to perform consistently through top line growth, cost efficiency, investment and cash generation.”

New Turkey legislation to increase earthquake resistant houses in Turkey

2011-11-08T09:00:00.000-08:00

The Turkish government is to introduce new regulations to increase further Turkey’s ability to cope with earthquakes by the end of the year.

A senior official of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) said: “Legislation will most likely be introduced within this year.” The official also said that there will be tighter and more stringent supervision and punishments for buildings that are not up to the new standards.

Turkey was recently hit with a large earthquake in the province of Van that left many homeless. The new standards will lead to more homes in Turkey being earthquake resistant and increase the safety in Turkey.

Turkey to set up second hospital in Somalia

2011-11-07T09:39:00.001-08:00

The Turkish Ministry of Health has announced that they will set up a second hospital in famine stricken Somalia as part of Turkey’s ongoing help of the Somali people’s plight.

The Ministry of Health Somalia team head, Dr. Akif Saatcioglu said that the second hospital would be resistant to the severe climate conditions in Somalia and will be significantly larger than the first one. The hospital will be situated near a former parliamentary building in the capital Mogadishu that is now a shelter for homeless people in Somalia.

The new hospital in Somalia will allow Turkey to help and provide aid for a huge amount of people in Somalia. Saatcioglu said that the hospital will be open soon for patients.

Somalia is currently suffering through the worst drought for the last 60 years. A United Nations report has stated that many thousands of people are in need of urgent help daily. Turkey has so far provided an unprecedented amount in aid and help to Somalia, the Turkish generosity has not gone unnoticed by Somali’s who now refer to Turkey as their Brother.

Turkey’s e-commerce booming at rapid pace

2011-11-04T10:07:00.000-07:00

The e-commerce market in Turkey is rising and booming new data released has shown.
The data has shown that total revenue earned through online payments in Turkey has increased by 52 percent to 16.9 billion Turkish Lira in the first 9 months of this year compared with the same period last year.

General Manager of the Interbank Card Center (BKM), Soner Canko, said: “Almost one in every five people in Turkey now shops online.” Speaking at the Cardist 2011 International Card and Smart Technologies Exhibition & Summit held in Istanbul, Canko said that Turkey currently ranks among the biggest markets in Europe regarding online commerce.

The data has shown that the total number of internet transactions has jumped by 37 percent in the first three quarters of the year compared with the first nine months in 2010. The total number of internet transactions in the first three quarters has reached 91.4 million transactions.
Canko said that many international finance institutions are watching Turkey with an interest as the e-commerce market in Turkey becomes more and more promising and profitable.

The data showed that internet users in Turkey mostly used the services sector in their e-commerce activities. The services sector ranges from online tax paying to holiday reservations and generated a total of 2.53 billion Turkish Liras in the first nine months this year, representing a 69 percent increase over last year.

Turkey to play Croatia in Euro 2012 playoffs

2011-10-14T06:53:00.000-07:00

Turkey has been drawn against Croatia in the playoffs for the European Championships next summer.

Turkish assistant coach, Oguz Cetin said: “Croatia is a strong team. We know them from Euro 2008. They had a style of play similar to ours.”

The match will be somewhat of a grudge match for Croatia. In Euro 2008 Croatia was leading 1-0 against Turkey in the quarter finals, only to concede in the last minute of extra time. Croatia then went on to miss three penalties in the shootout as Turkey advanced to the Semi-Finals. Croatia will be out for revenge.

Turkey is at home in the first leg, and then must travel to Croatia in the second leg. First leg matches will be played on November 11th and 12th whilst second leg matches will be played on November 15th.

Elsewhere in the draw, Bosnia face a tough task against Portugal to qualify for Euro 2012, Ireland will be looking to qualify in their playoff against Estonia, and Montenegro face another tough ask against the Czech Republic.

Turkey to open high school in Somalia

2011-10-13T08:25:00.000-07:00

Turkey are set to open a high school in Mogadishu next month in Somalia, a sign of Turkey’s continuing helping of the Somali people.

Chairman of Turkish charity the Nil Organisation, Bilal Celik, said that there have already been 1,000 students who have applied to go to the school. An admission exam has been drawn up for those who wish to study there.

The classes set to be taught include: maths, chemistry, physics, and computer lessons, these classes will be taught in English to the students. Social studies classes will be taught in Somali, whilst the students will also have Turkish language lessons. The textbooks and equipment will be given to the students free of charge.

Somalia has been suffering through the worst drought to hit the country for more than 60 years. The UN has estimated that around half of the population in Somalia has yet to receive any aid. Turkey has sent more than 500 million Turkish Liras worth of aid to Somalia and has promised to build infrastructure such as hospitals and schools. This is the first school to be built in Somalia by Turkey and will surely be followed by more in the future.

Erdogan calls on world to follow Turkey’s example and provide aid to Somalia

2011-10-12T08:56:00.000-07:00

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has published an article titled: “Tears of Somalia” in which he asks international countries to follow Turkey’s suit and help provide aid to the famine stricken Somalia.

In his article, Erdogan said: “In addition to the drought, the international community’s decision to leave Somalia to its own fate is also an underlying factor causing this drama. The urgent intervention of the international community can contribute to the alleviation of the Somali people’s distress.”

Erdogan went on: “Turkey mobilised last month to help end this suffering. We consider this solidarity a humanitarian obligation toward the people of Somalia, with whom we have deep historical relations.

Somalia is currently suffering from its worst drought for more than 60 years. People are dying in Somalia on a daily basis. Turkey so far has sent more than 500 million Turkish Liras in aid to Somalia, aswell as building hospitals and providing children in Somalia with an education. Turkey has reached out when it seems the rest of the international community has turned their back on Somalia in the countries hour of need.

Erdogan wants to see more of an effort from the world in helping the drought torn country.

Turkey wants international cooperation against illegal money laundering

2011-10-12T08:54:00.000-07:00

According to the Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK), Turkey plans to expand cooperation between international countries to fight against money laundering and funding of terrorist groups.

Turkey recently came to terms on an agreement with France that will see the nations cooperate on terrorism in both countries and is close to making a similar agreement with Germany.

MASAK has lots of cooperation agreements with countries worldwide including: Great Britain, Japan, Canada, Portugal, Sweden, Croatia, South Korea, Ukraine, and many more. The MASAK agreements allow countries to share information to countries regarding matters of international crime and terrorism.

The agreements will see Turkey expand the nations knowledge on terror and crime and could lead to a crackdown on illegal terror groups such as the PKK in Turkey.

According to the United Nation’s figures, it is estimated that money laundering profits globally to the amount of nearly $1.5 trillion every year. Most of this money goes towards illegal activities and most terrorist groups get funding from illegal money laundering.

Istanbul to host World Economic Forum meeting

2011-10-11T08:27:00.000-07:00

The annual meetings of the World Economic Forum (WEF) which are usually held in the Swiss town of Davos will instead be held in Istanbul from this year on.

Cuneyd Zapsu, a member of the WEF, said in reference to the meeting in Istanbul: “This will not be a one-time thing.” Zapsu also stated that the meeting will be held from June 19 to June 22 next year.

The meeting will see people from all over the world, Europe, The Middle East, North Africa, and Central Asia all come together to discuss policies and the world’s economic situations.

Turkey is gaining a stronger and stronger foothold in the world. The strong Turkish economy coupled with the unique situation Turkey is in, sees Turkey becoming one of the strongest nations in the world. Turkey is currently only behind China in terms of economic growth this year and the meeting next year in Istanbul further affirms Turkey’s position as a power nation in the world.

Last chance for Turkey to qualify for Euro 2012

2011-10-11T07:08:00.000-07:00

Turkey host Azerbaijan today at the Turk Telekom Arena with Turkey’s hopes of qualifying for Euro 2012 hanging by a thread.

Nothing but a win will suffice for Turkey who also needs Belgium to slip up away in Germany in the Group A encounters. Should Turkey win and Belgium lose, then Turkey will secure second place in the group and earn a play-off spot for one of the last few remaining spots to Euro 2012.

Turkey is currently third in Group A with 14 points, one point behind second placed Belgium. Germany has won all their matches so far and will be looking to sign off in style with a win against Belgium. Turkey needs a favour from Germany and will be looking for Turkish-German players such as Mesut Ozil to put on a performance and a helping hand to Turkey.

Conspiracy theorists suggest that Germany would prefer to see Belgium qualify for the 2012 championships, Germany shares a border with Belgium and the two countries have many ties together. But Germany players have dismissed this, saying that they are focused on maintaining their perfect record in the qualifiers. Striker Mario Gomez said: “We can achieve a perfect record by winning 10 games in a row so that will be our motivation in our final match.”

Guus Hiddink previewed the match against Azerbaijan and said: “God willing, we will be in the playoff on Tuesday, because I don’t think Germany would like to lose its last match at home.”

Failure to qualify for Euro 2012 will be nothing short of disastrous for Turkey. Turkey is a footballing nation, people love football in Turkey and will not accept failure at this level. Turkish football is recovering from the recent football scandal that has rocked Turkish football. Qualifying for Euro 2012 will go a long way to cleaning up the image of football in Turkey currently.

