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The Manisa Mountain National Park, located in the Shehzadeler district at an altitude of 1,517 m above sea level, is home to more than 120 species of endemic plants, including the harbingers of spring - snowdrops. Due to the abnormally warm weather, snow did not fall in the park for a long time and suddenly, a month earlier than usual, snowdrops bloomed. In Turkey, the fine for picking snowdrop flowers is 387.142 lira (almost 13 thousand dollars).

At the 4-day Matka Helsinki Fair, held in Finland, it was decided to launch direct flights from Finland to Antalya in June 2024. The flights will be operated by SunExpress. Speaking about the launch of direct flights from Finland to Antalya, Ali Organ, President of the Konakli Association of Tourism Operators (KONTID), stressed that this event is of great importance for Alanya tourism. "The Scandinavian market has been extremely important in the past years and Finland is one of its most important areas. The availability of direct flights will have a positive effect on increasing the tourist flow from the Scandinavian countries," Orkan said.

According to analysts' expectations, the Central Bank of Turkey raised the discount rate by 250 basis points from 42.5% to 45%. "The current rate level will be maintained until the underlying trend of monthly inflation decreases significantly and inflation expectations approach the forecasted range," the statement said.

The General Directorate of Meteorology has issued a warning about heavy snowfall in the western part of the Black Sea, starting in the evening hours. Snowfall is expected from Friday evening in the areas of Bolu, Zonguldak, Bartina, Karabuk, Duzje, mountainous areas in the north of Kastamonu, as well as in the south and east of Sakarya.A wave of cold air coming from the Balkans will affect the weather in Istanbul over the weekend. Meteorologists report that snowfall in the metropolis may begin on Saturday and continue until Sunday evening.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has signed a decree on reducing customs duties on sunflower seeds from 27% to 12% and on crude sunflower oil from 36% to 22%. We are waiting for a reduction in oil prices on the shelves of Turkish stores.

Crews that have completed repair work on the section from the center of the district to the Cultural Center continue laying asphalt in the direction of the Demirtas intersection. Assessing the work on asphalting the 3 km long road from the embankment to the Cultural Center, the Mayor of Alanya, Adem Murat Yuzhdel, said: "We continue to work on updating the asphalt on the road used by 12 microdistricts. In the near future, we intend to complete the work and provide the road for the use of our residents."

The minimum wage in the TRNC has been increased from 18.1 thousand liras to 27.587 liras ($912). After deduction of taxes, the amount to be paid will be 24 thousand liras. The decision was published in the Official Gazette of the Republic and entered into force.

Ko Holding has entered into an agreement to purchase 7 clinics in Antalya province, including the Alanya Anadolu Hastanesi. Ko Holding has signed an agreement to acquire 80% of the capital of the private company Kemer Medical Center Private Health Services Tourism and Trade (KMC). In addition, the company acquired 7 hospitals in Antalya, Kemer, Belek, Side, Alanya, Aspendos and Lara. Thanks to this, the number of hospitals owned by Ko Holding in the healthcare sector has increased to 20. The transaction price was 110 million euros. Levent Cakyroglu, CEO of Ko Holding, said: "Antalya is one of the most important tourist centers in Turkey, so with this deal we decided to increase our investments in medical tourism."

In 2024, the salaries of all deputies and retired deputies were increased by 49.25%. The salary of deputies increased from 73,329 liras to 110 thousand liras ($36), and the pension - from 51,970 liras to 77,565 liras ($2,567). At the same time, almost half of the deputies (300 people) working in parliament are already pensioners. The salary of such deputies will amount to 230 thousand liras (7604 dollars). In total, 599 deputies work in the Turkish parliament.

For the second year in a row, Turkey has become the second most popular foreign destination among Russian citizens. In 2023, more than 2 million Russian citizens visited the country. 1. Armenia - 17.8%2. Turkey - 14.1%3. Kyrgyzstan - 10%4. Uzbekistan - 7.8%5. Tajikistan - 7.3%6. Belarus - 6.5%7. Azerbaijan - 5.9%8. Kazakhstan - 5.1%9. UAE - 3.5%10. Georgia - 2.9%11. Other countries - 19.1%

Turkish carrier Luks Yilmaz announced the launch of the Rostov-on-Don-Istanbul bus route. The bus will depart from the main bus station of Rostov-on-Don every Monday at 9:00 and arrive in Istanbul every other day. The route runs through the territory of Russia, Georgia and Turkey. The travel time is just over 40 hours. The first flight is scheduled for January 29. The ticket price is 9.788 rubles.

A 21-year-old Turkish citizen S.S., who introduced himself as an employee of MIT (Milli Istihbarat Teşkilatı - Turkey's special service) gained the trust of a foreign tourist and, forging her signature, received a bill for 900 thousand euros. During a search of the defendant's house, a pistol and two fake MIT identification cards were found. The Supreme Criminal Court of Alanya ruled and sentenced S.S. to 8 years and 4 months in prison for forgery of signatures, documents and fraud, as well as to a fine of 37 million 500 thousand liras.