Turkish Forum

Tag: Istanbul

  • Istanbul third passenger airport is not without its critics

    Istanbul third passenger airport is not without its critics

    Sometimes the oldest cliches ring truest. Billed for centuries as “the bridge between east and west,” Istanbul has over the past two years been the beneficiary of work by the Turkish authorities to prove that it is just that. With plans already afoot for a tender to construct a third bridge over the Bosphorus straits and a final investment decision on the already tendered project for a second tunnel under the Bosphorus expected early next year, officials have announced that the city will get a new main airport.

    According to an announcement made by Istanbul Mayor Kadir Topbas at the end of November, his municipality is working with Turkey’s ministry of transportation on plans for a third passenger airport to be located at Silivri, a coastal town 65 kilometres to the west of Istanbul. The planned new airport is slated to have a capacity several times that of Istanbul’s existing main airport, Ataturk Airport, located only 10 km from the city centre.

    Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is backing the plan, argues that Istanbul’s two existing airports are simply unable to cope with the growing levels of traffic. And he certainly has a point. Thanks to Istanbul’s growing importance as a major regional business hub and its bourgeoning popularity as a city-break tourist destination, throughput at the existing Ataturk Airport and its counterpart on Istanbul’s Asian side, Sabiha Gokcen Airport, has rocketed from 8.7m passengers in 2002 to 41m passengers last year

    And with passenger traffic expected to grow at 10% a year for the next decade at least, it is little wonder Turkey’s national carrier Turkish Airlines has its eyes on the planned new airport. “Our assumption is that we will use the new airport as our main hub,” Temil Kotil, CEO of Turkish Airlines, told bne recently.

    Spare capacity

    However, this planned third passenger airport is not without its critics. They point out that the two existing airports are still not close to full capacity and that Istanbul already has a third airport at Corlu, 20 km to the east of Silivri. Why they ask, when Corlu was designed specifically to handle cargo flights, is most of the air freight traffic in Istanbul still passing through the city’s main passenger hub, Ataturk Airport, taking up capacity that could be used for increased passenger flights?

    “Corlu Airport is already there and operating at a fraction of its capacity, so why are we thinking about a fourth airport?” asks Tayfun Kahraman the secretary-general of the Istanbul branch of the Turkish Chamber of City Planners, pointing out that little attempt has been made to integrate Corlu into the regional transport infrastructure. “Turkey’s main European rail line runs nearby, but there is no connection. Let’s improve the transport links to Corlu, make full use of it and then when it begins to approach capacity, then lets think about a fourth airport.”

    Improving existing ground transport infrastructure is key to handling Istanbul’s growing traffic problems, rather than building a new airport a long way from the centre. “A new airport would only work if the necessary transport infrastructure connecting it to the city is built first,” Kahraman explains, pointing out the ongoing problems experienced by Istanbul’s second airport Sabiha Gokcen.

    Opened a decade back on the outskirts of the Asian side of Istanbul, growth of traffic at Sabiha Gokcen has been severely hampered by poor transport connections. Plans were only recently announced to link the airport to the planned Marmaray rail system, which will allow passengers easy access from both sides of the city, and are still some years away from fruition.

    The importance of good road and rail connections for Turkey’s airports is echoed by Ergin Buyukbayram, head of Global Logistics Consulting Services, who recently prepared a master plan for the Turkish government on how to develop the country’s logistics sector. However, he is sceptical of the extent to which Corlu can be developed as a main freight and logistics hub. “The surrounding land is too hilly – coastal sites are much better for airports, as it allows planes to approach low over the sea,” he explains, adding that Corlu is also far from ideal in respect to connections to existing road and rail lines.

    Silivri, he says, would be a far better site for a new airport for Istanbul – albeit as a cargo airport allowing freight to be easily shipped on by road and rail, not as the main passenger hub which current plans foresee.

    Logistics aside, Kahraman also identifies another problem with developing a new airport at Silivri, which official plans have overlooked. “The area around Silivri has some of the best and most productive agricultural land in the country – we risk destroying something we can’t replace, to build something we don’t yet need,” he warns. bne.

    via Balkans.com Business News : Turkey: Istanbul third passenger airport is not without its critics.

  • No Sex and the City: Our Trip to Istanbul

    No Sex and the City: Our Trip to Istanbul

    What can I say about Istanbul? Three words come to mind: breathtaking, historical and expensive.

    istanbul city

    Visiting Istanbul has been my dream since I saw “The Cities of the Underworld” on the History Channel. Unlike many other places, people and stuff in general, my high expectations were fully met and even exceed. This includes transportation, food and accommodation, the topic of this post.