Servcorp to invest more in Turkey

2011-10-07T05:25:00.000-07:00

Multinational company Servcorp has opened a second office in Istanbul at the Tekfen Tower in a development and investment move by the company.

The company, which provides ready and virtual office solutions, invested a total of $3 million for the new offices in Istanbul. The new offices will see the company provide services to around 100 firms.

The company currently operates in 22 different countries and first entered the Turkish market in 2010, with another office in Istanbul. The decision to invest more in Turkey will see the company create more jobs in Istanbul and provide a boost to the company in the investment rich Turkish city that is currently booming with investment opportunities.

Turkey to take on Germany in Euro 2012 qualifier

2011-10-07T05:20:00.000-07:00

Turkey will meet Germany at the Turk Telekom Arena in Istanbul tonight in a fiery encounter in the 2012 European Championships qualifiers.

Germany are currently in top form having not dropped any points so far in their qualification campaign, Turkey need at least a point to boost their chances of qualifying for the tournament next summer.

Turkish coach Guus Hiddink said in a preview of the match: “We said we wanted to be in control. We can see this continuing as we reach the end of the qualification stage. We are in control and we are continuing our way. We have to accept that this is going to be a very difficult match. I don’t think that I’m a pessimist but we need to know that our job will be hard when playing teams like these. We need to face the realities.”

Turkish midfield playmaker Arda Turan said of the game: “We will play in Turkey so our spirits and concentration are at the highest level. I see we have a 51 percent chance of winning against Germany.”

There is a growing rivalry between Turkey and Germany because of the close relations between the two countries. Germany and Real Madrid midfielder Mesut Ozil caused some controversy in Turkey when he chose to play for Germany instead of the country of his parents, Turkey. There are many Turkish people living in Germany and this causes the rivalry between the two nations to be heated at international football level. The Turkish national team currently features Hamit Altintop, a German born Turk, and Mehmet Ekici and Hakan Balta, two other German born players of Turkish descent who play for the Turkish national team.

Both teams will be looking to win to put pressure on their rivals; the game today will be a great spectacle for the fans and is a not to be missed encounter.

Ceylan latest film a hit. Makes 250,000 Lira in opening weekend

2011-10-06T06:51:00.000-07:00

Turkish director Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s latest film: “Bir Zamanlar Anadolu’da” (Once Upon A time in Anatolia) opened to renowned success in Turkey, grossing 250,000 Turkish Liras in its opening weekend in cinemas.

The movie tells a story about a group of men who searched for a dead body in the Anatolian steppe. It is based on a true story and the movie took just 11 weeks to make.

The film, which has been nominated by Turkey for an Oscar in the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film, was watched by a total of 18,573 people in Turkey over the weekend.

Ceylan’s film has proved a success even winning the Grand Jury Prize at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. The movie featured its premiere last month in Turkey at the Adana Golden Boll Festival. The movie stars actors: Muhammet Uzuner, Taner Birsel, and Yilmaz Erdogan.

Ceylan is an acclaimed Turkish director who has made many proven movies in his time. Should Once Upon A time in Anatolia get the nod for a nomination for an Academy Award, it would prove a real boost for Turkish cinema.

Turkish writer’s book to be made into a movie

2011-10-06T06:50:00.000-07:00

Acclaimed Turkish writer Ayse Kulin is to see her book “Sevdalinka” turned into a movie.

The book, about the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina will be made into a movie by Aida Begic, a young female director from Bosnia and Herzegovina. As part of the project, Kulin has been writing a screenplay of the novel and recently discussed with Begic about how to turn the book into a movie.

Talking about the potential of a move, Kulin said the book is about: “The pain of Bosnia citizens. All the events in the book reflect the real life events.” Kulin recently attended a Bosnian literature festival where she revealed that her roots come from Bosnia as her grandparents came to Turkey from Bosnia. She said: “I wrote Sevdalinka and felt the pain of all the people.”

Street artists come to Istanbul

2011-10-05T06:19:00.000-07:00

Street artists from all over the world are to come to Istanbul during the Re-Bomonti Street Art Exhibition to paint on the longest wall of graffiti in Turkey.

The art exhibition to run between Saturday to Monday will see world known graffiti artists such as Rusl Loveletters from Germany and Chu from Argentina create art on the side of an ongoing building project in Bomonti neighbourhood in Istanbul’s Sisli district.

The art created during these couple days will remain in place on the wall for the whole of the next month. The wall, measuring 116 metres, will display to the public the bright and colourful street art made during the exhibition.

The exhibition will take place at Merkez Mahallesi, Kazim Orbay Caddesi, Bomonti, Sisli, 34381 Istanbul.

Notre Dame sold out in Ankara

2011-10-04T06:46:00.000-07:00

The new season of the Ankara State Opera and Ballet opened in great fashion with tickets for Victor Hugo’s world famous work ‘The Hunchback of Notre Dame’ selling out.

Head choreographer of the Ankara State Opera and Ballet, Armagan Davran, said: “Since we received great interest, we have chosen ‘The Hunchback of Notre Dame’ as the first play of the season. Tickets were sold out within 15 minutes. The audience likes this work very much.”

The play of Notre Dame sees the lead character, a bell ringer called Quasimodo who is abandoned as a baby only to be adopted by Claude Frollo. Quasimodo lives out his life within the constraints of a cathedral and rarely goes out of the cathedral due to people snubbing him for his appearance.

The world famous play will be a unique watch for anyone in Ankara at the time of the play. Those lucky enough to have got tickets will witness the legendary play bought to live in one of Turkey’s grandest stages.

Hiddink calls on Turkey to secure qualification to Euro 2012

2011-10-04T06:43:00.000-07:00

Turkish national team football manager Guus Hiddink has said that Turkey should be realistic in their efforts to gain qualification to Euro 2012 with two crucial upcoming matches in Group A.

On Friday Turkey will take on the mighty Germany before a test against Azerbaijan on Tuesday to wrap up their qualification bid. Turkey currently holds an advantage over second placed Belgium, should Turkey win their two remaining games, they will automatically gain qualification to the tournament next summer.

Hiddink said: “One year ago I said we wanted to be in control, we don’t want to depend on other results. And we are exactly at that point. We are happy that we hold the control.”

Talking about the prospect of facing Germany, Hiddink said: “We must face the reality. We are not on the same level as Germany. We are talking about a team who has very few weak points. However, we should not understate our potential. I think we can get a positive result with the home team energy in Istanbul.”

Failing to qualify for Euro 2012 would be a disaster for the Turkish national team. The Turkish public expect nothing less than qualification to the tournament.

Fantastic Turkey clinch Bronze medal at women’s Volleyball European Championships

2011-10-03T06:22:00.000-07:00

Turkey has clinched a bronze medal at the Women’s Volleyball European Championships after a hard fought victory against Italy.

Turkey had lost in the semi-finals to Serbia 3-2 in an exhausting match and faced off against Italy for the last remaining medal position of the Championships. Turkey won the match against Italy 3-2 in a gruelling 112 minutes of play (25-21, 15-25, 25-27, 25-19, 15-10).

Turkish player Neslihan Darnel had led the point scoring for Turkey, scoring 13 points in total and 12 winning spikes.

Turkish coach Marco Aurelio Motta said: “I’m proud of my players. This was a very important championship for my team. We managed to beat the teams of Russia and Italy, and I repeat it again – I’m very proud of my team and its performances.”

The bronze medal is a significant achievement for the Turkish women’s volleyball team. Turkey were not expected to mount such a charge at the championships and to come away with a bronze medal, the Turkish women can return to Turkey full of pride at their performance.

Turkish diver sets new world record

2011-10-03T04:21:00.000-07:00

Turkish diver, Cenk Devrim Ulusoy has set a new world record after diving an incredible 87 metres on Saturday in the category of constant weight apnea.

Performing infront of observers from the World Underwater Federation (CMAS), Ulusoy reached the depth in just 1 minute and 15 seconds of the coast of Kas.

Constant weight apnea is the category in diving whereby free-divers use no fins to aid there diving capabilities. Ulusoy completed the total achievement in two minutes and 28 seconds.

Ulusoy was born in Istanbul in 1973 and has been diving ever since he was five years old, becoming a Turkish national athlete at the age of just nine years old. Ulusoy began training for free diving in 2002 and now finds himself as a world record holder in the sport.

Turkish Women’s Volleyball team defeat the mighty Russia in historic encounter

2011-09-30T05:12:00.000-07:00

Turkey’s women’s volleyball team have advanced to the semi-finals of the European Women’s Volleyball Championships after defeating World Champions Russia in the quarter-finals.

The shock win saw Turkey win in straight sets 27-25, 25-21, 25-18 to send out a message of intent on the Turkish behalf of winning the competition. Turkey will play the winner of the game against co-host Serbia and the Czech Republic.

Turkish coach, Marco Aurelio Motta, said: “We don’t usually predict the outcome of the match. However, the result against Russia came by surprise. We were preparing for winning but did not expect a 3-0.”

Motta went on: “Our game was principally stable; we controlled the game in all sets. Our defense and service were brilliant. On the other hand, Russia suffered particularly in defense.”

Turkish player Spiker Eda Erdem said of the win: “I am very happy. Playing against the World Champion is very tough but we beat the odds with a 3-0 victory. I hope we maintain our form in the final four.”

