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Antalya, one of the world's important tourism centers, receives tourists from different countries, especially from Germany, Russia, England and Poland. In the city, where 1 million 100 thousand foreign tourists arrived from January 1 to April 7 this year, the domestic market also intensified with the beginning of the 9-day Ramadan holiday. Taking advantage of the sunny weather, vacationers enjoy swimming and sunbathing. "This is the first time we have such an active period of the Ramadan holiday," says Kaan Kavaloglu, president of the Association of Tourist Hoteliers and Operators of the Mediterranean, "the occupancy rate of hotels in Antalya has already exceeded 90%. We will finish the holiday with a occupancy rate close to 100%."

In the first quarter of 2024, 295,519 cars were sold in Turkey, which is 25.2% more than in the first quarter of 2023. The best-selling car brands are Fiat and Renault. Also among the sales leaders are brands such as Chery, Toyota, Peugeot, Ford, Volkswagen and Citroen. The luxury car market has also shown growth. For example, Porshe increased sales from 95 to 117 cars per month, Lexus - to 98 cars per month, and Bentley - from 5 to 9 cars per month. Last month, a total of 9,462 premium segment cars were sold in Turkey. In total, since the beginning of 2024, the total number of premium car sales has increased to 23,836 units. Every second car sold belongs to the Mercedes, Audi and BMW brands.

Turkish Airlines (THY) is taking an important step to strengthen its position in the global aviation sector. THY, which ordered 350 aircraft last year, is preparing to conclude a trilateral agreement with Rolls Royce and Airbus on the production of components for Airbus and Rolls-Royce in Turkey. Ahmet Bolat, chairman of THY's board of directors, said the agreement would open doors to $20 billion worth of business for Turkish companies. and he stressed that it is very important to move production to Turkey. The agreement will be signed at a ceremony to be held in Istanbul on April 28 with the participation of the Ministers of Trade, Industry and Technology, Treasury and Finance of Turkey and the United Kingdom. It was also announced that THY will create a trilateral committee with Airbus and Rolls Royce, which will monitor the implementation of the agreement at production sites. Speaking about future goals, Bolat said that by 2033 the company's fleet will exceed 800 aircraft. In addition, it was stated that THY brought Turkey export revenue of $16.3 billion. and provided a net foreign exchange contribution to the Turkish economy in the amount of $8.1 billion.

For the first time in 78 years, CHP candidate Ferdi Zeirek (pictured on the left) won in Manisa, gaining 57.26% of the vote. Upon taking office, Ferdi Zeirek said that the former administration of the MPR party of Mayor Cengiz Ergun (pictured on the right) made payments in the amount of 416.587.000 liras (almost $13 million) a week before the elections!!! Regarding the payment points, Zerek said: "For example, the bill for snacks amounted to 1 million lira ($31.198), and for the flag - 1 million 300 thousand lira ($40.557)! I will closely monitor the situation. No one can waste my people's money unnecessarily. No one should have any doubt that I will figure out the situation to the bitter end!"

Turkey has applied to participate in the International Scientific Lunar Station, created jointly by Russia and China. This was announced by the Director of the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Russia and China have agreed to create a lunar base in space in 2020. The project, known as the Russian Orbital Station, which Rosatom plans to launch into space in 2027-2032, will allow countries to conduct joint space research. Chinese Ambassador to Russia Zhang Hanhui said that the memorandum of understanding was prepared in accordance with the agreement on cooperation between the two agencies in creating a joint data center for lunar and deep space exploration. Turkey has also applied to participate in this project and may join the project in the near future.

