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PRIZE TO GULEN FROM THE U.S.

A well-respected think thank in the U.S., the EastWest Institute (EWI), gave a 2011 Peace Prize to Fethullah Gulen.

Mustafa Yesil, Chairman of the Reporters and Authors Foundation accepted the prize on behalf of Fethullah Gulen. In a message which Gulen sent to be read at the prize ceremony, he says he is accepting the prize not for himself but for the volunteers from different nations, different religions who are doing tehir best for the humanity.

National Security Advisor General James Jones and former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice were among the Board Members of EWI.

gazetevatan.com, 12.05.2011

Vice-Chairman, Board of Directors of the EastWest Institute is Armen Sarkissian

Dr. Armen Sarkissian was Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia (1996-1997), now serves as founding president of Eurasia House International.

Dr. Armen Sarkissian was Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia (1996-1997), now serves as founding president of Eurasia House International.

Dr. Sarkissian formerly served as Ambassador of Armenia (1991-1999) to the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and The Vatican, as well as Head of Mission of the Republic of Armenia to the EU and NATO (1995-96).

Since 1999 he is Director of the Eurasia Programme at the Judge Institute of Management, Cambridge University’s Business School, with expertise in state-building structures and free market transition processes in CIS countries. He is Co-founder of Eurasia House International in London.

Dr. Sarkissian has published numerous articles on economic transition in the former Soviet Union and is the author of three books and over 50 articles on computer modelling of complex system and theoretical physics. He has been a Professor of Physics at Yerevan State University, the School of Mathematical Sciences, University of London, and Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge, as well as Head of the Department of Computer Modelling of Complex Systems at YSU.

Dr. Sarkissian holds honorary and executive positions in numerous international organisations, including Member of the Board of Directors of East West Institute, Member of Editorial Board of Russia In Global Politics (foreign affairs journal), and Honorary Senior Research Fellow at the School of Mathematical Sciences, Queen Mary & Westfield College, London University. Most recently he was invited by the World Economic Forum in Davos to speak in various panels.

May 18, 2011
US reconnaissance plane supplying Turkey with intelligence

TOLGA TANIŞ

WASHINGTON – Hürriyet

The EP–3E reconnaissance planes allegedly relay key intelligence about PKK movements to the Turkish military. Hürriyet photo

A United States reconnaissance plane called EP–3E, which specializes in intercepting communication and radar signals, has allegedly been relaying critical intelligence to the Turkish military about the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, movements.

The U.S. ambassador to Ankara, Francis J. Ricciardone, however, refused to disclose any further information regarding his earlier claims that the U.S. incurred about $400 million in annual costs, or about $ 1 million a day, assisting Turkey to help fight terrorism.

“The PKK also knows that we are [assisting Turkey in her fight.] They must be wondering why the targeting is so accurate,” said Ricciardone who added he would not be able to divulge any details about intelligence disbursements, while talking to members of press in Istanbul on Wednesday.

The U.S. military unit that supplies information to the Turkish military is called VQ–2, or Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron Two, originally founded in 1955. The EP–3E reconnaissance planes, allegedly relay key intelligence about PKK movements to the Turkish military, are reportedly part of this unit, which operates under the U.S. Navy. The unit is located on Whidbey Island, but in case it is involved in PKK-related operations, it would then be serving under the command of the 6th U.S. Fleet, according to a spokesman for the U.S. Naval Command.

Real-time intelligence sharing between the U.S. and Turkey in order to supply critical information about PKK movements to the Turkish military was formally agreed upon by Prime Minister Erdoğan and former U.S. President George W. Bush in 2007.

Ambassador Ricciardone also said political and military cooperation between the U.S. and Turkey always was and still is strong during his visit to the 2011 International Defense Industry Fair, or IDEF, in Istanbul between May 10 and 13. The U.S. diplomat added that Turkish and American military personnel, diplomats and civilians were working shoulder to shoulder to maintain peace and security in the world, citing Libya and Somalia as examples of successful cooperation between the two countries. Ricciardone further said as the defense industry grows, it would prove to be one of the primary links in economic ties between Turkey and the U.S.

