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  • Irresistable Istanbul Attracts Growing Tourist Interest

    Irresistable Istanbul Attracts Growing Tourist Interest

    Turkey’s travel industry authorities have been promoting the exotic and diverse city of Istanbul as an ideal place for British holidaymakers to visit this year.

    The Turkish Culture and Tourism Office highlighted the cultural and historical delights of taking an Istanbul city break. A spokesperson referenced the eclectic mix of historical influences that can be seen in every facet of the city’s make-up; from the times of Ancient Rome, through the Byzantine Empire era and Ottoman Empire right up until the current day.

    Turkish Culture and Tourism Office spokeswoman Joanna Marsh said that Istanbul is: “one of those cities which everyone has on their list of places to visit at least once in their lifetime.”

    She cited the uniquely exciting contrast of cultural influences as a major spur to get potential visitors to book a Turkish holiday or even a shorter city break. She also explained how Istanbul’s vibrant nightlife and enticing cuisine could offer something for everyone.

    Mentioning a number of must-see attractions, Ms Marsh said: “Head to a traditional Turkish Bath, visit Topkapi Palace and the Blue Mosque, but also make time to eat out at one of the swanky restaurants on the Bosphorus or in the trendy area of Beyoglu and visit more contemporary attractions such as the Museum of Modern Art.”

    In addition to the well known attractions, Ms Marsh said that one of the best ways to experience the wonderful sights, sounds and smells was to take leisurely walks through the city.

    Due to its continually rising popularity in the UK as a holiday destination, cheap flights to Turkey are plentiful and are offered by a wide variety of airlines. Be sure to book ahead in order to secure the best deals and avoid disappointment.

    via Irresistable Istanbul Attracts Growing Tourist Interest.

  • Croatia Airlines Begin Flights to Istanbul After 12 Years

    Croatia Airlines Begin Flights to Istanbul After 12 Years

    Croatia Airlines began flights from Zagreb to Istanbul’s Ataturk International Airport on Wednesday after an interval of 12 years.

    Croatia Airlines’ Airbus A319 passenger jet arrived in Istanbul Wednesday carrying Turkish and Croatian flags.

    The passengers of the Croatian jet were greeted at the Ataturk International Airport with flowers.

    Speaking at a ceremony to mark Croatia Airlines’s first flight from Zagreb to Istanbul, Croatia Airlines President Srecko Simunovic said that flights from Zagreb to Istanbul would contribute to the friendship between Turkey and Croatia, strengthen cooperation and boost mutual tourism.

    Croatia Airlines’ flights between Zagreb and Istanbul would take place on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays.

    Wednesday, 18 May 2011

    A.A

     

  • Turkish Magnate Puts His Passion on Display

    Turkish Magnate Puts His Passion on Display

    By SUSANNE FOWLER

    Bahadir Taskin/Papko/Oner Kocabeyoglu Collection "Farewell Warsaw," a 1961 work by Nejad Melih Devrim.
    Bahadir Taskin/Papko/Oner Kocabeyoglu Collection

    “Farewell Warsaw,” a 1961 work by Nejad Melih Devrim.

    Bahadir Taskin/Papko/Oner Kocabeyoglu Collection “Farewell Warsaw,” a 1961 work by Nejad Melih Devrim.

    ISTANBUL — Art collecting is often a very private passion, but the textile magnate Oner Kocabeyoglu has taken his passion very public with the exhibition “20 Turkish Artists of the XXth Century” at Santralistanbul, an art, music and education space at the tip of the Golden Horn.

    The show, through June 19, features more than 430 works by 18 painters and two sculptors, accumulated by Mr. Kocabeyoglu and selected and arranged over three floors in collaboration with the writer and art critic Ferit Edgu.

    At first, visitors may think they are seeing earlier works by Picasso or Klimt, but many of the paintings are by Turks who lived in France after 1940 as part of the École de Paris wave, working, studying and carousing with the Westerners creating masterpieces.

    The exhibition covers a particularly interesting period for Turkish painting, Mr. Edgu said by telephone, in that it shows how Turkish artists, from a Western point of view, “caught up” to what was being painted by the Europeans. And they did this, in many cases, by packing up and moving to Paris.

    via Turkish Magnate Puts His Passion on Display – NYTimes.com.

  • Drugmaker Abdi Ibrahim in Talks on Minority Stake Sale

    Drugmaker Abdi Ibrahim in Talks on Minority Stake Sale

    By Ercan Ersoy – May 18, 2011 10:30 AM GMT+0200

    (Corrects 2010 sales in third paragraph.)

