The Turkish Statistics Authority revealed on Thursday that housing sales in Turkey during last February increased by 17.3 percent compared to the same month last year, reaching a total of 93,902 properties.

This came according to data from the Turkish Statistics Authority, which revealed housing sales statistics for February.

According to the figures, housing sales amounted to 174,210 homes in the period last January and February, a decrease of 2 percent compared to the same period of the previous year.

During the past month, Istanbul achieved the highest share of housing sales, with sales reaching 16,344 homes, or 17.4 percent.

It was followed by Ankara, with sales of 8,300 homes, at a rate of 8.8 percent, and then Izmir, with sales of 5,168 homes, at a rate of 5.5 percent.

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On Monday, the Turkish authorities referred 9 people to court in Istanbul on suspicion of selling information to the Israeli Mossad, and the nine suspects were transferred to the courtroom in the Palace of Justice in the Çağlayan district of the city.​​​​​​

Last week, based on the Public Prosecution’s investigations, the Intelligence and Counter-Terrorism Branches of the Istanbul Security Directorate carried out a simultaneous security operation in the states of Istanbul and Izmir.

It led to the arrest of 7 suspects, and it was found that the other two individuals had been previously arrested as part of the same investigations.

Security sources stated that the Turkish intelligence service knew that the Mossad was tracking its targets in Turkey through private investigators.

The sources stated that investigations monitored the Mossad carrying out activities such as collecting biographical information about people, reconnaissance, photo and video documentation, surveillance, and placing tracking devices against its targets through private investigators associated with it.

Investigations conducted by the Public Prosecution in Istanbul confirmed that 9 people are suspected of having sold information they obtained to the Mossad through private investigators.

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The Turkish Ministry of Health announced that a ship loaded with medical supplies and aid to help the residents of the Gaza Strip will leave the country on Thursday evening, heading to Egypt.

The teams are loading medical supplies and ambulances onto the cargo ship anchored in the port of Alsancak in Izmir, western Turkey.

The ship is scheduled to leave the port this evening, heading to the Egyptian port of Al-Arish.

In a statement to reporters, Shukri Yorulmaz, head of the Disaster and Emergency Management Department at the Turkish Ministry of Health, explained that the health infrastructure in Gaza was completely destroyed.

Yorulmaz added that the ship, which carries supplies for field hospitals, ambulances, and medical supplies, will sail on Thursday evening from the port of Alsancak to Egypt.

He said, “Our field hospitals on board the ship are strong and well-equipped and will provide great support to the health infrastructure and health needs there. All types of surgical operations can be performed in them, and imaging systems and laboratories are available in them.”

He continued: “Initially, it is planned to establish 8 field hospitals, but we also have spare supplies in our stock and we can increase the number.”

He added that in the first phase, they will begin providing services in places close to the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt.

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8,370 tourists arrived in Kosh Adasi district in Aydin Province, western Turkey, on Monday on board 7 large cruise ships.

The ships “MAC Splendida” flying the Panama flag, “Celestial Journey” flying the Bermuda flag, “Emerald Sakara”, “Windstar” flying the Bahamas flag, “Celebrity Constellation” and “Azamara Quest” docked at Aegean Port. And the “Star Flyer”, which flies the Maltese flag.

Some tourists headed towards the Selcuk District in Izmir Province in order to visit the archaeological areas there, especially the ancient city of Avis.

In a press statement, the port’s general manager, Aziz Gunger, expressed his pleasure at the density of cruise ships arriving at the port.

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The “Technofest” festival for aviation and space technology, which is considered the largest of its kind in the world, was launched in the Turkish capital, Ankara, on Wednesday.

The first edition of “Technofest” was organized in 2018, and the festival launched in Ankara is the seventh in Turkey and the eighth inside and outside the country.

The festival opened its doors to visitors starting at 09:00 am (+3 GMT), and the official opening ceremony will be held at 14:30.

The first day will witness various activities, including various air shows.

The festival will continue to receive visitors until September 3 at Etimesgut Airport.

The first festival of this year was organized in Istanbul between April 27 and May 1, with the second being in the capital, Ankara, on August 30, today, Wednesday (Victory Day), and the third in the city of Izmir.

“Technofest” is considered an important means in Turkey to discover the talents of young participants to showcase their technological innovations, such as missiles and robots, with the support of government institutions.