Turkey has a real chance to capitalise on this win and move forward in the competition. The European Women’s Volleyball Championship is a prestigious and great competition in volleyball. Should Turkey manage to win the championships it would represent a fantastic achievement for Turkish sport.

Golden Orange Film Festival to screen movies in Turkey

2011-09-30T04:16:00.000-07:00

The 48th annual Golden Orange Film Festival in Turkey will run from October 8th to October 14th this year but audiences will have an opportunity to see special screenings starting from Sunday at the Konyaalti Openair Theater in Antalya.

Organised by the Antalya Metropolitan Municipality and the Antalya Foundation for Culture and Arts, all the screenings will be free of charge and will give film attenders a chance to see top movies at the festival.

The screenings will start with Yavuz Okan’s movie titled ‘Demiryol’ (Railroad). The screenings recently won awards from the 1979 and 1980 Golden Oranges which were cancelled at the time due to the 1980 military coup and censorship.

All screenings will start at 8:30pm and will be shown at the Antalya Artists Association, the Muratpasa Municipality Culture Center, and the Antalya Cemevi, Migros, and Ozdilek shopping centres. The festival will be a great opportunity for anyone in the Antalya region to see some great Turkish cinema at one of the best Turkish movie festivals of the year.

New Turkish constitution to be ready by first half of 2012

2011-09-29T09:11:00.000-07:00

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that the Turkish government want a new constitution to replace the current Turkish constitution by the first half of 2012.

Speaking to reporters in Ankara, Erdogan said: “We will concentrate on this issue of making a new constitution with the opening of Parliament on Saturday. We hope to be done with this issue in the first half of 2012.”

Erdogan also referenced the recent decision by the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) to end its abandonment of parliament and agree to join the parliamentary proceedings, Erdogan said: “You reporters are following me closely. You know I said earlier that the BDP was going to come to Parliament. I had said the same thing about the Republican People’s Party (CHP) as well. The CHP has already come. Our expectations for the BDP’s return also came true with their announcement yesterday.” Erdogan also stated that should the BDP form a parliamentary group, then they could be eligible to help form the new constitution of Turkey.

Erdogan has previously stated that the new Turkish constitution will be a world leading constitution and will be an example for other countries to follow. The old constitution was drafted under martial law after the 1980 military coup and it had been decided that a new constitution was needed in Turkey to give more rights and freedom to people in Turkey.

NBA star makes winning start in Turkey

2011-09-29T06:56:00.000-07:00

NBA star Deron Williams made his debut for Besiktas Milangaz in a successful victory for the team in a ULEB Eurocup preliminary game on Tuesday against Dexia Mons-Hainaut from Belgium.

The American star who has joined Besiktas while the NBA lockout continues from the New Jersey Nets scored 15 points and made 9 assists in Beskitas’ 78-70 victory against Dexia Mons-Hainaut.

Sporting no Turkish players in their line-up, Besiktas guard Marcelus Kemp scored 24 points while Zoran Erceg added a further 15 points in the victory, David Hawkins and Erwin Dudley completed the non-Turkish line-up.

The NBA lockout has led to numerous players from the NBA basketball league joining teams in Turkey to play basketball while the lockout continues. Besiktas also signed Semih Erden from the Cleveland Cavaliers but the paperwork has not yet been finalised so he wasn’t able to play during this match.

Fenerbahce chairman files complaint against UEFA

2011-09-28T05:21:00.000-07:00

Jailed Fenerbahce chairman Aziz Yidirim has filed a complaint against UEFA President Michel Platini, asserting that Platini made statements that the Turkish club was guilty of match fixing before the case has even been complete.

The formal complaint said: “Although there has not been a court ruling that Fenerbahce Sports Club is guilty of the charges, Platini influenced the Turkish Football Federation along with the officials who are executing the investigation.”

Yildirim is currently being held under arrest amid the allegations of match fixing in Turkey and the Turkish Football Federation has warned that should the club be found guilty, then Fenerbahce could be relegated to a lower league in Turkey.

Platini said in a recent interview: “Don’t get mad at me, get mad at those who fixed the matches. You really don’t know why Fenerbahce is being excluded from the Champions League? The investigation is ongoing. Everyone will learn every single detail once the investigation is complete.”

Greek Prime Minister to visit Turkey

2011-09-28T05:19:00.000-07:00

Greek Prime Minister Yorgo Papandreou is to visit Turkey to meet with the Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to discuss cooperation plans between the two countries. This albeit the tensions that have currently arisen between the two countries.

The meeting is scheduled for late October or early November, will see the two countries upgrade bilateral ties in all current fields. The two prime ministers had planned to meet previously in New York last week, but Papandreou had to cancel due to the current economic crisis that is engulfing Greece.

Recently Erdogan has spoken out in support to Papandreou, pledging solidarity to the Greek prime minister during the economic crisis that is crippling Greece. Deputy Prime Minister, Bulent Arinc, said on Monday that Turkey does not have any intention to go to war with anyone at the present time.

Onur Unlu wins three awards at Golden Boll Festival

2011-09-27T09:23:00.000-07:00

The 18th annual Golden Boll Film Festival in Adana saw director Onur Unlu emerge as the big winner of the night with ‘Celal Tan ve Ailesinin Asiri Acikli Hikayesi’ (The Extremely Tragic Story of Celal Tan And His Family) scooping three awards at the ceremony.

Unlu’s film won the Best Screenplay Award, Best Film Award, and Jury Special Performance Award, in what will be an extremely proud day for Unlu, Unlu also picked up 350,000 Turkish Lira as part of the prize for winning the festival’s best film.

Adana Deputy Mayor, Zihni Aldirmaz said: “Cinema artists are Turkey’s source of pride. Two million people of Adana all together made the Golden Boll Festival a success.”

In total, 14 awards were given out in various different categories for films in Turkey. Some of the most noted awards went to Cemal Agacikoglu for Best Director Award for his film ‘Eylul’ (September), Best Actress Award was shared by Hatice Aslan and Gorkem Yelten, while Durukan Ordu won the Best Actor Award.

Kobe Bryant in Turkey

2011-09-27T05:47:00.000-07:00

NBA basketball legend Kobe Bryant has been in Turkey to undertake in numerous sporting relating activities in Istanbul during the NBA lockout in the United States.

When asked about his rumoured move to Besiktas basketball team during the current NBA lockout in the US, Bryant remarked that he is still considering the offer and wouldn’t rule out turning out for the Turkish team in the future.

The LA Lakers star arrived in Caddebostan in Istanbul to open two new basketball courts for Nike and the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality. Speaking during the ceremony, Bryant said that he found Istanbul to be a lot more beautiful than he had envisaged and stated the love of basketball in Istanbul by young people makes him very happy and proud to be a basketball player.

Bryant also visited Turkish football giants Galatasaray at the Turk Telekom Arena where he was presented with a Galatasaray shirt and said that the stadium was one of the best football stadiums he had ever seen. Bryant is a huge fan of football and said he follows Barcelona and counts on Lionel Messi as the best footballer in the world currently.

Next up for Bryant in Turkey will be an appearance at a Nike tournament for amateur basketball players alongside young Turkish star Enes Kanter who was recently drafted by the Utah Jazz in the 2011 NBA draft and whom high expectations are anticipated.

Should Bryant end up playing in the Turkish basketball league with Besiktas he would represent a real coup for the Turkish league in general. The NBA lockout has seen many basketball players look to Turkey to continue playing basketball. The Turkish basketball league is growing rapidly and the NBA lockout will only see more stars move to Turkey for basketball.

Fenerbahce to play for honour

2011-09-26T08:10:00.000-07:00

Vice Chairman of Fenerbahce, Nihat Ozdemir has called on Fenerbahce to play for honour this season following the match fixing scandal that has rocked Turkish football of late.

Ozdemir said: “We had to part ways with some players but we signed some important players as good as them. With this renewed squad, Fenerbahce will continue to be the main title contender. But actually, we are not only playing for the title, but also playing for honour.”

Speaking during a general assembly to inform club members what the board has done since the allegations, Ozdemir also said: “The club was hit both financially and morally with the exclusion from the Champions League. Furthermore, the club was damaged by the fact that the investigation has hurt the club’s value on the Istanbul bourse. In total, we lost an income of around 35 to 40 million euros.”

Fenerbahce had originally asked to be relegated to a lower league so that the club could rebuild and not lose two seasons instead of one. The Turkish Football Federation has made a decision to announce findings from the case at the end of the current season, meaning that Fenerbahce could still be relegated for next year, thus costing the club two years. Ozdemir said: “When we applied for demotion, they said we could only be relegated if we presented a formal request that accepted that the club was involved in match fixing and would not seek compensation if the court decides in favour of the club in the future. We told them that it was not possible.”

Finally Ozdemir praised coach Aykut Kocaman for his work with Fenerbahce, saying: “Our league title is a well-deserved one. We have to thank coach Aykut Kocaman and our players. But especially Kocaman’s efforts are beyond words.”