Ricciardone’s comments had come after Deputy Prime Minister Cemil Çiçek and Defense Minister Vecdi Gönül claimed the U.S. did not back Turkey in its fight against the outlawed PKK at the same level as Ankara helped the U.S. in its global fight against al-Qaeda.

The PKK is recognized as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.

via US reconnaissance plane supplying Turkey with intelligence – Hurriyet Daily News and Economic Review.

May 17, 2011
Turkey’s top 10 delights

Beyond the resorts of Kusadasi, Bodrum and Marmaris are dozens of places offering an array of outdoor activities, historical wonders and small glimpses of paradise, writes KATE FENNELL

VISITING Turkey should come with a warning: you visit once, you’ll visit a thousand times. That’s the common effect on many first-timers whether they have come for sun, sand and sea or for a quick jaunt to Istanbul.

The resorts of Kusadasi, Bodrum and Marmaris have all been well explored by the Irish sun-seeking tourists, but beyond those there are dozens of places offering an array of outdoor activities, historical wonders and small glimpses of paradise.

Because of the unrest in the Middle East deterring visitors there, tourist numbers to Turkey are expected to increase by three million, to 31 million this year – that’s a lot of sunbed space – so if you want to escape the crowds, discover something new and go slightly off the beaten track, this list is for you.

1 The Princes Islands, Istanbul

The Princes Islands are a group of tranquil and car-free islands located a short ferry-ride from Istanbul – the perfect antidote to a stint of sightseeing in the busy, bustling city.

Four are inhabited and the biggest islands, Buyukada and Heybeliada, are the most popular for visitors. You can explore them and view their multi-storeyed 19th-century wooden houses at a leisurely pace by bicycle or horse-drawn carriage – the only transport on the islands.

Both are pleasant for an afternoon’s visit while Buyukada is perfect for a longer stay, especially if you can treat yourself to a room in the beautiful turn-of- the-century hotel, Splendid Pallas, where it’s hard not to expect to bump into Hercule Poirot in the drawing room, such is the atmosphere and décor.

Upmarket: Splendid Pallas Hotel, splendidhotel.net. Dbl/sngl room: €100/€70.

2 Alacati, Cesme

When descending into Alacati on the Aegean coast, the stone windmills spied on the azure horizon offer a reminder of the flour-making industry that once flourished here. For 10 years or so now, that same wind has been bringing droves of windsurfers from near and far to its idyllic sheltered bay.

Its whitewashed old buildings and cobbled streets have received something of a facelift since the windsurfers started arriving, giving life to quaint restaurants, cafes and hotels providing an ambient setting to unwind in the evening and get a local taste of life and fare.

Upmarket: Tas Hotel, tasotel.com. Dbl/sngl room: €125/€95

3 Gocek

Anyone who has had the opportunity to sail around Turkey’s Turquoise Coast may be familiar with this peaceful yachters’ haven, equipped with several marinas, excellent seafood restaurants, friendly service and fabulous shops selling indigenous jewellery, crafts and clothes. You will spend a little more than usual here as it sells itself as slightly more upmarket than neighbouring towns but you will get quality for money.

You can easily escape to the mountainous villages nearby where there are opportunities to get slim and healthy by joining in a yoga retreat in Huzur Vadisi or a juicing week in Jason Vale’s famous Montenegro Hotel retreat. If you decide to stay where you are, a session in the modern Gocek Club Marina Hamam comes recommended.

Mid-market: Villa Danlin Hotel, villadanlin.com. Dbl/Sngl room: €90/€60

4 Kas

A fishing town of 6,000 people at the heart of the Lycian Way on the southwestern Mediterranean coast, Kas is a jewel in terms of what Turkey has to offer. Its kayaking and canoeing trips to the sunken Lycian ruins are famous, and its pristine waters and varied coastline has made it Turkey’s top spot for diving.

