Christmas for Turkey: Istanbul World’s Best-Performing City

How the world’s cities have fared since the financial crisis hit in 2007

Cities are the great engines of growth in the world economy. Istanbul, with income growth of 5.5% & employment growth of 7.3% over the past year, is currently the world’s best-performing city, according to a new report by the Brookings Institution & the London School of Economics.

The report ranks 150 cities from across the globe according to growth in gross value added per person (a proxy for income) & employment. The 150 metropolitan areas represented just 12% of the world’s population but accounted for 46% of the world’s GDP in 2007.

Some cities have plunged in the rankings since the “Great Recession”. Dubai & Dublin, the second & sixth best-performing cities respectively between 1993 & 2007, now rank as the most stagnant.

Source: The Economist

Things That Go Bump In The Night

A 200-year-old building that was under protection due to its historic value & located in Bodrum Gümüşlük district was knocked down in the night, authorities said.

Three people, a bulldozer operator & his two assistants, were taken into custody by gendarmerie forces for being involved in the incident.

The 90-square-meter house, which belongs to a Turkish tourism investor, was located in a 600-square-meter garden.

Neighbours called the gendarmerie hot line because the house was on the preservation list of the Cultural & Natural Heritage Conservation Board.

Gendarmerie officials learned at the scene that bulldozer operator Cengiz Kalman, who knocked down the building, did not have any authorization or license for the operation. “Two people came to me & asked me to knock down the house as they would start new construction,” Kalman said in his testimony. “They would pay us in the morning. We did not know who owned the house.” Kalman & his two assistants were later released by the court pending trial.

Ergun Berksoy, the owner of the house, had no information regarding the demolition & will press charges against the perpetrators, said Murat Duru, the head of a hotel owned by Berksoy. “Berksoy spends most of the year in the United States,” said Duru. “He was shocked to learn that the house had been knocked down. We have no idea who did it & why.”

Gümüşlük Mayor Mehmet Tire said it was not a municipal operation. “We did not order such a demolition, & even if we had done it, we would have done it during the daytime. I also wonder why they did this,” he said.

Source: http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com

Turkey voted top country

Turkey has been chosen by Condé Nast Traveller readers as their favourite country in the destination category at the Condé Nast Traveller 12th Annual Readers’ Travel Awards for the first time.

 

Turkey’s popularity also ensures a spot in prestigious The World’s Top 100 list too where it was voted number 2 overall.

 

Istanbul, European Capital of Culture 2010 also scored highly; Istanbul was voted in the top 10 in the Overseas Cities category (5th place), with top marks for people / hospitality.

 

The city is also home to some of the readers’ favourite hotels as the Ciragan Palace Kempinski was voted in 6th place and The Four Seasons Hotel Istanbul at Sultanahmet, 13th place in the Category of Overseas Leisure Hotels.  The Ritz Carlton Istanbul also secured 8th spot in the Overseas Business Hotels category.

 

Director of the Turkish Culture and Tourism Office UK Irfan Onal expressed his delight at winning the award: “We are thrilled that Turkey has won this prestigious award, which is even more meaningful given that it is chosen by the readers themselves.  This is the highlight in what has been a very successful year as the Turkish Culture and Tourism Office UK.

Indeed, visitor numbers from the UK continue their spectacular rise, with year-on-year figures up 15.5% for the first 7 months of this year.”

 

Turkish Ambassador H.E Mr. Unal Cevikoz received the country award. Also attending the award was the Ambassador’s wife Mrs. Emel Cevikoz, Director of the Turkish Culture and Tourism Office, Mr. Irfan Onal and Deputy Director, Dr. Aysegul Gurgezoglu.

 

 

Source: www.ftnnews.com

EasyJet Launch 5 Routes

easyJet, one of the worlds leading low-cost airlines, will place a stronger focus on Turkey in the coming year by launching five more routes to Turkey, as the country has a promising aviation sector, Peter Voets, the company’s Switzerland, Austria and Eastern Europe marketing manager, has said.

Speaking to the Anatolia news agency, Voets noted that Turkey has one of the fastest growing aviation sectors in Europe. The inclination of individuals toward travelling in recent years has played an important role in this growth, he remarked, adding that easyJet cannot remain indifferent to this potential.

“Low fare flights in Turkey have a big potential even though their market share is only 3%.”

Voets, noting that the Turkish market can easily adapt to low fare flights, said customers are more budget conscious - especially during the economic crisis.

EasyJet, the fourth-largest airline in Turkey in terms of seating capacity, has a market share of 7%, he said.

Cameron ‘anger’ at slow pace of Turkish EU negotiations

David Cameron has promised to “fight” for Turkey’s membership of the European Union, saying he is “angry” at the slow pace of negotiations.

On his first visit as prime minister, he said the country could become a “great European power”, helping build links with the Middle East.

He compared hostility to the membership bid in some parts of the EU with the way the UK’s entry was once regarded.

Mr Cameron was expected to agree a new strategic partnership with Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan during his visit.

‘Frustrating progress’

In a speech at the Turkish parliament in Ankara, Mr Cameron said he wanted to “pave the road” for Turkey to join the EU, saying the country was “vital for our economy, vital for our security & vital for our diplomacy”.

A European Union without Turkey at its heart was “not stronger but weaker… not more secure but less… not richer but poorer”.

Mr Cameron added: “I’m here to make the case for Turkey’s membership of the EU. & to fight for it.”

At a joint press conference with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Mr Cameron suggested the UK would impose provisional restrictions - as with Bulgarians & Romanians after they joined - on the right of Turkish people to live & work in the UK after it joined the EU.

But the rapid rate of Turkey’s economic growth would make any restrictions unnecessary in decades to come, he added.

He said: “One of the effects here is that [as] economies grow & become more evolved, the pressure & flow [of people] between countries isn’t so great.”

Referring to former French President General Charles de Gaulle’s efforts to block British membership of the EU in the 1960s, Mr Cameron said in his speech: “We know what it’s like to be shut out of the club. But we also know that these things can change.

“When I think about what Turkey has done to defend Europe as a Nato ally, & what Turkey is doing today in Afghanistan, alongside our European allies, it makes me angry that your progress towards EU membership can be frustrated in the way it has been.

“My view is clear. I believe it is just wrong to say that Turkey can guard the camp but not be allowed to sit in the tent.

“So I will remain your strongest possible advocate for EU membership & greater influence at the top table of European diplomacy.”

Regional role

Mr Cameron said those who opposed EU membership were driven by protectionism, narrow nationalism or prejudice.

“Those who wilfully misunderstand Islam, they see no difference between real Islam & the distorted version of the extremists. They think the problem is Islam itself. And they think the values of Islam can just never be compatible with the values of other religions, societies or cultures.”

He said: “All of these arguments are just plain wrong. And as a new government in Britain, I want us to be at the forefront of an international effort to defeat them.”

While praising Turkey’s secular & democratic traditions, Mr Cameron stressed that Turkey must continue to push forward “aggressively” with economic & political reform to maintain momentum towards EU membership.

He said the country had a “unique influence” in helping to build a stable Afghanistan through political & economic co-operation & fostering understanding between Israel & the Arab world.

Source: BBC

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