Fethiye Times pick of the news from the local area and around Turkey.
NEWS
Call for Muğla to be declared a tourism disaster area
CHP Muğla Deputy Mürsel Alban met with the Fethiye Association of Hoteliers (FETOB) yesterday to discuss the bankruptcy of the 178-year-old giant Thomas Cook and the damages suffered by regional tourism.
During the visit, Alban called for Muğla to be declared a tourism disaster area in the wake of the collapse.
FETOB President Bülent Uysal said, “Tourists who visit Muğla are mainly British. Almost 900,000 of the 1.5 million passengers coming from Dalaman Airport are British. A total of 40-45 percent of this business comes from Thomas Cook. This year, Thomas Cook would have brought 400,000 holidaymakers by the end of the season but unfortunately we have now lost October business and hotels are still owed money.”
CHP Muğla Deputy Mürsel Alban said, “After the bankruptcy of Thomas Cook, especially in Muğla, many hotels will experience a big problem. The government should intervene urgently and work to eliminate losses to a large extent. Just as a natural disaster occurs as a result of meteorological events, the result of this bankruptcy is a tourism disaster. The area must be declared a disaster area immediately. All tourism debts to the state, especially VAT, should be postponed.”
Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy said, “We have prepared an urgent loan study and the credit package will be 50 million euros. There are hotels that only work with Thomas Cook and the fate of these hotels depends on the success of the tour operator they work with. One after another, these hotels will become bankrupt”
Source: Gerçek Fethiye
Thomas Cook rescue effort brings back over half of all holidaymakers
More than half of the 150,000 holidaymakers stranded abroad after Thomas Cook collapsed on Monday were returned to the UK by Friday night after a huge operation by Britain’s aviation regulator.
News came as the government revealed that the combined cost of the rescue flights and refunds for holidaymakers whose trips were cancelled, reached £520m. It is unclear how much of the final bill will be covered by taxpayers.
More than 77,000 people have been brought home on 347 flights, five days after the Civil Aviation Authority launched Operation Matterhorn to bring back stranded holidaymakers.
Source: The Guardian/Civil Aviation Authority
Application for viewing terrace at Butterfly valley rejected
An application for a glass viewing terrace at Butterfly valley has been rejected.
Faralya Mukhtar, Hasan Karaburun, with the support of Fethiye Governor Muzzafer Şahiner, called for a glass viewing terrace to be built at Butterfly Valley after the death of Polish tourist Piotr Mikolajczyk, 48, who died on 19 August when he lost his balance and fell into a 230 meter-deep canyon during a trip to Butterfly Valley with his son.
Mukhtar Hasan Karaburun said in a statement in September “So far at least 20 major accidents have occurred at Butterfly Valley. 10 people died in these accidents, at least 10 were injured and there have been hundreds of minor injuries,” He went on to say “The region is now known as Death Valley and measures need to be taken”.
After the decision, Karaburun said “At least 50 thousand local and foreign tourists come to this area every year, wanting to take photographs of this beautiful but dangerous area.”
He stressed that accidents are inevitable if measures are not taken.
Source: MTurk
5.8 magnitude earthquake shakes Istanbul
Experts have warned of an immediate need to take precautions against an expected big Marmara earthquake in the aftermath of the 5.8 magnitude earthquake that shook Istanbul on Thursday.
Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) said the earthquake struck in the Sea of Marmara at 1:59 p.m. and was felt throughout the western Marmara region, which includes Istanbul.
Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoğlu said on Twitter that there were no reports of deaths from the quake.
News videos showed a collapsed minaret in the city’s western Avcilar district and the emergency agency said cracks were found in some buildings. Turkish media showed children being evacuated from schools and city residents waiting outside their homes. Schools were canceled for the day.
Parks in some districts were full of panicked citizens. Some set up tents and spent the night in the parks in Bahçelievler, a district with damaged buildings.
34 citizens were reported to have suffered injuries during the quake, with 10 still in hospital receiving treatment.
The Kandilli Observatory and Earthquake Research Institute recorded several aftershocks, with the highest at 4.4 magnitude.
Sources: USA Today/Daily Sabah
Over 5,000 Turkish drivers fined for smoking in cars as police enforce new law
More than 5,000 people across Turkey have been fined for smoking in cars, the Interior Ministry said on Thursday.
A total of 37,065 personnel across the country enforced the smoke-free cars policy on Wednesday aided by 169 sniffer dogs.
Some 150,000 vehicles were checked.
The smoke-free cars policy followed President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s remarks to reporters on Saturday which said: “I sometimes see drivers smoking in cars, and whenever I see them, I warn them, tell them it’s shameful. Now we’re working on something to stop both drivers and backseat passengers from smoking.”
In July 2009, a comprehensive smoking ban was introduced for all indoor spaces, including restaurants, bars, and cafes, and later was extended to other sites, such as stadiums and courtyards.
In Fethiye, six drivers caught smoking in their cars were fined a total of 918 TL over a period of two hours.
Source: Daily Sabah/Gerçek Fethiye
Big green mysterious stone intrigues tourists
A mystical big green stone located in the Hittite capital Hattusha is intriguing tourists from home and abroad.
Touted as a magical, wish stone at the great temple area in Turkey’s Black Sea province of Corum, the history and origin of this green and bright rock are shrouded in mystery.
“The green stone is very different from other stones in this archaeological site and that is why it is attracting such attention,” the head of archeologists in the ancient city, Andreas Schachner, told Anadolu Agency. “The stone is serpentinite or nephrite (jade) and is remarkable in that it is preserved monolithically [One large piece, jutting from the earth],”
Hattusha, capital of the Hittite Empire, dating back to 2000-1001 B.C., is listed in the UNESCO World Heritage sites.
Source: aa.com.tr
SPORT
Thank you to Brian Lloyd for the sport updates.
Fethiyespor
Fethiyespor drew their match at home against Payasspor on Sunday. The final score was 0-0.
Fethiyespor move down to 5th position on the league table.
The next league match is:
Wednesday 9th October away against Cizrespor. Kick off is at 14:00.
For more information about Fethiyespor please visit Fethiyespor Yabancilar on Facebook
Turkish Rugby League Association
The first ever International match between Turkey and Malta will take place on Saturday 26 October 2019 at New Era Stadium, Cabramatta Australia.
The Women’s International Rugby match between Turkish and France will take place on 5 October 2019 at 20:00 at Esenler Stadium in Istanbul.
For more information about the Turkish Rugby League Association please visit them on Facebook
Turkish Lira (TL) exchange rates
The British Pound bought 6.96 TL by the close of business on Friday. The week before it was selling for 7.16 TL.
The US Dollar bought 5.67 TL by the close of business on Friday. The week before it was selling for 5.74 TL.
The Euro bought 6.20 TL by the close of business on Friday. The week before it was selling for 6.32 TL.
ISource: FxexchangeRate.com
Weather Forecast
Here’s your weather forecast for the week ahead.
Source: Living Earth
The post Fethiye Times News – Week Ending 28 September 2019 appeared first on Fethiye Times.