National & International News

Teacher turns foster mum for boy

EDA Topçuoğlu, a teacher living in İzmir, decided to become a foster mum and says her life is now complete. Topçuoğlu, 36, who lives in Karşıyaka and works as a pre-school teacher in a special education centre, decided to adopt a boy four years ago through a friend. Topçuoğlu, who took care of children within…

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1.7m evisas for Brits to Turkey

MORE than 6.3 million foreigners obtained a Turkish visa in 2015 using the country’s Electronic Visa System, it has been reported. According to Turkey’s Foreign Affairs Ministry, 7,232,322 people applied for a visa through the e-Visa system in 2015, while some 87 percent of all applications (6,343,581) were accepted. The e-Visa figures showed a 17.4…

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Downbeat views for Turkey’s tourism

VOICES has been assessing the reactions of tourism bosses on the prospects for Turkey in 2016 post-Istanbul and the views don’t make happy reading. There appear to be views weighted in speculating that British families will opt for a short-haul sunny holiday to Spain in view of security concerns surrounding Turkey. Nevertheless, it hasn’t been pointed…

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Blast rocks historic Istanbul

BREAKING NEWS Voices and Newswires TEN people are feared dead and 15 injured – including tourists – in an explosion that rocked İstanbul’s central Sultanahmet Square, close to the iconic Blue Mosque,  a world tourist attraction, this morning (Tues). The explosion occurred at 10.20am, the Doğan news agency reported. It is understood that among the casulaties…

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Tax hikes hit Turkey

THE New Year has brought with a host of tax increases – from everything from electricity to alcohol. The Hurriyet Newspaper revealed that the cost of cigarettes, alcoholic drinks and electricity are all set to lighten our wallets after the government imposed price hikes. The government increased special taxes on the goods two days after…

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Get set for changes in Turkey

CHANGES to our everyday lives in Turkey – for both expats and locals – are set to come into force in 2016. Sabah Newspaper reported that the daily life will see both minor and fundamental changes this year as new laws and regulations changing everything from IDs to marriage procedures are set to be implemented…

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Entry price hikes for historic sites

ENTRY prices to some of Turkey’s popular historic attractions are to increase in the New Year – with some rising as high as 400 percent. Despite experiencing a decline in the number of visitors heading through the entrance to some of the best historic sites on the globe, the Culture and Tourism Ministry will ring…

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Refugee crisis: 13 dead, Didim community rallies

AS reports came in late last night (TUES) of another refugee disaster off the coast of Didim, parts of our Turkish and foreign communities responded admirably to donate clothing and blankets. Baby dies, Didim responds Social media sent out appeals for clothing after it emerged that a group of mainly Syrians had been rescued after their…

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Go Budget: 5 ‘rentacar’ road trips in Turkey

ADVERTORIAL:  If you’re an expat, second home owner or simply a tourist staying over the winter on the West Coast and looking to hit the open roads, then Kusadasi’s Budget Rent a Car, has some great ideas of places for you to visit. Budget combines the strength of one of the world’s largest car rental…

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Drop off in foreign visitors to Turkey

THE number of foreign arrivals to Turkey continued to drop in September, according to data released by the Tourism Ministry. The number of foreigners arriving in Turkey in September 2015 was 4.25 million, down 2.31 percent from the same month of previous year, according to the ministry’s data. The data showed the declining trend in…

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