    Transportation. Let’s start from the beginning—the Sabiha Gokcen Airport. It is a newly built thing, lot further than the Ataturk Airport, but comfortable and nice-looking. Discount airlines land there. It took us two hours to get from the airport on the Asian side to our hotel, but it was fine, because when else would we travel through that part of Istanbul? To get to the historical city, we took a bus, a ferry (crossing Bosporus from Asia to Europe) and a 20 minute walk. We could’ve taken a tram from the ferry, but the overwhelming presence of the city at 8 a.m. made us jump up and down, despite the luggage.

    Transportation in Istanbul includes ferries across Bosporus, trams, buses and a subway. There is no subway in the historic part—I guess it makes sense, given that there are Byzantium antiques lying everywhere you dig. Mostly, we walked around, cause when you’re in Istanbul for 7 days, you don’t want to spend time looking at it from the tram window.

    Accommodation. I was afraid that our hotel room would look different than its ad picture—happens all the time. However, it was exactly the same. We requested a room with a balcony that overlooked the courtyard, but got something lot better—a courtyard itself! And, there was an option of having a room with the view of the Marmara Sea, for additional 10 Euros, but we decided to save the money and were right: all of the balconies were facing the sea, including our first floor, so we saw it perfectly. I guess the more expensive room was on the highest floor and had a better perspective, but I bet it did not have A SWING AND A LITTLE GARDEN!

    You can get any kind of accommodations you want—from a 10Euro hostel to a 160 overlooking-the-sea suite. Breakfast is included. Receptionists everywhere are extra sweet and speak around 4 languages. Breakfasts are usually same everyday, but ours included so much stuff that we could eat different food for a week—and even the shittiest breakfast offers 5 varieties of olives and cheeses, which is like amazing!

    Food. Foodwise, we went to Istanbul prepared. We watched my favorite TV chef’s Antony Bourdain’s “No Reservations” in Istanbul and marked the places and the food we wanted to eat. Among them were: a whole lamb cooked in a stone pit, a delicious, calorie-packed wet burger and a lamb wrap with an unbelievable lavash.

    Food in the historic part of the city (which is where you’ll end up being anyway) is 10 times more expensive then where the normal people live, so we just skipped lunch or dinner and ate once a day (well, after having like 5 courses for breakfast) and munched on bread, fruit and cheese we bought in the discount supermarket.

    The hotel provided two bottles of water and that was wonderful, because you can’t drink tap water and there are no drinking fountains. For water, try discount supermarket, because its prices triple (literally) in the touristy places.

    And as an endnote: almost every restaurant and hotel has a rooftop terrace. It is absolutely the best idea ever, so please don’t visit Istanbul in the winter, you’ll miss the terrace experience!

    pics: the rooftop terrace in our hotel (can you see the sea?), the Bambi Cafe (poor Bambi, do they serve venison?), and I am passed by a historic tram (modern ones cruise the rest of the city).

    via No Sex and the City: Our Trip to Istanbul–Part 1.

    http://pasumonok.blogspot.com/2010/12/our-trip-to-istanbul-part-1.html

  • Istanbul and South Korea will organize “World Culture EXPO” in 2013

    Istanbul and South Korea will organize “World Culture EXPO” in 2013

    Both Istanbul and Gyeongsangbuk-do, a province of South Korea signed a “Goodwill Agreement”, which includes cooperation in the cultural field in Istanbul. As part of the agreement, both cities will organize “World Culture EXPO” in 2013.

    Haber Tarihi : 12/3/2010 12:00:00 AM

    Both Istanbul and Gyeongsangbuk-do, a province of the South Korea signed a “Goodwill Agreement”, which includes cooperation in the cultural field in Istanbul. As part of the agreement, both cities will organize “World Culture EXPO” in 2013.

    Both Istanbul and Gyeongsangbuk-do, a province of the South Korea signed a goodwill agreement including cooperation in the cultural field in order to bolster mutual understanding between the two countries. Mr. Ahmet Selamet, the first Deputy Mayor of the Istanbul and Mr. Kong Weon Sik, the deputy governor of Gyeongsangbuk-do  province signed the goodwill agreement at the Saraçhane Municipal Office.

    Mr. Numan Güzey, the head of Culture and Social Affairs Department, Mr. Jong Kyoung Hong, the consul general of the South Korea in Istanbul and  Mr. Sang Jim Kim, the president of  the Turkish- S.Korean Friendship and Cooperation Association attended in the signing ceremony.

    Speaking at the ceremony, Mr. Ahmet Selamet, the first Deputy Mayor of the Istanbul, specified that they had historical and cultural ties with the South Korea and he said: “Both Istanbul and Gyeongsangbuk-do will organize the  “World Culture EXPO” in 2013 together and I hope that they would succeed. We are delighted to welcome the delegation of dear governor in Istanbul and look forward to developing new areas for cooperation.”