For the adventurous landlubbers, the Taurus mountains which tower above the town are the perfect place for mountain -biking, rock-climbing, trekking and canyoning, all of which are organised by the travel agencies in the town.

For those who want to just kick back and indulge in more sedate activities there are boat trips to various paradisiacal maritime locations and walks along the scenic Lycian Way. Its warren of cobbled streets full of cute cafes, bars and restaurants is a joy to wander around in and the evenings are lively with music and dancing lasting till the early hours.

Value/mid-market: Hideaway Hotel, hotelhideaway.com. Dbl/sngl room: €45/€30.

5 The Kackar Mountains

Far away from the Mediterranean on the Black Sea coast is Trabzon, the gateway to the Kackar Mountains, one of Turkey’s best kept secrets – but not for long. A guidebook has just been published by Kate Clow, the person who put the Lycian Way on the touristic map, so get here before the rush starts.

The Kackars remind one of being in the Alps and the Himalayas all at once: there are verdant green valleys, with rushing rivers flowing through them, pine forests and steep rocky mountains with ridges pock-marked by large glacial lakes. It’s a paradise for trekkers, mountain-bikers, ramblers and nature lovers of every description.

For history buffs, there is the Greek Orthodox Sumela monastery dating from the 4th century as well as a fresco-filled 13th century Byzantine church just outside Trabzon itself.

Value: Otel Doga, near Camlihemsin, 00-90-464-651-7455. Dbl/sngl room: €20/€15

6 Cappadocia

(Kapadokya)

In the heart of Anatolia and the ancient Hittite Empire, Cappadocia could be accused of not really being off the beaten track anymore since tourism here has exploded over the last 10 years – and commercialism along with it – but to omit it would be a crime because of its unique landscape, history and sights.

Whether it’s to marvel at the fairy chimneys made of volcanic rock, go white-water rafting in its rushing rivers, descend into the multi-storey underground cities or squeeze into a hermit’s cave in an early Christian monastery, there is plenty in Cappadocia to sate the appetite of the curious traveller.

Spring or autumn are the best times to visit and either Urgup or Goreme are good bases for exploring the area.

Finally, if getting high is your thing, hot air balloon rides have become legendary here as the views of the lunar-type landscape are like nothing one has seen before.

Mid-market/upmarket: Hotel Legend, legendcavehotel.com. Deluxe/standard rooms: €120/€80

7 Kabak

A nature-lover’s paradise perched on a clifftop on the Lycian Way, Kabak has mushroomed in the past 15 years from one tranquil hippy den to dozens of little paradises ranging from wooden huts to five-star hotels with swimming pools.

This is a place to get away from it all, but do some research when choosing your accommodation as many backpackers complain of high prices for food and drinks once ensconced in their teepees. The Olive Garden comes well-recommended as mid-market accommodation and the food there is second to none.

Mid-market: The Olive Garden, olivegardenkabak.com. Dbl/sngl room: €70/€42

8 Patara

On the one hand Patara is a ramshackle village where it would be nice to lose yourself and really live the slow life for a few days. On the other, it boasts some of the most impressive and important ruins of the Lycian, Hellenistic and Roman period which take a considerable amount of time to explore properly.

Lastly, but certainly not least, it has the most luxurious white sandy beach stretching farther than the eye can see, which is a huge attraction for visitors to the area during the summer months.

Value: Sema Hotel, semahotel.com. Dbl/sngl room: €26/€20 9 Sanliurfa, Hasankeyf,

Mardin

If you want to taste real adventure head east into southeastern, mainly Kurdish-speaking Turkey, where you can explore vestiges of the many ancient civilisations that crossed paths here on the banks of the River Tigris.