Currently the Fenerbahce Chairman Aziz Yildirim is in prison awaiting results from the trial in to the match fixing in Turkey. Should Fenerbahce ultimately be found guilty, the club stand to lose millions in lost revenue and will be forced to sell players and could be relegated to a lower league. The Turkish Football Federation has promised to clean up football in Turkey for good; the results will be eagerly awaited and could be monumental for the future of Fenerbahce Football Club.

First Turkish Film Festival opens in Rome

2011-09-23T05:38:00.001-07:00

The first ever Rome Turkish Film Festival kicked off on Wednesday to a rounding success in the Italian capital.

Organised by the Turkish Culture and Tourism Ministry and the Turkish Embassy in Rome, the festival will see thirty films directed by Turkish directors showcased during the three day event to the Italian people.

One of the stars of the festival’s opening film, ‘Av Mevsimi’ The Hunting Season, Cem Yimaz, said: “Now films will speak on behalf of us. It makes us very excited that our films will be screened in front of people in another country. Six years have passed since we made the film. We remember once again that we have made a good thing.”

The Turkish ambassador to Rome, Hakki Akil, said that the festival should have been organised five years ago. Akil said that there are only 21,000 Turkish people in Italy and that proves that the festival is aimed at Italians.

Turkey urged to invest in Kosovo

2011-09-23T04:36:00.000-07:00

Kosovo’s deputy minister for industry and trade has called on Turkish businesses and companies to look to Kosovo for investment opportunities.

Cuneyd Ustaibo said: “We want to increase cooperation with Turkish businessmen and invite them to invest in Kosovo.” Ustaibo was speaking during the Kosovo-Izmir Business Forum that was held in the Aegean province of Izmir on Wednesday.

Turkish companies are currently in a strong position due to the current economic climate in Turkey. Turkey is one of the world’s leading countries in terms of growth and development, being behind only China this year in terms of growth. As a result of this, Turkish companies are prospering and can afford to invest in other ventures and businesses.

More business ties between Kosovo and Turkey will lead to further development between the two countries and could potentially see both countries benefit greatly financially and reap the rewards of a prosperous relationship.

Blues festival comes to Istanbul

2011-09-22T05:31:00.000-07:00

This Friday will see the start of the Efes Pilsen Blues Festival in Istanbul. The successful festival will run from Friday until October 29th in venues around Turkey.

Efes Turkey’s communications director, Emre Topsakaloglu, said: “Within 21 years the festival has hosted 84 groups in Turkey.” He went on: “The festival has hosted 256 musicians and a total of 338 concerts have taken place in Turkey thanks to the festival.”

This year’s blues festival will see 24 concerts take place in 20 difference provinces in Turkey. Headlining the festival will be John Mooney, a successful blues musician from Mississippi. Other acts to perform this year include: Lucky Perterson – another successful American blues musician, and Ricky Estrin and his group the Nightcats.

Istanbul is a very culturally rich city and the blues festival will be very successful in Istanbul. The start of the festival is highly anticipated each year amongst music fans and will be a great experience for anyone in Turkey who wishes to see some blues and rhythm.

Aswell as Istanbul, other locations include: Adana, Ankara, Antalya, Balikesir, Bursa, Canakkale, Denizli, Diyarbakir, Edirne, Erzurum, Eskisehir, Gaziantep, Hatay, Izmir, Kayseri, Konya, Mersin, Trabzon, and even northern Cyprus.

Turkey and the United States to build joint industrial zones

2011-09-21T08:52:00.000-07:00

The Turkish-US Business Council has announced new plans to form joint industrial zones in both the United States and in Turkey as well as in other countries.

Following a meeting in Istanbul, Ahmet Yakici, undersecretary for Turkey’s Economy Ministry, said: “These joint industrial zones will contribute to the economies of both countries.”

Yakici added that the new industrial zones will emphasise on manufacturing food and health products.

Yakici said: “The new business council we have established with the US will contribute to our bilateral trade relations and to the trade of third world countries.”

The US undersecretary of commerce for international trade, Francisco Sanchez, added: “We want to increase our trade volume of $15 billion with Turkey by three-fold in the near future.”

Increased relations between Turkey and the US would be beneficial all round. The US economy is currently struggling whilst the Turkish economy seems to be growing and flourishing. Agreements between the two countries could see both nations prosper and lead to further development between the two nations in the future.

Ishak Pasha Palace restoration to be complete in 2013

2011-09-20T08:27:00.000-07:00

Ishak Pasha Palace in Turkey’s eastern Agri province is to be completely restored by 2013 by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

The ministry regional director, Muhsin Bulut, said: “Treasure hunters have done serious damage to the palace, especially on the observatory patio. It may not be seen as important by these people, but even a small mistake can lead to serious damage.”

To cost a total of 8 million Turkish Lira, the project will see the famous palace, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site restored to its former glory. The palace was constructed in 1685 by Colak Abdi Pasha, the ruler of Dogubeyazit and took 99 years to complete; the project was completed by his grandson Ishak Pasha in 1784.

The palace is a major tourism hot spot in Turkey and is known worldwide. The palace was the first I history to have a central heating system in place, and consists of 116 rooms, court halls, a mosque, and a shrine. The restoration of the palace is expected to give a significant boost to tourism in the area.

Turkish mobile firm opens 14 new stores in one day

2011-09-20T06:08:00.000-07:00

Turkey’s third biggest mobile phone operator, Avea, opened 14 new stores on Saturday in the south eastern provinces of Kahramanmaras and Gaziantep.

Avea’s chief executive officer, Erkan Akdemir said: “We have grown 18 percent in the first half of the year.” Akdemir also noted that the company are to open more than 100 more new stores by the end of the year totalling an investment of 40 million Turkish Liras by the company.

Recently Avea concluded a deal with Turk Telekom for Turk Telekom’s broadband services to be sold in Avea stores. Akdemir said: “According to World Economic Forum Data, Turkey ranks first regarding GSM coverage. The GSM coverage area in Turkey is far beyond other countries at a level of 97.3 percent.”

Mobile phones in Turkey is a big business in Turkey, most people in Turkey now have access to mobile phones and the new stores and new initiatives will ensure that the mobile phone service in Turkey continues to be of the highest quality and reach new barriers.

Paris is host as Turkish arts showcased to experts and scholars

2011-09-19T06:04:00.000-07:00

The 14th Turkish Art Congress at the College de France will be hosted in Paris from September 19th until September 21st which will see Turkish arts in the ancient era showcased to experts and scholars.

The Ottoman and Turkish arts, archaeology, and architecture will see seminars and meetings open to the public to gain some knowledge on the Ottoman Era of art.

Organised by the Paris Embassy and the College de France and the Turkish Culture Ministry’s Fine Arts Department the event will host experts and scholars from all over the world, including the Textile Museum in Washington D.C., the Wallace Collection in London, the Louvre Museum in Paris, the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, and the Gulbenkian Museum in Lisbon.

The event is a great chance to showcase Turkish history and Turkish art in lots of different forms. Those who go to the event will be privileged to be in the company of experts and in the company of historic art that is not to be missed.

Retail giant opens first store in Ankara

2011-09-19T04:52:00.000-07:00

Swedish retail clothing giant H&M has opened its first store in the Turkish capital of Ankara to bring the total number of H&M stores in Turkey to eight.

The store, situated in Ankara’s CEPA shopping mall, is H&M’s biggest store in Turkey to date and was opened with a ceremony on Saturday. According to company officials, H&M will open another store in Ankara on September 24.

H&M only entered the Turkish market in November 2010 with the opening of a store in Istanbul, and less than one year later, the clothing retailer has grown to eight stores already as the company looks to invest in the Turkish market.

Many international companies have recently looked to the Turkish market to invest in as the Turkish market is currently flourishing and expanding faster than any market in the world. Investing in Turkey is rich and global companies are seeing the potential and are flocking to open offices in Turkey and to gain a slice of the prosperous Turkish market.

Historic Ottoman ship to be displayed in Alanya

2011-09-16T08:59:00.000-07:00

The historic frame of Ottoman ship Cekevele is to be displayed in Alanya in a shipyard following a project sponsored by the Alanya Maritime and Seafaring Museum.

Due to be displayed this week, the ship was recovered from the seafloor by experts and is thought to have been used to supply goods to the Ottomans in the 16th century.

Mayor Hasan Sipahioglu said: “We’re doing this in order to lay claim to our history. Alanya has distinguished itself through this project.” The ship arrived in Alanya on Wednesday and the hull of the ship measure 14.95 metres in length and 4.9 metres in width.

The ship offers people in Alanya a rare opportunity to witness such a historic ship up close and personal. According to the museum director, the ship was most likely to have been built at a shipyard in Urla.

If you are in Alanya when the ship is to be showcased, make sure you drop by and have a look at some truly astonishing history.

Besiktas beat Maccabi Tel Aviv 5-1

2011-09-16T07:48:00.000-07:00

In the middle of a diplomatic row between Turkey and Israel, Istanbul’s Besiktas defeated Israel’s Maccabi Tel Aviv in the opening day of the UEFA Europa Cup group stage with an impressive score line of 5-1.

Portuguese striker Hugo Almeida started things of for Besiktas, netting a goal in the third minute and again the 28th minute. Maccabi tried in vain to fight back in the second half, scoring a goal in the 48th minute but Besiktas quickly stepped up a level just two minutes later with a goal from Aurelio in the 50th minute and defender Egeman Korkmaz in the 53rd minute. The tie was settled with Edu scored late on in the 88th minute to seal victory for Besiktas.