    On behalf of Gyeongsangbuk-do, a province of the South Korea, Mr. Kong Weon Sik, the deputy governor stated that the South Korean people owed a debt of gratitude to the Turkish people for the brave heroism and brotherhood shown during the Korean War, he continued: “We wanted to improve the further development of bilateral relations between two cities Gyeongsangbuk-do and Istanbul.”

    After the ceremony, Mr. Ahmet Selamet and Mr. Kong Weon Sik, signed the “Goodwill Agreement” which includes cooperation in the cultural field and to organize “World Culture EXPO” in 2013 on December 2nd, 2010.

    via İstanbul Büyükşehir Belediyesi.

  • British author releases book about cultural history of Istanbul

    British author releases book about cultural history of Istanbul

    ISTANBUL – Hürriyet Daily News

    peter clark signs his book 2010 12 08 lPeter Clark will meet his readers at Homer Bookstore and sign his book ‘Istanbul: A Cultural History.’

    British author Peter Clark will launch his book “Istanbul: A Cultural History” with a signing at Homer Bookstore on Thursday.

    Clark first came to Istanbul in the early 1960s and has since been a regular visitor. He is a writer, translator and consultant and has worked for the British Council, mostly in Arab countries, for 30 years.

    Clark found inspiration in the city’s history which began as Byzantium, then Constantinople before finally becoming modern-day Istanbul.

    With its location as a port at the crossroads of continents, Istanbul and its ability to absorb ideas, people and styles from the north, south, east and west, as well as its long tradition as a multicultural microcosm of the world, sparked Clark’s creativity to write.

    Clark looks at some of the representative personalities of the Byzantine and Ottoman empires and argues that these states had more in common than ideology-driven accounts may suggest. Readers learn about Spanish-speaking Jews, unexpected Ottoman connections with Poland, contemporary Islamist politics and the feverish support for the three major Istanbul football teams.

    Both Leon Trotsky and Pope John XXIII spent important years of their lives in the city, and the book assesses the impressions of others who have passed through. Neither standard guide nor conventional history, the book is rather a celebration of an extraordinary city, reviewing its imperial histories and exploring some of its lesser-known corners.

    Clark will sign his book at Homer Bookstore Thursday at 6 p.m.

    Homer Bookstore, Yeni Çarşı Cad. No.12/A, Galatasaray

    Phone: 0 212 249 59 02

  • Governor Istanbul fetes PM Gilani

    Governor Istanbul fetes PM Gilani

    ISTANBUL, Turkey, Dec 8 (APP): Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani Wednesday said his government was keen for close political and economic ties with Turkey, with a determination to further the relationship on geo-strategic advantages.“Time is now ripe for an enhanced future cooperation amongst our countries. I am confident that as in the past, our bilateral relations will continue to flourish through new projects of mutual interest and import to our nations,” the Prime Minister said at a banquet dinner hosted in his honour by Governor Istanbul Huseyin Avnimutlu.The Prime Minister said Pakistan takes pride in its fraternal relations with Turkey and the cordial relations are marked by a rich reserve of mutual goodwill.

    “We have convergent perceptions on important regional and global issues and cooperate closely at multilateral forums,” he said, adding that the ‘special relationship’ defied standards of conventional propriety and was strengthening day by day.

    He mentioned the partnership that had been given a strategic direction, and the institution of High Level Cooperation Council which was the highest economic linkage that had been established with any country.

    “This unique platform provides us an opportunity to enter into long-term ventures in the fields of energy, trade, investments, security, banking and others,” he said.

    The Prime Minister said during his stay in Turkey, he had very useful meetings with Turkish President and the Prime Minister.

    “The hallmark of our talks has been the establishment of a roadmap for enhanced cooperation in the 21st century,” he said.

    Gilani said Pakistan was the emerging market of 170 million people with a vibrant agriculture and services sector and strategically located at the node linking Eurasia and South Asia, China and the Gulf.

    “Our unique position also brings us at crossroads of many viable and inexpensive trade routes,” he said.

    The Prime Minister said considering the warm relationship, this friendship had the potential to be translated to a strong and long-lasting business partnership.

    The Governor Istanbul welcomed the Prime Minister and his delegation and said his visit would prove as a milestone in strengthening the Pak-Turk relations.

    The banquet was attended by Commerce Minister Makhdoom Amin Fahim, Defence Minister Ahmed Mukhtar, Minister for Railways Ghulam Ahmed Bilour and other notables of the Turkish government.

    via Associated Press Of Pakistan ( Pakistan’s Premier NEWS Agency ).

  • ISTANBUL is the Fastest Growing City in the World

    ISTANBUL is the Fastest Growing City in the World

    In a study of 150 cities in US and abroad, researchers at the Brookings Institution of Washington, D.C., USA have found out that ISTANBUL, TURKEY is the fastest growing city in the world.