Welcome to our pick of last week’s news from Fethiye and around Turkey.
NEWS
Two Artists, One Greek and One Turkish, Collaborate to Help Earthquake Victims
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.Mikail Akar, age 8, the youngest abstract artist in the world, of Turkish origin, and the talented Pop Art artist Niko Nikolaides, 29, of Greek origin, created a painting together, titled SAMIR to be auctioned with proceeds donated to the victims of the recent earthquake. (Photo: Facebook)
Two young internationally recognized artists from two different cultures came together to help the earthquake victims in Samos, Greece and Izmir, Turkey.
Mikail Akar, age 8, the youngest abstract artist in the world, of Turkish descent, and the talented Pop Art artist Niko Nikolaides, 29, of Greek descent, created a painting together, titled SAMIR, a portmanteau word combining Samos and Izmir. The painting will be auctioned off with proceeds donated to the victims of the recent earthquake.
The two artists wanted to show the world that despite the differences between Turkey and Greece, there can be solidarity.
Source: The National Herald
Tourism still going strong in Turkey, despite coronavirus pandemic
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Despite the global ravages caused by Covid-19, Turkey’s Culture and Tourism Ministry last week announced that, since the end of the local lockdown, the country had welcomed some 9.46 million visitors from various parts of the world, including many European countries.
The Turkish government lifted the national health lockdown in June 2020 and started international flight operations immediately, putting major precautions in place.
Speaking to RFI, the president of Turkey’s Travel Agencies Union (TURSAB), Firuz B. Bağlıkaya, said the reason for the good tourist inflow was that the country was providing the best services despite the pandemic.
“Turkey gave the best tourism services in the pandemic. That is why it became the country hosting the most foreign tourists among the Mediterranean countries,” he said.
“During the pandemic, rather than aim for an increase in the number of tourists, we focused on hosting our guests in the best way and ensuring that they spend their holidays in a safe environment. We continue to build on this foundation for tourism in 2021.” he said.
According to the brochure issued by the Tourism Ministry in Ankara, the highest number of visitors were from Germany, followed by Bulgarians and Ukrainians. To ensure their safety, the Turkish government certified almost 5,000 facilities to host tourists by establishing strict health and hygiene requirements at airports, transport services and accommodation.
Millions of saplings set to be planted in international forestation campaign
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Turkey is one of the few countries that has been increasing its forests. It ranks first in Europe and fourth in the world in terms of forestation efforts, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said at the National Forestation Day ceremony held jointly with several other countries on Wednesday. Turkey’s forestation efforts have grabbed the attention of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the United Nations (U.N.), Erdoğan said, at the ceremony held in Yıldırım Beyazıt University in Ankara. He noted that Turkey is one of the rare countries that has increased its forests in the past 18 years.
On National Forestation Day on Wednesday, people all around Turkey and 30 other countries planted saplings to empty plots. The country set a new world record for planting the most saplings in an hour, with 303,150 saplings planted last year. Overall, nearly 14 million saplings were planted in the campaign held across Turkey. This year, the number was increased to 83 million, representing one seed for every member of the country’s population.
At 11:11 a.m., the planting of the saplings was officially inaugurated by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan who was joined by other officials at the university campus. The president planted a sapling as part of the “Breath for The Future” campaign which was launched last year on Nov. 11 after a decree was passed in response to young YouTuber Abdullah Enes Şahin’s suggestion of “a festival for planting saplings.”
A series of polls run by the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IBB) for a facelift of some of the city’s iconic venues ended on Friday.
Some 352,784 people chose from among an array of renewal projects for Taksim and Bakırköy Squares on the European side, as well as the Salacak coastal strip on the Asian side in an online poll during October and November.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.An artist’s impression of the redesigned Taksim Square. (COURTESY OF IBB)
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.A viewing terrace in the new design of Taksim Square. (COURTESY OF IBB)
The winning project for Taksim Square, which is among the city’s most visited locations along with the adjacent Istiklal Avenue, plans to give a new life to the somewhat dull space that mainly functions as a gateway for the avenue. It highlights Gezi Park and further integrates the green space with the adjacent square.
Turkish regulators have fined Google 196.7 million Turkish liras ($25.5 million) for allegedly abusing its market dominance in online searches.
In a statement released Friday, the Competition Authority said Google and its parent company Alphabet Inc had made it difficult for companies to show up in searches if they did not generate advertisement revenue for Google.
The Turkish authority said Google would have to ensure “active competition in the market” by taking remedial measures within six months. Google will have to present compliance measures and annual reports for five years.
The move comes as regulators in Europe and the U.S. have also taken aim at Google’s dominance in some online markets, such as searches. Google has rejected wrongdoing.
Source: AP NEWS
SPORT
Thank you to Brian Lloyd for the sport updates
Match Results
Fethiyespor drew their away match against Ceyhanspor on Sunday. The final score was 2-2.
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Fethiyespor are now at 4th position on the league table.
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The next league match is:
Thursday 19th November at home against Kahta 02 Spor. Kick off is at 13:00.
Please note: the Turkish Football Federation have made the decision that, due to COVID-19 measures, all games in the first half of the season will be played without spectators.
For more information about Fethiyespor please visit:
The 8th week match against Empera Halı Gaziantep Basketball due to be played on November 15, 2020, was postponed by the Basketball Federation as they have a number of players who have tested positive for Covid-19.
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Lokman Hekim Fethiye Belediyespor send “get well soon” wishes to the rival players and hope that they will regain their health as soon as possible.
Please click on the link below for the match schedule.
Lewis Hamilton wins Turkish Grand Prix to clinch record-equalling seventh F1 title
Lewis Hamilton delivered high drama and high emotion for the spectacle of a coronation worthy of one of the greatest champions Formula One has produced. His victory at the Turkish Grand Prix sealed the championship and his seventh title. With it Hamilton has achieved what was once thought impossible, matching Michael Schumacher’s record tally and in doing so becoming the most successful F1 driver of all time.