Go back in time in Sanliurfa in one of Turkey’s most authentic covered bazaars, admire Hasankeyf’s ancient cave dwellings and visit Mardin’s Deyrulzafaran monastery where services are still held in Aramaic.

No visit to this area would be complete, of course, without ascending Mount Nemrut and marvelling at the giant statues that King Antiochus had carved out of stone of himself and pagan gods transforming the mountain top into a gigantic tomb.

People travelling to this area in the run-up to the June 12th elections in Turkey are advised to take advice as to safety measures because of the ongoing Kurdish/Turkish conflict in the area.

Mid-market: Kilim Hotel, Sanliurfa, urfakilim.com, Dbl/sngl room: €50/€40

10 Medical tourism

An increasing number of visitors to Turkey are availing of the chance to combine a holiday with getting medical procedures done at a fraction of the cost of getting the same treatment done at home.

The Turkish government has taken note of this and is actively creating the medical standards required in order to increase the amount of business in this area in the coming years.

Procedures from simple dentistry to plastic surgery can be carried out in private or public clinics around the country or in JCI (Joint Commission International) accredited hospitals – of which four of the leading ones are in Istanbul.

So if you want to have shiny teeth and get a little nip and tuck before you head off to the beach, it seems Turkey just might be the recession-friendly place to do it.

* medicaltourisminturkey.org

* health-tourism.com/turkey-medical-tourism/

May 17, 2011
Germany’s exports spread hopes for Turkish businesses

ISTANBUL – Daily News with wires

The strong growth in the first quarter of 2011 posted on Friday in European Union engine economies may serve the interests of Turkey’s long-term trade targets, according to Turkish business representatives and economists.

European economies posted solid first-quarter growth rates on Friday, with several showing strong demand at home, except Italy where growth barely scraped into the black.

Germany, with the biggest European economy, led the way, expanding by a quarterly 1.5 percent to a level last seen before the economic crisis in 2008, provisional data showed.

Germany remains the biggest export market of Turkey.

France added 1.0 percent, the strongest rate since the second quarter of 2006, and Spain turned in a gain of 0.3 percent as it picked up speed from the end of 2010.

“We are pleased to see the growth rates at the end of first quarter in Germany and France better than expected,” Rona Yırcalı, the board chairman of Foreign Economic Relations Board, or DEİK, told the Hürriyet Daily News on Friday.

Despite the anxiety about the bailout operations to economically struggling economies, especially German and French economies show signs of a recovery, according to Yırcalı. Noting that both Germany and France are major trade partners for Turkey, “We will exceed this year’s total export target of $135 billion,” she said.

“Being the locomotive countries of Europe, Germany and France stimulate positive expectations for the long-awaited European recovery,” said Rıza Nur Meral, president of Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists of Turkey, or TUSKON. “The recent growth in the first quarter will show its positive effect on Turkey’s export figures as well,” said Meral.

“Especially Germany’s growth is a positive sign for the Turkish economy,” said Nurhan Toğuç, the chief economist of Ata Invest said in a phone interview Friday, noting that increasing value of euro would serve the benefit of Turkish exporters.

She also noted that Turkey’s growth model might have more of a chance of sustainability than the German one. “I question whether Germany can continue its growth model based on exports,” said Toğuç.

“Germany still struggles to sustain its export volume to European markets and is likely to face serious obstacles with the U.S. market due to the euro’s considerable gain in value against dollar.”

The bottom

Recalling Turkey’s export target of $500 billion by the year 2023, the 100th anniversary of the modern republic, Toğuç said the country could achieve a similar growth model with Germany, a kind based on increasing exports. “Turkey has experienced the maximum levels of current account deficit so far,” she said, adding that the current account deficit trend might change route to the positive.

“Turkey’s growth model is based on domestic consumption as Germany’s growth is mainly relying on foreign demand,” Finansbank chief economist İnan Demir,

“Turkey has to adapt the German model of growth in order to increase its competitiveness in the long run,” he said.