Security was extra tight for the match, 2,000 policemen were deployed around the stadium due to the current crisis between the two countries. Turkey demands an apology from Israel for the attacks that left nine Turkish people dead last year. Israel has so far refused all moves from Turkey leading to an intense standoff between the two countries.

Very few Maccabi fans turned up to the match for fear of safety reasons. The atmosphere inside the stadium was tense, with the Besiktas fans making their views heard right from the kick off. Outside the stadium a group of around 300 protesters made their feelings known to the Israelis who turned up for the match. Overall there was plenty of security and everything panned out in a good way, no serious incidents were reported.

Following the result, Besiktas are currently leading Group E with three points followed by Stoke City and Dynamo Kyiv. Maccabi are bottom with zero points after the first match. Besiktas next travel to Stoke on September 29th for their next match in the competition.

Galatasaray to sell twenty percent of shares in club

2011-09-15T06:32:00.000-07:00

Turkish football giant Galatasaray has announced that the club is to sell 20.3 percent of shares of the club’s stock on the Istanbul Stock Exchange.

The shares are valued at 172 million and the club is to use the money from the sale to ease banks debts. The sale of these shares follows the recent 2 percent sold for 14 million liras to finance new transfers for the club.

Favourites to buy the shares are an unnamed international fund and the chairman of the Galatasaray Education Foundation, Inan Kirac.

Galatasaray had a disappointing season last season and will be looking to this season to restore football of the highest level to Galatasaray. The club has invested heavily in top players such as Felipe Melo from Juventus and Johan Elmander from Bolton.

In wake of the recent scandal in Turkey regarding match fixing allegations of rival clubs, this season could really be a chance for Galatasaray to shine and mount a challenge to win the Turkish league.

Ankara to host Anki Rock Fest

2011-09-15T04:52:00.001-07:00

Ankara is to host the 4^th Anki Rock Fest from September 23^rd to September 25^th at the Ahlatlibel Social Club.

The festival, organised by the Cankaya Municipality, will see local and international groups perform such as: Orphaned Land, Hayko Cepkin, Ogun Sanlisoy, Aylin Aslim, Black Tooth, Deja vu, and Kurban.

Since starting in 2006, many rock musicians have showcased their skills at the festival. The festival is also planning on creating a concert area at Cankaya University. The festival organiser said: “In the future we are planning to establish a large venue for the festival.”

Speaking at a press conference, Turkish rock musician Ogun Sanlisoy, said: “People who will attend the festival will have the best experience of their lives.”

Tickets for the festival are priced at 60 Turkish Liras while a one-day ticket will cost 25 Turkish Liras.

Turkish director wins award as best director in Germany

2011-08-31T04:47:00.000-07:00

Turkish play director, Nurkan Erpulat has won an award in Germany for the best director of the year, with his play “Verrucktes Blut (Crazy Blood) also named as best theatre play of the year by Theatre Heute magazine in Germany.

Erpulat said: “I am happy for the immigrant society that lives here in Germany because from time to time in theatre society, the immigrants, such as Yugoslavs, Kurds, Arabs or Turks are treated condescendingly. That’s why I am really proud to become the best director of the year.”

Speaking of the play, Erpulat said: “The play takes place in a classroom. The teacher and the students are trying to understand a play by Schiller but they can’t analyse it because the students won’t listen to their teacher.” The play focuses on an ironic background and addresses the problems of an immigrant society.

Germany is a country that has many immigrant artists, Erpulat said: “Those artists do not have any chance to prove their success in society because they don’t receive any support.” This is a great achievement for a Turkish immigrant living abroad.

“Crazy Blood” will be featured at the annual Berlin Ballhaus Naunynstrasse Culture and Arts Association.

Turkish aid for Somalia close to 400 million Turkish Lira

2011-08-30T05:00:00.000-07:00

The Turkish Prime Ministry Disaster and Emergency Management Directorate has announced that Turkish aid for Somalia has now reached a total of 393.39 million Turkish Lira, around $225 million since the start of the Turkish initiative to help Somalia.

So far, Turkey has sent eight planes and four ships to Somalia containing many relief supplies as the country suffers from the worst drought to hit Africa for more than 60 years. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan even visited the country to pledge more aid and help from Turkey to Somalia.

The total collected by Turkey so far symbolises how important of an issue this is to Turkey and how much the country is doing in efforts to raise awareness and to help fund support for Somalia. The directorate has so far collected 86.5 million Turkish Lira, the Religious Affairs Directorate has so far collected 142 million Turkish Lira, and there has been 164.89 million Turkish Lira collected through several other campaigns across Turkey.

Somalia is currently in dire need of help and supplies as millions of people are suffering every day from starvation and shortage of supplies. Turkey is in a position at the moment to offer help and assistance to Somalia as Turkey is in a very strong position economically and has decided to help with aid to Somalia.

Tourism in Antalya on the rise

2011-08-30T03:32:00.000-07:00

Recent statistics have shown that Antalya is a hot spot for tourism in Turkey with the first eight months of the year seeing an increase of 13 percent compared with last year.

According to the Tourism Ministry office in Antalya, there were approximately 7.56 million tourists who visited Antalya airports during the first eight months of the year. The Mediterranean destination is proving a popular area for tourists looking to experience the warm and vibrant culture of Turkey.

In the same period of 2010, the total number of tourists who visited Antalya was approximately 6.67 million people according to the statistics.

The rise in tourism in Turkey symbolises the current state of Turkey. Turkey is currently experiencing a sharp increase in tourism and property in Turkey sales. Turkey as a country is also currently relatively strong compared with neighbouring European countries in terms of economy and politically. Turkey has been called a model for other countries to follow and it seems as though this is being reflected by the number of tourists who are flocking to Turkey this year.

Turkish gallery comes to New York

2011-08-26T09:05:00.000-07:00

The first Turkish gallery in New York will open on September 8 in Chelsea where some of the world’s most respectable galleries are situated.

The gallery, named: C24, will be a Turkish gallery that presents contemporary art from beyond the usual circle of US and European cities. Executive director of C24, Kristen Lynn Johnston, said: “Our mission is to bring an exciting and sometimes provocative new international perspective to the street that has the highest concentration of important art galleries in New York.”

She went on to say: “Thanks to our strong connections to burgeoning creative centres such as Istanbul, Mumbai and Sao Paulo, we have the opportunity to expand the New York art world, and perhaps even bring it a new energy.”

The first exhibition will be titled: “Double Crescent: Art from Istanbul and New Orleans.” The exhibit will feature works from established artists and also from artists that are emerging with potential.

Sabanci Holding posts 1.1 billion Lira profit

2011-08-26T08:44:00.000-07:00

Turkey’s second biggest group of companies, Sabanci Holding, has announced that it posted a net profit of 1.104 billion Turkish Lira for the first six months of 2011.

A statement by the chief executive officer, Zafer Kurtul, said: “The group’s profits for companies excluding finance firms have increased by 60 percent in the first half of 2011 compared with the same period of last year.” While the net profit was 1.1 billion liras, the consolidated profit in total was worth 2.5 billion liras.

Sabanci also revealed that consolidated sales grew by 13 percent to more than 10 billion liras for the first half of the year, while Sabanci’s manufacturing firms grew by an unprecedented 71 percent, Sabanci’s energy companies grew by 28 percent, Sabanci’s retail firms by 17 percent, and finally Sabanci’s cement companies grew by 13 percent in the first half of 2011.

The growth of Sabanci reflects the situation as a whole in Turkey right now. Compared with other European countries, Turkey is really doing well economically speaking. The country is uniquely placed in a region that makes it a power country and one that could be a leader for other countries in the region to follow.

Turkey and China sign energy cooperation deal

2011-08-26T08:43:00.000-07:00

Turkey and China have come to terms an agreement to cooperate together in many fields of the energy sector.

The agreement, which reads: “The parties are willing to enhance consultations in the energy sector, exchange information on energy policies, strategies, technologies and projects, and create opportunities and accommodate concrete cooperation between energy enterprises of the two countries in Turkey, in China and in third countries.” The agreement will see the two countries share information on nuclear power and boron minerals within the energy sector.

The agreement, a five year cooperation deal, has been undersigned by the Turkish Energy Ministry and will have possibilities of expanding the deal upon future agreements to be made by both countries.

Key to the cooperation will be nuclear power, boron technologies, renewable energy, thermal power, energy conservation, hydrocarbon exploration, solar energy equipment, hydroelectric power plants, and production and mining technologies. The sharing of information on these fields will see both countries benefit from the expertise of the other country and is a leading agreement for both countries.

According to the deal, there will also be options for Turkey and China to not only cooperate at the Energy Ministry Level, but also to create partnerships with related enterprises and research institutions from both countries.

The deal is a significant deal for both countries. Turkey and China are two of the world’s leading countries in terms of growth and development. The agreement will see both countries benefit from an ever expanding relationship that will continue to support growth in both countries and see both countries continue to develop.

Turkey to hold talks with South Korea and Sweden

2011-08-23T09:24:00.000-07:00

Turkey recently held talks with officials from South Korea and Sweden to develop and expand its fleet of fighter jets.