    Abdi Ibrahim Ilac Sanayi & Ticaret AS, Turkey’s biggest generic drugmaker, said it’s in talks with foreign companies on the possible sale of a minority stake.

    The company’s owners don’t plan to sell a majority, Chief Executive Candan Karabagli said today in Istanbul. Foreign interest is holding up despite government cuts to drug prices, she said.

    Abdi Ibrahim aims to raise sales this year to $850 million from $834 million in 2010, she said.

    To contact the reporter on this story: Ercan Ersoy in Istanbul at [email protected]

    To contact the editor responsible for this story: Steve Bryant at [email protected]

    via Drugmaker Abdi Ibrahim in Talks on Minority Stake Sale – Bloomberg.

  • Dominique Strauss-Kahn Resigns As Head Of International Monetary Fund

    Dominique Strauss-Kahn Resigns As Head Of International Monetary Fund

    Dominique Strauss-Kahn is arraigned Monday, May 16, 2011, in court for the alleged attack on a maid who went into his penthouse suite at a hotel near Times Square to clean it, in New York, Monday, May 16, 2011. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, Pool)

    SINGAPORE, May 19 (Reuters) – Dominique Strauss-Kahn resigned as head of the International Monetary Fund, the IMF said in a statement dated May 18, as he faces charges of sexual assault and attempted rape.

    “I deny with the greatest possible firmness all of the allegations that have been made against me,” Strauss-Kahn said in his letter of resignation, released by the IMF.

    (Reporting by Emily Kaiser)

    www.huffingtonpost.com, 19 May 2011

  • Turkey’s Gays Shift Away From AK Party – Emerging Europe Real Time – WSJ

    Turkey’s Gays Shift Away From AK Party – Emerging Europe Real Time – WSJ

    By Ayla Albayrak

    AFP/Getty Images The gay pride parade in Istanbul last year.
    AFP/Getty Images The gay pride parade in Istanbul last year.

    It may come as a surprise that at Turkey’s last elections in 2007, a survey of the country’s gay community said they would vote for the Islamic-leaning and socially conservative Justice and Development Party, or AKP. But not this time.

    A recent poll by Turkish gay community website haydiGAYri.com concluded that some 45.5% of respondents plan to vote for the main opposition Republican People’s Party, or CHP, at elections on June 12, followed by the AKP with 31.3%.

    That’s a big change from when the same poll was conducted in 2007. Then 33.1% said they would vote for the AKP, and only 28.3% for the CHP. The AKP won the actual vote with 47%.

    Some 7,200 registered users of the website, mostly from big cities in Turkey, took part in the latest poll, with one vote counted from each IP number.

    Although its base support is made up of religious conservatives, the AKP has long based its electoral success on attracting religious conservatives, liberals, center-right voters and nationalists alike under a big tent platform that promised a break with the corruption of the past. But gay activists say many members of the community have been alienated since the last elections, weakening that part of the coalition.

    A big reason for the change was a comment by State Minister for Women and Family Affairs Aliye Kavaf, when she said last year that homosexuality was an illness and needed to be cured.

    “That comment by Aliye Kavaf is one of the main reasons why the votes have shifted. Also, we have felt more pressure lately. Our website, for example, was closed twice without any explanation,” said Ozan, who maintains the site. Turkey’s Internet regulator has come under wide attack for aggressively shutting Internet sites in recent years.

    Turkey’s gay vote is unlikely to have any significant effect on the outcome of the election, which the AKP is widely expected to win. And the community’s options are limited. “Even if CHP is less religious, neither of the two parties care to promote gay rights,” said Ozan, who declined to give his full name, citing safety concerns. He said he has received threatening emails because of the website.

    The AKP has pledged after the elections to scrap the country’s authoritarian constitution, drafted by military junta after the 1980 military coup in Turkey, and produce a new one. Who gets to shape that constitution is the bottom line for many voters.

    Turkey’s gay rights organization, Kaos GL, has asked for the government to guarantee the rights of sexual minorities in the new constitution. But only one of the major parties, the Kurdish minority’s Peace and Democratic Party, or BDP, supported that call and included the promotion of gay rights into their party statutes last year.

    However, the BDP’s emphasis on regional and ethnic politics in Turkey’s Kurdish Southeast, and the fact that most people taking part in the “gay poll” were in western and central Turkey, appears to have limited its appeal in the poll.

    via Turkey’s Gays Shift Away From AK Party – Emerging Europe Real Time – WSJ.