* Gökhan Kurtaran from Istanbul contributed to this report

via Germany’s exports spread hopes for Turkish businesses – Hurriyet Daily News and Economic Review.

May 17, 2011
Turkey Holidays Predicted to Dominate Summer 2011 Sales

Travelmatch are predicting that trips to Turkey will be very popular in the summer of 2011 thanks to its great beaches and cultural attractions.

LONDON, May 13, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Travelmatch are expecting the summer of 2011 to see many British tourists venture to Turkey. Sales figures from the online travel specialists have shown a significant increase in interest in trips to Lara Beach, Marmaris and other seaside resorts in Turkey. The country is known for these excellent spots as well as Istanbul, its enchanting capital city.

According to travelmatch.co.uk this surge owes to several factors. Airlines have opened new routes to seaside resorts making it convenient and affordable for British tourists to plan their holidays there. The country has also received notable acclaim of late with its capital city of Istanbul drawing praise from many observers thanks to its gorgeous buildings and superb cultural attractions. Recently it was listed by TripAdvisor as one of the top ten cities in Europe in its 2011 Traveller’s Choice Destination Awards.

The country has also proved popular with people looking for holiday homes. Recent figures have shown that foreign investment in Turkish real estate increased by 40% in 2010.

Alex Francis of Travelmatch comments on the high demand for holidays to Turkey: “Every year one country proves to be especially popular, and early figures indicate that the summer of 2011 will be all about Turkey. This in part owes to structural factors such as the greater availability of flights to resort areas, but there is no denying this country’s unique appeal. Resorts like Lara Beach feature some of the world’s best beaches and gorgeous hotels like the Delphin Diva, while Istanbul offers an amazing cultural experience. Turkey is truly an incredible destination and it is certainly deserving of its popularity.”

About Travelmatch:

Travelmatch is a new travel discovery engine that helps inspire customers by matching their requirements to a wide range of holidays, hotels, flights, cruises, villas or city breaks. Unlike other travel sites, customers are not required to choose a destination, date or budget before they can begin searching. Customers are able to make informed decisions by exploring photos, user reviews, maps, events and activities and other fun things relevant to their chosen travel product. Travelmatch, which closed its first funding round in 2010, is based in Notting Hill, London.

Contact Information:

Alex Francis, Press Officer

Travelmatch

[email protected]

Newcombe House,

45 Notting Hill Gate,

London, W11 3LQ

Tel: +44 (0)20 3384 5830

SOURCE Travelmatch

via travelmatch.co.uk: Turkey Holidays Predicted to Dominate Summer 2011 Sales — LONDON, May 13, 2011 /PRNewswire/ –.

May 17, 2011
Istanbul Publisher Faces Obscenity Trial For Releasing William S. Burroughs Novel “The Soft Machine”

ISTANBUL — Half a century after a U.S. obscenity trial, the work of Beat Generation writer William S. Burroughs is heading back to court, this time in Turkey.

An Istanbul-based publisher and his translator face obscenity charges for publishing Burroughs’ novel, “The Soft Machine,” and the same arguments about morality, literature and social value that shaped the American debate in the early 1960s are unfolding today.

“The book lacks narrative unity, while it is written in an arbitrary fashion that is devoid of cohesion in meaning,” a Turkish government board said in a March ruling. “The way the book deals with the coarse, sleazy, vulgar and weak aspects of humans will develop an attitude that allows the justification of criminal activities in the readers’ minds.”

Decades ago, a court in Boston banned Burroughs’ most prominent work, “Naked Lunch,” after concluding it was obscene. A higher court reversed the ruling a few years later after testimony in the book’s defense by poet Allen Ginsberg and writer Norman Mailer.

Burroughs’ raw depictions of heroin addiction and homosexuality are hard to digest for some in Turkey, whose mostly Muslim population of 74 million is steeped in old traditions.