An official said: “The companies are South Korea’s Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) and Sweden’s Saab.” Both companies have extensive experience in building and manufacturing aircraft and Turkey will consult with them to design, develop, and produce new fighter aircraft in the next decade for Turkey.

The current fleet of Turkish fighter jets are currently made up of American made aircraft, it is rumoured that Turkish officials are looking to other countries to produce aircraft in an effort to reduce the countries dependence on the US for aircraft. The official said: “Turkey wants part of its fighter aircraft fleet to remain outside the technological and other influence of the United States. It believes this scheme would better fit its national interests.”

The new aircraft, to be used by the Turkish Air Force will have specifications designed by the Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) which is the first time that Turkey’s developing defense industry will be fully involved in the design of a weapons system.

Turkey wants visa agreement with Ethiopia

2011-08-23T05:24:00.000-07:00

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has stated that Turkey is currently looking to sign an agreement with Ethiopia regarding the liberalisation of the visa regime.

Speaking during a visit to Addis Ababa, Davutoglu stressed the need for more high level visits between to two countries. Davutoglu was in Addis Ababa to visit Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi to discuss economic relations between Turkey and Ethiopia and to update Zenawi about the current Turkish activities in Africa.

During his visit, the Ethiopian Foreign Minister, Hailemariam Desalegn stated that Addis Ababa would be open to investments from Turkey in Ethiopia and also agreed on Davutoglu’s statements that there should be more frequent visits between the two countries to have consultations and to discuss relations.

Turkey has recently taken a huge interest in Africa, Turkey recently announced new plans to support and provide aid for Somalia. Turkey is currently in a good position economically and politically and can provide assistance to other countries that are looking to grow.

Erdogan wants Somalia aid to top $500 million

2011-08-23T04:05:00.000-07:00

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has stated that Turkey aim to reach a total amount of $500 million donations in aid for Somalia.

Speaking at an iftar event on Sunday, Erdogan said: “At the Istanbul session of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) last week, we secured £350 million, almost half of which was Turkey’s contribution alone. We are trying to raise it to £500 million, which is needed urgently by Somalis.”

Erdogan has recently just returned to Turkey following a visit to refugee camps in Somalia to see the situation and urge for more donations from the public. It has been estimated that Turkey has so far managed to collect $137 million through campaigns started by the Turkish Prime Ministry.

According to the United Nations, more than 3 million people are currently facing death and hunger in Somalia alone. The country is currently in the middle of the worst drought it has experienced for more than 60 years. Turkey has initiated many different strategies to send aid to Somalia and the Turkish Red Crescent is currently situated in Somalia in the process of setting up tents to accommodate people in the area.

Turkey has recently announced new plans and ideas to help Somalia in their time of need. A team of 20 volunteering Turkish doctors have recently arrived in Turkey to provide medical help while the Turkish military have also stated that they are readying a cargo ship of aid supplies to set sail for Somalia.

Turkish companies invest 2 billion USD in Caspian tourism

2011-08-22T08:37:00.000-07:00

A recently published report from the Turkmenistan’s Committee of Tourism and Sports has found that Turkish companies have invested more than 2 billion USD in the Avaza Free Tourism Zone along the Caspian Sea in Turkmenistan.

Development of first-class hotels, heath and sport facilities in accordance with international standards have boosted tourism in the area and it is estimated that 90 percent of the facilities in the region are being built by Turkish companies. In total, around 600 projects in Turkmenistan have been completed at a cost of around 20 billion USD.

The recent investment, to develop 18 facilities in the area of Avaza is to aid the development further of tourism in the area. In 2007, Turkmenistan declared Avaza region a ‘tourism zone’ and announced their intentions to develop the region as a centre of tourism. With Turkish companies being used most of the time to help the development, it seems a win-win situation for Turkey and Turkmenistan.

With the Turkish real estate and property market currently on a high, Turkish companies have a lot of experience in building infrastructure that is of high quality and it seems as though Turkmenistan realise the potential in Turkish companies and want to gain from some of the breathtaking infrastructure being built in Turkey by Turkish companies.

Turkey becomes new world champions in volleyball

2011-08-22T07:05:00.000-07:00

The Turkish women’s team has become the first Turkish women to win the FIVB Women’s World Volleyball Championship after defeating China in the final.

In the final, Turkey defeated long term rival China 3-0, overturning the 3-1 defeat to China in the 2007 Women’s World Volleyball Championships in Mexico.

Turkey has competed in only five FIVP championships and to win the Gold medal signifies the strength and development that the Turkish women’s volleyball team has undertook the last few years.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan sent a letter to the chairman of the Turkey Volleyball Federation extending his congratulations to the team for their magnificent tournament. Turkish President Abdullah Gul and Turkish Parliament Speaker Cemit Cicek also sent letters of congratulations to the volleyball team.

Winning the championships is a great achievement for Turkey and Turkish sport. Sport in Turkey is currently somewhat hot and cold, with sport such as basketball and volleyball flourishing, football in Turkey is currently heavily scrutinised amid allegations of corruption. With Turkey looking to host the 2020 Olympics, sport in Turkey is going to need to be clean cut and successful, the women’s team winning the world championships signifies the potential for sport that Turkey possesses.

Turkish Football Federation to introduce new playoff system

2011-08-22T05:16:00.000-07:00

The Turkish Football Federation (TFF) has announced new plans to change football in Turkey by introducing a new playoff system to determine the champion every season.

The new system will see the top four teams at the end of the season compete in a playoff stage to reach the final in which the league champion will be determined. The new system aims to eliminate all possibilities of match fixing in Turkey.

The playoff system, modelled after the successful Belgian league will see both finalists rewarded with a Champions League place and the third placed team will be put in the UEFA Europa League. The fourth placed team will playoff against the winner from the playoff games between the fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth team to grab the last remaining spot for the Europa League.

According to the TFF, the new system is designed to increase competitiveness in the Turkish league and will reward those teams that fight to win till the last minute of the game. The new system has been met with mixed reviews throughout Turkish football with some claiming that the new system favours the big three in Turkish football: Galatasaray, Fenerbahce, and Besiktas.

The TFF is currently under a lot of pressure following the recent match fixing allegations in Turkey. Turkish football needs to be cleaned up the image of football in Turkey needs to be restored to its former greatness. This new system will go a long way to ensure that match fixing in Turkey is stamped out for good.

With Turkey recently announcing formal plans for a bid for the 2020 Olympics, sport in Turkey will be under the public eye more than ever, and football is such a prominent sport that the TFF has needed to make this decision in order for damage to the image of Turkey to be as small as possible. Should Turkey be successful in their Olympic bid and the Turkish league be cleaned up for good, sport in Turkey and infrastructure in Turkey will experience a large development that will benefit everyone in Turkey for a long time.

Turkish teams to take to European stage tonight

2011-08-17T09:21:00.000-07:00

Turkish eyes will be on the Europa League tonight as three Turkish teams take to the field in hopes of qualifying for the group stages of the competition.

Turkish Cup winners Besiktas, Bursaspor, and Trabzonspor will all be in action in the first legs of a two legged playoffs to reach the UEFA Euro League stage.

Besiktas host Russian team Alania at the Inonu Stadium in Istanbul while Bursaspor are also at home against a more formidable opponent in Belgium’s Anderlecht. Trabzonspor face a very difficult task away in Spain against Athletic Bilbao.

Turkish football is currently in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons. Severe allegations of match fixing has implemented all three teams competing tonight and you wonder if that could have an effect on the concentration of the players.

All three teams have been implicated in the match fixing allegations and could face hard punishment should they be found guilty of corruption. There will be no better way to shift the image of Turkish football to a more positive image than to record a win today for all three Turkish football teams.

Dogan Holding donates 1 million USD to Somalia

2011-08-17T07:23:00.000-07:00

In co-ordinance with the recent Turkey pledge to help with aid to Somalia, Dogan Holding has donated 1 million USD to the campaign to help Somalia.

The money will go to help with delivery of aid to Somalia, the most severe struck country in Africa with millions of people needing aid and suffering from famine. Turkey has recently sent three cargo planes sent with aid to Somalia to help in their time of need.

In further developments, Turkey is to host an international meeting between 57 countries in Istanbul today to discuss collective international efforts in bringing aid to Somalia to end the hunger in Africa. There are currently more than three million people in Somalia alone that are feeling the effects of the drought in Africa, the worst drought to hit the continent in more than 60 years.

Another Premier League player moves to Turkey

2011-08-17T04:12:00.001-07:00

Galatasaray have announced the completion of the signing of Ivory Coast international defender Emmanuel Eboue from English Premier League giants Arsenal for a reported fee of 3.5 million euros.

A statement on the Premier League club’s website read: “Arsenal have agreed terms with Turkish side Galatasaray for the transfer of Emmanuel Eboue. Everyone at Arsenal thanks Manu for his contribution towards the club and wishes him the best of luck for the future.”

Eboue has signed a four year deal at the Turkish club worth 2.5 million euros per season for the first two seasons and 2.2 million euros for the rest of the two years.

