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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.

Information for those who imported their car into Turkey. At the moment, the maximum possible service life of a car imported into the country is 4 years for pensioners and 2 years for all other citizens. The fines for violation of the terms of stay in 2024 are: 1 month - 1,655 liras2 months - 3305 liras3 months - 4989 lirasfrom 3 months - 25% of the customs tax of the car (it should be understood as 25% of the cost of the car itself). Important! If, after you have imported the car into Turkey, you decide to leave / fly out of the country without a car, then during your absence you must notify customs about the parking place of the car (or leave the car in the customs parking lot). The penalty for failure to notify is 6610 liras. In addition, during your absence, no one has the right to drive a car, i.e. the car should just be parked all the time while you are out of the country.

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.

Bali Ngurah Rai Airport, which was used by 17.7 million tourists in 2023, plans to increase passenger traffic this year by adding new routes. Currently, there are 37 international routes operated by 36 foreign airlines and 20 domestic routes operated by 11 Indonesian airlines. Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno, Minister of Tourism and Economy of Indonesia, announced plans to add direct flights from Turkey, India, the UAE and China (Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou). "This is a step towards the development of high-quality and sustainable tourism, covering the key markets of Australia, Europe, America and Asia," Sandiaga said.

The Department of Supplies and Contracts of the Pipeline and Oil Transport Corporation (BOTAŞ) has completed a tender for the construction of the FAZ-2 gas pipeline in the Antalya-Manavgat-Alanya-Gazipasa-Anamur districts worth 2 billion 519 million 722 thousand liras. Three companies were invited to participate in the tender. With an offer of 3 billion liras, the tender was won by the Ziver Construction - Makro Tel partnership. Haver Holding has signed a contract with BOTAS for the implementation of a 137 km long gas pipeline construction project. The tender was signed by the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Ziver Holding, businessman Veysel Demirci and BOTAS officials. A distribution station will be built in the Ciplakli area of Alanya, from where gas will be transported to other areas of the city.

According to a tobacco report prepared by Istanbul MP Gamze Akkush Ilgezdi, about 20 million Turkish residents are regular smokers. Thus, at least one in four residents aged 15 years and older smokes. The president of the Association of Patients with COPD, expert pulmonologist, Professor Medjit Suerdem reports that Turkey ranks first in the world with an indicator of 17.1 cigarettes per person per day. Turkey is followed by Greece with 17 cigarettes a day, Israel with 15.7 cigarettes, Japan with 15.5 and Austria with 15.4. Medjit Suerdem: "Children suffer most from secondhand smoke. They often develop lower respiratory tract infections and asthma. Scientific studies have shown that in adults, the risk of developing lung cancer, respiratory tract infections, COPD and asthma also increases with secondhand smoke." According to a report by the Statistical Office of the European Union (Eurostat), the country with the highest smoking rate in European countries is Bulgaria with 29%. In Turkey, which ranks second, 27.3% of the population smokes. The average figure for the EU is 18.4%. Around the world, about 2 billion people are addicted to cigarettes and other tobacco products. In Turkey, people who want to quit smoking can contact clinics to receive medicines and specialist advice, and they can also call the smoking cessation hotline ALO171.

According to the State Administration of Airports of Turkey (DHMI), passenger traffic at Gazipasa International Airport increased by 20% in 2023, serving a total of almost 850 thousand passengers. At the same time, 481 thousand people were passengers on domestic flights and 368 thousand people on international flights. 9875 aircraft from Russia, Germany, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Saudi Arabia and other countries landed on the airport runway in 2023. According to analysts' forecasts, the upward trend in passenger traffic will continue this year.

According to the International Association of Investors (YASED), the amount of foreign direct investment (FDI) in Turkey for 11 months of 2023 amounted to 9.2 billion dollars. According to the association's report, the share of investments in real estate amounted to $ 3.3 billion - 36% of the total number of investments. 56% of investments were received from the EU countries, and 18% from the Middle East countries. Compared to 2022, the total amount of FDI decreased by 27%.

According to official data published by TURKSTAT, a total of 1 million 225 thousand 926 properties were sold in Turkey in 2023, which is 17.5% less than in 2022. Istanbul - 198.739 properties - 16.2% of total salesAnkara - 114,432 properties - 9.3% of total salesIzmir - 65,465 objects - 5.3% of total sales Foreigners purchased 35,005 properties in 2023, which is 48.1% less than in 2022.

Today is the last day of school for Turkish schoolchildren before the start of the holidays. Now they will go back to school only on February 5th. The Ministry of Education has sent a letter signed by the Minister of National Education Yusuf Tekin to all educational institutions. The letter asks students to be encouraged to participate in artistic, cultural, sports and scientific activities during the holidays instead of doing homework. Also today, students in all schools of the country will be given "karne" - report cards. The most successful students will receive not only diplomas and commendations, but also a cash payment! According to the decree signed by the Turkish President, students who are in the top three in their class and in the top five in their school will receive state support in the amount of 60% of the minimum wage, which currently amounts to 10.201 liras.

8-year-old Hasret Aydin is the only student of the primary school of the Gyurpinar district in the Turkish province of Van. Today, like all Turkish schoolchildren, she received a korne (report card) and a beautiful backpack as a gift for the day of the end of the first academic semester. Hasret Aydin: "Today I received my report card and I am very happy. I am so lucky that I am the only student in the school and I get all the attention of my teacher. I will study hard and want to become a doctor in the future." Her teacher, 31-year-old Shahin Aydin, himself brings the girl to school every day and takes her home after the end of lessons. "The district Department of Public Education has left the school open even for one student. This shows how much importance is attached to education in our country," Aydin said.

In his speech after the Cabinet meeting, the Turkish President announced an increase in pensions by 5%. Thus, the minimum pension is now 10 thousand liras (332 dollars). "We declare 2024 the year of pensioners. In this regard, we aim to expand the list of services that will improve the quality of life of our pensioners and strengthen their social rights," Recep Tayyip Erdogan added.