Foreign investors see Turkey as the future ?investment hotspot?
Turkiye - Turkey?s Industry and Trade Minister Nihat Ergun stated that Turkey is gaining strength in the political arena with each passing day and that this is due to the country?s economic power. Ergun pointed to the fact that Turkey?s potential is recognized by foreign investors and the country is slated to become an investment hotspot in the near future.

Turkish Real Estate to Benefit from Rising Tourism Demand in 2011
The rise in Turkish real estate owners has been further bolstered by the country's tourism trade making it one of the most exciting overseas real estate markets in 2011 for lifestyle opportunities, second homes and property investment.

Heybeliada seminary in Turkey to host art exhibition
The seminary in Heybeliada, Istanbul will open its doors for the first time in 30 years for an art exhibition, local authorities said on Friday. Executives of the Adalar (Princes' Islands of Istanbul) Municipality said that the Heybeliada seminary would open its doors for the first time in 30 years for 20 days for an exhibition titled "Tracing Istanbul". The event comes to life through the invaluable hospitality of the Heybeliada seminary, the Consulate General of Greece in Istanbul and the Cultural Organisation of the Municipality of Athens "Technopolis". The organization of the exhibition is implemented by the company White Fox S.A and curated by art historian Iris Kritikou.

Turkish rescue team flies to Pakistan
A team comprising 15 members from a Turkish search and rescue group flew to Pakistan on Saturday to help victims of the recent floods in this country. Speaking to reporters prior to the team's departure from Istanbul's Ataturk Airport, Umut Dincsahin, coordinator of GEA Search and Rescue Ecological Group, said that nearly 12 million people had been affected and 1.8 million people currently waited for help after the recent flood disaster in Pakistan.

Turkish general hands over post to new military chief
Gen. Ilker Basbug, the outgoing chief of the military staff in Turkey on Friday handed the post over to Gen. Isik Kosaner (65), who will serve as the head of the second largest army in NATO for the next three years. A handover ceremony was held in capital Ankara. Turkish President Abdullah Gul and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan were also in attendance. Speaking at the ceremony Basbug said the military supported a plan to introduce a single type of military service.

New findings in Turkey's Smyrna Ancient City excavations
Archeologists unearthed two new findings during excavations in Smyrna Ancient City in Turkey's western province of Izmir. A bath belonging to Roman period, and the head of a statue dating back to 2nd century A.D. were unearthed during excavations which are pursued by Dokuz Eylul University and Culture and Tourism Ministry, and supported by TOTAL.

Turkey reiterates call on EU to stay loyal commitments
Turkey's chief European Union negotiator reiterated his country's call for the Union to stay loyal to its commitments. "We are expecting the European Union to meet its obligations. The joint drive of Turkey and the EU for a common future is a mutual promise based on agreements, conventions and anonymously voted EU resolutions," Egemen Bagis said in a letter he sent to the British daily The Times.

Turkey "among world's top ten in tourism"
Turkey was among top ten countries in the tourism sector in the world, the culture minister said. Culture and Tourism Minister Ertugrul Gunay said that the number of tourists visiting Turkey reached 27 million in 2009 and it was a great achievement.

Tourists enjoy Turkey's Cappadocia in balloon trips
350,000 tourists enjoyed the spectacular view of Cappadocia --a region famous with its fairy chimneys-- from the air in last three years, thanks to air balloon rides. According to figures compiled from the air balloon companies based in the region, 100 thousand local and foreign tourists took air balloon rides over the region in 2008, 150,000 people in 2009 and 100 thousand people so far in 2010.

Turkey in third place in Europe mobile call
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and Mexican Secretary of Foreign Relations Patricia Espinosa signed a cooperation program and an agreement memorandum following a tete-a-tete meeting at the Turkish Foreign Ministry Residence in Ankara on Friday. The signed documents will facilitate cooperation between Turkey and Mexico in various fields, including education, science, culture, arts, press, youth and sports.

Turkey in third place in Europe mobile call duration
Turkish people make an average monthly mobile phone call of 209.3 minutes, which put Turkey in third place among European countries in mobile call duration. A report, prepared by Turkey's Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK), showed that both mobile and fixed phone call traffic rose in the second quarter of 2010.

How to Invest in Turkey
For a number of years, Istanbul has been given the cold shoulder with respect to joining the elite European Union club and there were feelers that Turkey was believed to be too economically backward to qualify for membership.

Turkey, EU should continue economic growth: Pierini
Marc Pierini, the head of the EU delegation to Turkey, said on Friday that Turkey and EU should continue economic growth by creating more employment and boosting social cohesion. European Investment Bank (EIB) allocated 150 million euros of loan for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in Turkey by cooperation with the EU.

Turkish tourism figures rise "in line with green fields increase"
The Turkish environment minister said on Friday that the number of tourists visiting Turkey had risen in line with the increasing number of green fields in the country. Speaking at the inauguration of a waste disposal facility in the northern Amasya province, Turkish Environment and Forestry Minister Veysel Eroglu said, "Nearly 400 of Turkey's beaches have blue flags. If Turkey, which once hosted 7 million tourists, receives 25-30 million visitors today, I believe environment and green fields have an important role in such increase".

Turkey's unmanned land vehicle to compete at MAGIC 2010
An unmanned land vehicle developed by a team of Turkish experts led by a leading Turkish defense industry company will compete at the finals of an international robotic contest to be held in Australia in November 2010. The unmanned land vehicle "Peri", developed by the team "Capadocia" led by Turkish defense company ASELSAN, has succeeded in the semi-finals of the "Multi Autonomous Ground-robotic International Challenge (MAGIC 2010)" and has become one of the 6 teams that qualified for the contest's finals.