Galatasaray have recently been looking to the English Premier League as they look to build on last season’s disappointing eighth place finish, Eboue joins former Bolton striker Johan Elmander at the Galatasaray. Brazilian International midfielder Felipe Melo also joined on loan from Italian club Juventus as Galatasaray look to buy big in order to compete next season at the top level.

Football in Turkey is currently under large scrutiny following allegations of match fixing in Turkey that has blighted teams such as Turkish league winners Fenerbahce and Turkish Cup winners Besiktas. However star players are still looking to move to Turkey to sample the lifestyle and culture of Turkey.

Jazz in Ramadan to begin after-iftar entertainment

2011-08-16T09:23:00.000-07:00

Tonight sees the return of the Jazz in Ramadan concert series in the historical ambience of the Topkapi Palace courtyard.

Organised by Hakan Erdogan, the concerts will feature internationally known Muslim jazz musicians and will provide a great relief for fasting Turks after a long hard day of work.

Led by famed Tunisian-born oud player Anouar Brahem, the concerts debuted last year to great success with an audience of more than 10,500 people for eight concerts. Brahem has been performing jazz music since 1991 and will perform with his world famous quartet to supply the crowd with a great show of jazz music.

As the concerts will be performed during Ramadan, iftar will be provided for the concert goers as the Armada Hotel has agreed to supply the concert goers with a buffet and additional menu items.

There have been more and more music festivals in Turkey of late; the country is coming alive with music and culture. The concerts are due to start at 9pm and will be welcoming people in the doors from 7:45pm.

3,500 year old Mammoth skeleton to be exhibited

2011-08-16T08:26:00.000-07:00

A 3,500 year old Mammoth skeleton is to be exhibited in the Kahramanmaras Museum in the south eastern Anatolian province in the upright position for the first time in 33 years.

A special frame is to be built for the Mammoth skeleton to be mounted against so that museum goers can appreciate fully the fossil. Culture and tourism director of the museum, Seydi Kucukdagli said: “We have been considering ways to get this fossil to its feet for a long time now and eventually deduced that a slow and careful approach was the best way, we hope to finish the job by the end of the year.”

Being the first ever mammoth skeleton that will be raised to its feet in an upright position and displayed in a museum in Turkey, the skeleton is expected to increase tourism to the area.
Once completed the Mammoth will stand tall at five metres high and seven metres long, providing viewers with a great insight into how big and powerful these creatures were when they roamed the earth.

With so much rich history and culture in Turkey, museums offer a real glimpse into how life used to be like in the country. Very popular amongst visitors and tourists, museums in Turkey provide a great attraction for tourism; Turkey has recently been excavating and unearthing more historical artefacts than ever before.

Turkey to build airport in Egypt

2011-08-16T03:17:00.000-07:00

Limak Holding, a Turkish construction firm has won a bid in Egypt to modernise the Cairo Airport in a deal worth $387 million.

Involved in construction, tourism, and technology; Limak Holding won the bid for the biggest contract awarded by Egypt since the uprisings in January.

As part of the bid, the third terminal of the Cairo International Airport in Egypt will be severely renovated and modernised. Plans call for passenger capacity of the airport to be doubled and enlarging the runways of the terminal to accommodate bigger airplanes and additional facilities to improve passenger experience.

Due to take around three years to complete, construction is scheduled to start at the end of 2012.

As Turkey grows and develops further, the country is now a leader in the region and can compete with nations across the world to offer services and investment for other countries. Turkey is a prime country to invest in at the moment, and Turkish companies such as Limak Holding are seeing their international value increase and are winning international contracts, as a sign of the strength of Turkey.

Turkish-Americans open first University in US

2011-08-15T08:36:00.000-07:00

A recently opened University in Texas is set to become the first University in the US launched by Turkish-American entrepreneurs.

North American College (NAC) will open in Houston in 2011 to students from more than 40 countries and will look to increase the number of students enrolled to more than 3,000 over the next five years of development.

The vice rector of the university, Professor John C. Topuz called on Turkish students to consider applying for the university, saying: “I want them to come not only for the good of our institution but also to prepare them to better integrate with the world at large. One of our slogans is to train students to be ready for the world.” He noted that students who come from Turkey have no difficulty in adapting to the environment at NAC.

Topuz went on to say: “It is a great pleasure to make this contribution to our people. I would like to make an open call to all Turks who are considering studying in the US; they now have a university in this country ready to host them.”

The NAC currently has three departments for study: Business Administration, Computer Science, and Education. Looking to launch additional departments soon, the NAC is beginning to offer fully academic accredited bachelor degrees, something Topuz noted was a great achievement for the NAC.

This is a great development for Turkey and Turkish students. An international university where students can study and learn new cultures and skills will benefit Turkey greatly in the future.

Boston to host Turkish festival

2011-08-15T03:32:00.000-07:00

Boston will host the 16th Turkish Arts & Culture Festival Documentary and Short Film Competition.

Set to take place during October 29th and December 15th, the deadline for applications to the competition is Wednesday 17th August.

The event is the first ever Turkish documentary and short film competition to ever be held in North America and the award-winning films are due to be screened at the Turkish Boston Film Festival in 2012.

The judges of the competition will include Harvard Film Archive Director: Haden Guest, and film critic of the renowned Boston Phoenix newspaper: Peter Keough. Those who make it through to the final will have screenings at the Museum of Fine Arts and Boston University between December 1st and December 8th.

This is a great opportunity for Turkish film makers to reach an international audience and well known film critics and gain good exposure for their work.

BBC coming to Turkey

2011-08-12T09:37:00.000-07:00

The BBC will be coming to Turkey in September to shoot footage in the Central Anatolian province of Eskisehir.

The footage, to be part of a documentary called ‘The Crusades’ will be shot in Iznik, Antalya, Israel, and Egypt.

A professor at Eskisehir’s Anadolu University, Taciser Savas said: ““Eskisehir has importance in that the Selcuks, which lost the northwestern town of Iznik during the Crusades, came to Dorylaion in Eskisehir. The Crusaders got their first victory here. Dorylaion is the Byzantine door opening to the east.” Savas has been carrying out excavations in the Sarhoyuk for the past 30 years.

The documentary, is based on a book of the same name by Thomas Asbridge, Asbridge will also be on hand for the shooting of the documentary in Turkey. Savas said: “They will look at the walls of the castle and the artefacts that we unearthed during the excavations in Sarhoyuk. Since the stones were used in the construction of the Istanbul-Baghdad railway and Odunpazan houses, only basic parts of the castle have survived until today.”

The BBC coming to Turkey follows the recent revelation that a Hollywood director is to direct a movie in Turkey. Turkey offers a lot for people looking to shoot video, the development of Turkey in recent years has led to Turkey becoming a standout nation in the region.

Turkish Prime Minister to visit Somalia

2011-08-12T08:52:00.000-07:00

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan will travel to famine torn Somalia next Thursday as part of his travels to stricken areas in East Africa with his family and Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.

Erdogan’s visit to Somalia comes of the back of Turkey’s recent pledge to help supply Africa with aid, Turkey recently announced new policies to be implemented during Ramadan to help Somalia and a third supply cargo plane recently landed in Somalia with more than 50 tonnes worth of aid for the stricken country.

Somalia is currently suffering from its worst drought for more than 60 years. The United Nations have recently estimated that 187 out of every 5,000 Somali children die before the age of 5 in Somalia.

The visit of the Turkish Prime Minister shows the importance that Turkey is giving the Aid for Africa campaign. Turkey is currently enjoying a rich stable economy and the Turkish people have taken it upon themselves to help Africa at a time of need.

Turkish Football Federation to lift foreign player quota

2011-08-12T03:35:00.000-07:00

Turkish clubs will soon be able to sign an unlimited amount of non-Turkish players as the Turkish Football Federation plan to lift the restrictions barring clubs from buying a certain amount of non-Turkish players.

Mehmet Ali Aydinlar, chairman of the TFF said that the current rule of teams only being allowed to have six non-Turkish players on the pitch at the same time, and a further two on the bench will remain, however teams will be allowed to have as many foreign players in their squads as they would like.

The Turkish football league is very cash rich, clubs have a lot of money and the lifting of this rule will allow for more foreign superstars to move to the Turkish league and experience Turkish football. Recently stars such as England International Scott Carson, Brazilian International Felipe Melo, and former Bolton Wanderers striker Johan Elmander have all moved to Turkey. The lifting of this rule will surely see more stars follow suit.

Aydinlar also stated that the TFF plan to make decisions on the current match-fixing scandal in Turkey by next week. The teams involved face relegation or could face other punishments such as fines and points deductions.

Arda Turan follows other Turkish players to Spain

2011-08-11T06:13:00.000-07:00

Galatasaray have come to terms with Atletico Madrid to finalise the sale of midfielder Arda Turan for a reported 12 million euros.

The former Galatasaray captain joins other Turkish players Nuri Sahin and Hamit Altintop who both also moved to Madrid this summer, albeit to rivals Real Madrid.

With two years left on the player’s contract, it seems as though the time was right for Galatasaray to cash in on their talisman, who becomes the most expensive Turkish player in history following the move.

Arda also looks to escape the football turmoil in Turkey with the current match fixing allegations going on, Arda has seized the chance to join Atletico Madrid and gift Arda a chance to play in Europe.