So the strictest fast for all Muslims has come to an end and believers begin to celebrate the holy holiday of Ramadan. The holy month ends with the feast of thanksgiving - Eid al-Fitr. This year it falls on April 10, but the holiday begins to be celebrated from the evening of today, that is, on April 9. Housewives put the house in perfect order, polish the dishes to a shine, think out the latest nuances of the festive menu, preparing to meet numerous guests. After all the preparations, the most beautiful clothes will be put on and the celebration of the long-awaited Ramadan will begin. In addition to traditional meetings with relatives and friends, during Ramadan it is customary to help those in need (with money, clothes or food). These days it is also customary to visit cemeteries to remember the deceased relatives, whose graves are decorated with flowers and sweets and treats are left on them. Do not forget that the other name of the holiday is Şeker bayramı (holiday of sweets). Be sure to treat the kids who will be knocking on your door with sweets. Another festive tradition is to give money to children. Children approach adult family members and kiss their hand. After such a gesture, the adult gives the child money (50, 100, 200 or 500 liras). Do not be surprised if the neighbors bring you treats in honor of the holiday and in no case refuse treats - this can offend a person. You can congratulate relatives, neighbors and friends on the holiday with the phrases "M barek Ramazan bayramı kutlu olsun" or "Ramazan bayramı kutlu olsun".

The Council of the Municipality of Alanya held its first meeting, headed by the new mayor Osman Taryk Ozchelik. Among other things, the report on the activities of the municipality for 2023 was discussed. The parties MHP and AK parti voted for the adoption of the annual report. CHP and Iyi parti abstained from voting on the annual report. Voting was also held, during which new heads of departments were selected. The mayor wished everyone success in their work and made a parting speech: "From the very beginning, we stated our goal - to create a comfortable modern Alanya that will play in the top league in the tourism sector. To do this, there must be a system in which everything from zoning, construction, and the internal functioning of the municipality works like clockwork. We must shape our city systematically. Together with you, I consider it my duty to prevent illegal, unlicensed buildings. I want to run the city in an organized and disciplined way."

Selcuk Yildiz, a candidate from the Yeniden Refah party, won the municipal elections on March 31 and became the new mayor of the city of Geive in Sakarya province. Upon taking up his duties, Yildiz announced the decision to sell a Mercedes car owned by the municipality: "Before the elections, we made a promise to our citizens that we would end waste, so we started saving the municipality's money at the expense of expensive official cars."

Incredibly, but a fact! According to a study conducted by the World Population Review platform, Turks took the first place in the ranking in terms of the average number of sexual partners. "On average, a Turk has 14.5 partners," the study says. Thus, Turkey has left behind such liberal countries in matters of sexuality as France, Brazil and many others: Turkey - 14.5 partnersAustralia - 13.3 partnersNew Zealand - 13.2 partnersIceland - 13 partnersSouth Africa - 12.5 partnersFinland - 12.4 partnersNorway - 12.1 partnersItaly - 11.8 partnersSweden - 11.8 partnersSwitzerland - 11.1 partners At the end of the list were China and India with an average of 3.1 and 3 partners, respectively.

In the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), where thousands of houses and lands have been sold to foreigners, the rules for selling real estate to foreigners are changing. According to the amendments to the law, which are expected to be introduced within a month, the so-called "gray sales" will be stopped, which have long been a cause for discussion. The list of innovations that will be introduced: The contract of sale of real estate can be executed only in the land registry. The practice of registration of sales in law offices will be abolished A requirement for a certificate of ownership (title) will be introduced. Foreigners who have bought real estate without registration of title will have to issue it within a year or sell their property during this period Foreigners will be able to purchase real estate only with the status of "Kat Irtifakı" (pre-registration of real estate in the housing stock). Thus, the possibility of foreigners buying real estate at the excavation stage is excluded. The trust management will be cancelled To purchase real estate, a foreigner will need to obtain the approval of the security service and the approval of the Council of Ministers During the transition period, for Turkish citizens, the restriction on the purchase of only one real estate object will be increased to three objects (foreigners can purchase only one real estate object). It is expected that thanks to this decree, housing prices in the TRNC will decrease, and local residents will be able to buy housing again.

According to the forecast of Fitch Ratings in 2024, the average inflation rate in Turkey will be 58% in 2024, and in 2025 - and 29% in 2025. The agency also reports that last year the net cash losses of the Turkish subsidiaries of the Persian Gulf banks amounted to $2.6 billion. Fitch Ratings predicts that these losses will amount to $2.8 billion in 2024 and $1.4 billion in 2025.

By decree of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, visa-free entry for Tajik citizens is now prohibited. Now, in order to enter the country, they are required to obtain a visa in the usual manner.