The case is part of a debate about free expression under a government that has successfully battled over Turkey’s secular political system with the military and other hostile state institutions. The ruling party, led by devout Muslims who call themselves “conservative democrats,” leads in the polls ahead of June elections, but opponents say its vows to pursue democratic reform mask an autocratic streak.

On Sunday, protesters in Turkish cities demonstrated against government plans to implement Internet content filters, saying the new system amounted to more censorship in an already heavy-handed effort to control information. Thousands of websites are banned under regulations aimed at curbing child pornography, illegal gambling and other cybercrimes.

Publisher Irfan Sanci printed 2,500 copies of Burroughs’ novel, meaning a tiny fraction of Turks would see a hard copy. An advisory panel, the Prime Ministerial Board for the Protection of Children from Harmful Publications, said the book was not literature and was obscene because of its graphic descriptions of sex.

Article 226 of the penal code says its provisions “shall not apply to scientific, artistic and literary works” in some cases.

“There is a conflict between society, and the laws and the government,” Sanci, 55, said in an interview with The Associated Press at his publishing house, Sel Yayincilik. He speculated that he was hit by a double dose of old state authoritarianism and a growing emphasis on “moral codes” by the government.

Sanci said two policemen from the Istanbul prosecutors’ office informed him that the case will go to trial; he has testified before prosecutors and is awaiting a court date. The penalty for an obscenity conviction can be years in jail, though Sanci said the sentence is usually a fine.

He was cleared last year of obscenity charges for publishing a translation of “The Exploits of a Young Don Juan,” published in 1911 by Guillaume Apollinaire, and the Geneva-based International Publishers Association commended Sanci.

The publisher was once a member of an illegal leftist organization and spent several years in jail after a military coup in 1980.

“The Soft Machine” is the first book in a trilogy by Burroughs, who died in 1997. Sanci has released the second and his team is working on the third.

“You can’t judge the moral code of the Beat Generation,” said Bilge Sanci, the publisher’s daughter and his executive editor. She said the official panel, whose 10 members are chosen by government ministries and agencies, is not versed in “literature or aesthetics.”

The board is led by Ruhi Ozbilgic, a deputy secretary in the office of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan who has worked in customs, agriculture and state planning. Nurettin Yuksel, an official linked to the board, said its conclusions were not binding and that it was up to prosecutors to decide on the next step.

Burroughs is a scandalous figure in the American literary pantheon who, along with Ginsberg, novelist Jack Kerouac and others in the 1950s and 1960s, became known as the Beat Generation of writers that railed against the mainstream.

In “The Soft Machine,” the protagonist confronts Mayan priests who manipulate the minds of slave laborers, and Burroughs uses the so-called “cut-up” splicing method to jumble the text and disrupt the narrative order.

Burroughs sought to “pull the rug out” from under readers and alter their perceptions by awakening them to pre-existing notions, said Richard Doyle, a professor of English who teaches a Burroughs class at Pennsylvania State University in the United States.

“Without understanding the goal of these techniques, then you’re going to be puzzled that this is a work of art and you’re only going to see the graphic language and so forth,” Doyle said.

The first lines of “The Soft Machine” get right into petty theft and drug use, referring to the New York City subway – “the hole” – where the main character and “the sailor,” a junkie who also appears in “Naked Lunch,” roll drunks for pocket change:

“I was working the hole with the sailor and we did not do bad. Fifteen cents on an average night boosting the afternoons and short-timing the dawn we made out from the land of the free. But I was running out of veins.”

Suha Sertabiboglu, a Turkish dentist who translated “The Soft Machine,” said he worked on it eight hours a day for a month and that it was the most difficult of 38 book translations he had done. He said he sometimes sought meaning in a passage, only to realize there was no conventional meaning.

“It is anti-literature,” he said.

___

Associated Press writer Ceren Kumova contributed to this report from Ankara, Turkey.

May 17, 2011