The move to Spain looks to have come at the right time for Arda. Struggling in Turkey with personal problems and fans even questioning his commitment to the cause, Arda will be allowed to concentrate solely on football in Madrid and hopefully be able to recapture the form that made him the talisman of Galatasaray.

The move could also benefit the Turkish national team, with the national team struggling to qualify for Euro 2012; Arda will be needed in top form to ensure the national team progress to next year’s tournament.

Third Turkish cargo plane brings aid to Somalia

2011-08-11T04:24:00.000-07:00

Turkey has sent a third cargo plane to Somalia to bring aid to Africa as part of the recent government initiative to help Africa as the continent suffers from one of the worst droughts recorded.

The Turkish Airlines cargo plane took off on Thursday carrying 40 tons of food and medical supplies donated from Turkey. The aid will be distributed by the Red Crescent representatives in Mogadishu and includes baby formula and milk powder to help the young generation in Somalia as well as medication to fight against most common diseases.

The third plane follows the first two planes that had departed on Monday to Somalia, bringing to total amount of aid that Turkey has sent to Somalia to more than 100 tons worth of food and medical supplies.

The World Food Program estimates that 10 million people are in need of humanitarian aid in Africa and Turkey has recently taken it upon themselves to send help. A new campaign has been launched to help Africa and fight against poverty in Africa.

Turkey is currently in a stronger position than most European countries economically speaking. The growth and development in Turkey has led to Turkey becoming a powerful nation in the region and a nation that is able to help out others in need.

Turkey to host wind power congress

2011-08-10T09:36:00.000-07:00

All eyes will be on Istanbul come September 20th and 21st as the city hosts the third annual international congress of Wind Power Turkey.

Wind Power Turkey has recently become a key meeting place for the Turkish and international wind industry.

According to the chief executive officer of the European Wind Energy Association, Christian Kjaer, the potential for the Turkish wind energy production could be huge. Kjaer said: “Turkey could be among the top three producers of wind energy. Turkey has predictable and attractive market for wind energy investors.”

The event is supported by both national and international bodies and is held as part of the Turkish International Renewable Energy Congress.

With so much development in Turkey right now, the potential to invest in Turkey has reached new limits, the wind industry is just one of a number of great potential investment points in Turkey. Investing in the wind energy market in Turkey could become an important market in the future and could see some great returns on investment.

Turkish government to support Turkish theatres

2011-08-10T05:47:00.000-07:00

The Turkish Culture and Tourism Ministry has released a statement to announce that they will give 3.5 million Turkish Liras to support private theatres in Turkey during the 2011-2012 art seasons.

Culture and Tourism Ministry Fine Arts Deputy General Director Omer Bozoglu said: “We want to reach amateurs and those who do not have the chance to find support in various Anatolian cities. There are people operating theatres in villages and we want to support them. We also support Karagoz puppet theatre in Anatolia.”

Theatres who wish to benefit from this can apply to the ministry before August 15th. To apply they must fit in with one of the titles: ‘Professional’, ‘Professional Children’, ‘Amateur’, and ‘Traditional’ categories.

The goal of this is to bring theatre in Turkey to a wider audience and encourage an increase of writers and the quality of plays performed in theatres.

Bozoglu summed up by saying: “Theatres may learn conditions for applications through the website of the ministry or the Fine Arts General Directorate.”

This is a signal of real intent for improvement of theatres in Turkey. Investment in Turkey theatres will improve the performance and allow for theatres to express culture of Turkey more and more through theatre.

Hiddink to resign if Turkish match fixing allegations proved true

2011-08-10T03:15:00.000-07:00

Turkish National team coach Guus Hiddink has said that he plans to resign if the allegations surrounding corruption in Turkish football are proved to be true.

Speaking to a Dutch newspaper, Hiddink said: “If the allegations are proven then it’s ‘case closed’ for me. Football is the world’s favourite pastime. It is a big and wonderful industry, employing countless people, but that doesn’t mean one can get involved in such things (match fixing).”

Hiddink has called on the Turkish national team to prove that Turkish football can be clean, saying: “I did not hold an hour-long speech on the scandal, just a motivating talk; I told them it is now up to them, players of the national team, to prove that Turkish football can be clean and normal.”

The Turkish national team is currently in preparation for an international friendly against Estonia followed by a key match against Austria on September 6th, a win against Austria will move Turkey into second place in group A of the qualifying stages for the 2012 European Championships.

First ‘Crime and Punishment’ festival heads to Istanbul

2011-08-09T04:28:00.000-07:00

Istanbul will host the first International Crime and Punishment Film Festival from September 23rd to September 30th.

Organised by the Faculty of Law from Istanbul University and Basaksehir Municipality, the festival theme for this year is ‘Coups’ and will provide audiences an opportunity to see movies that focus on social change and the justice process.

Screening over 100 films from all over the world, the festival aims to provide a great opportunity to compare the different justice systems and social structures deployed in different countries. Bringing to light to differences in approaches they undertake.

This is another first for the city of Istanbul. There have been many festivals and performances in Istanbul recently, this festival will be a great experience for those who go to witness what crime and punishment is like all over the world.

Thermal centre uncovered in Anatolia

2011-08-08T09:30:00.000-07:00

A local Deputy Mayor, Sadettin Ozturk has said that archaeologists are to bring to light the first thermal treatment centre in Anatolia.

Ozturk stated that the archaeologists were making excavations to unearth “Basilica Therma” – the first thermal treatment centre in Anatolia, in the town of Sarikaya in the central province of Yozgat.
The thermal facility was built during the early Roman age and dates back 3,000 years, making it a real great piece of exceptional construction for Anatolia.

So far there has been five architectural pieces discovered in the excavations so far. The Deputy Mayor said: “A snake figure on the construction proves that this place was used as a treatment centre.”

Turkey is currently restoring a lot of great architecture to their former glory as the nation looks to extend some Turkish culture and show off what was there in the past.

Hiddink wants Turkish National team to lift Turkish football

2011-08-08T05:04:00.000-07:00

Guus Hiddink has said the image of football in Turkey has been damaged by the match-fixing scandal in Turkey. He has also called on the National team to provide a lift for sport in the country and give Turkish fans something to cheer about.

Hiddink wrote in an article: “Especially in these difficult times, the Turkish international football team needs to rise above the situation in order to give the fans a better feeling. I try to have my players realize the importance of it.”

He also stated that tensions were felt during the recent World Cup draw in Brazil, he said: “During the World Cup draw in Rio de Janeiro, I experienced how the alleged bribery scandals damaged the image of Turkish football.” Hiddink also went on to say: “Although the defendants’ guilt still needs to be proved, there is much harm done.”

The match fixing scandal has embroiled several top teams in Turkey such as Fenerbahçe and Besiktas. The Turkish league has been postponed for a month while the Turkish Football Federation decides on what penalties to deploy on the guilty parties.

Turkey take on Estonia on Wednesday in a qualifier for the 2012 European Championships and there will be no better way to prove that sport in Turkey still has some hope than a resounding win for the Turkish.

PWA World Cup comes to Turkey

2011-08-08T03:58:00.000-07:00

The Turkish Aegean resort town of Alacati is to host the Pegasus Airlines Professional Windsurfers Association (PWA) World Cup slalom races.

The World Cup, which takes place from August 8th to August 13th, will see the best windsurfers from the world come to Turkey to compete to be crowned champion in the awards ceremony on August 13th.

In the men’s competition, Bjorn Dunkerbeck of Sweden is the current leader followed by Antoine Albeau of France. The women’s competition is headed by Sarah-Quita Offringa, Alice Arutkin, Fanny Aubet, and Turkish duo: Lena Erdil and Cagla Kubat.

The competition will come to an end in Denmark where the men’s championships will be decided following the competition stage in Alacati. The World Cup officially began in February in Vietnam.
With Turkey currently fine tuning a bid for the 2020 Olympics, hosting the PWA World Cup will be a good chance for the Turkish government to show what they can do and to put on a good show to impress the selectors.

First Turkish aid plane heads to Somalia

2011-08-08T03:37:00.000-07:00

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has announced that the first plane carrying aid for Somalia is set to leave on Monday.

With Somalia suffering from the worst drought in 60 years, The Turkish Prime Minister said: “Turkey will send its first cargo plane to Mogadishu from Ankara on Monday, and we will continue to send aid by plane and ship.” Erdogan also said that Turkey was united in its efforts to help those in need.

On Sunday, Turkey’s European Union Minister and chief negotiator Egemen Bagis said: “In the atmosphere of abundance of the holy month of Ramadan we cannot remain indifferent to the tragedy our African friends are facing, and therefore we are mobilizing to extend a helping hand to Somalia and Africa.” This follows the announcement by Turkey of an aid campaign during Ramadan to help Africa during these tough times.

The Turkish Pharmacists Association has also decided to launch a new campaign to help Africa, sending over medical supplies, baby formula, and water to Somalia and Kenya as part of its campaign to help the victims of the drought in Africa.

The famine has forced tens of thousands of starving people to move in search of help. UN estimates have placed the death toll of children under the age of five at close to 30,000 in the last three months. Turkish people can help by sending an SMS with the word “AFRIKA” to 5601 to donate 5 Turkish Lira to Africa.