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On Thursday, official Turkish data revealed that more than 102 million passengers used airports in the country’s tourist areas during the first 7 months of 2023.

According to the data of the State Airports Authority, Istanbul Airport handled 43.3 million passengers, Antalya Airport 18.3 million passengers, and Izmir Airport 5.8 million passengers in the period January-July of this year.

The data stated that all Turkish airports witnessed the operation of 500 thousand and 886 domestic flights and 447 thousand and 927 international flights in the same period.

It explained that 51 million and 820 thousand and 711 passengers used domestic lines and 66 million and 724 passengers used external lines in all Turkish airports between January and July of the year.

It added that the number of travelers through airports in tourist areas increased by 22 percent during the same period compared to the 2022 period, and reached 102,500,625 passengers.

Airports in the tourist areas include the states of Istanbul, Antalya, Izmir, Adana, Mugla, Gaziantep, Kayseri, Trabzon, Diyarbakir and Sanliurfa.

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A cruise ship arrived in the Turkish Black Sea state of Sinop with 893 Russian tourists on board.

The “Astoria Grand” docked at Sinop Cruise Port with 893 Russian tourists and 442 crew on board.

After completing the customs procedures, the tourists came down to tour the city’s sights, including beaches and markets, while some went to visit the historical sites.

The ship is scheduled to leave Sinop this evening, heading towards the “Tishma” region of the Turkish state of Izmir, overlooking the Aegean Sea.

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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stressed to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin the importance of the grain shipment agreement across the Black Sea, describing it as a “bridge to peace”.

This came in a phone call between the two leaders on Wednesday, according to a statement issued by the Turkish Presidency Communications Department.

Erdogan stressed to Putin the importance of the agreement to ship grain across the Black Sea, describing it as a “bridge of peace.”

He also stressed that Turkey will continue to make intensive diplomatic efforts for the continuation of the grain initiative across the Black Sea.

He said that stopping the grain shipping initiative for a long time is not in the interest of anyone, indicating that the greatest damage will be inflicted on needy and low-income countries.

He pointed out that grain prices, which fell 23 percent during the validity period of the agreement, rose 15 percent in the last two weeks.

On July 17, Moscow refused to extend the Ukrainian grain export agreement and said that it would “extend it if the Russian part of it is implemented.”

Erdogan also stressed the need to avoid steps that escalate the Russian-Ukrainian war.

The statement indicated that the two leaders agreed that the Russian President would visit Turkey.

Erdogan expressed his satisfaction with the increasing interest of Russian tourists in Turkey, expressing his belief that the tourism sector will witness a record number this year through joint efforts.

Erdogan thanked his counterpart Putin for sending Russia two amphibious planes to Turkey to contribute to efforts to put out forest fires there.

On July 19, the Russian Emergencies Ministry announced that it had sent two firefighting planes to Turkey in order to contribute to efforts to extinguish forest fires in the states of Izmir and Mugla (west).

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Turkey again ranked third in the world, after Spain and Greece, in the number of beaches awarded the “Blue Flag” for the year 2023.

The Blue Flag is a certificate granted to environmentally safe beaches by the International Foundation for Environmental Education “FEE”, based in Copenhagen.

According to the 2023 evaluation of the institution, the number of Turkish beaches that are entitled to raise the blue flag is 551.

The state of Antalya, overlooking the Mediterranean Sea, comes at the forefront of the Turkish states in terms of the number of beaches that have been awarded the “Blue Flag” with 231, followed by the neighboring state of Mugla, which overlooks the Aegean Sea, with 110 beaches, and Izmir with 63 beaches.

In 1994, Turkey had 6 blue flag beaches, and their number increased over time to reach 486 beaches in 2020, 519 in 2021, and 531 in 2022.

The blue flag is awarded according to 32 special criteria, such as the quality and cleanliness of marine waters, activities aimed at environmental awareness, care for environmental management, quality of services provided, and security in tourist areas.

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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that his government is planning to implement a giant project in Istanbul called the “Istanbul Grand Tunnel Project” to be the third tunnel linking the two parts of the Bosphorus Strait under the sea.

Erdogan’s announcement came at an election rally that included the opening of the first phase of the “People’s Park” at the site of Ataturk Airport, and was attended by at least 1.7 million people.

He said, “This project will be the third tunnel to pass under the Bosphorus after the (Marmaray) and (Eurasia) tunnels,” indicating that the project includes 11 railway lines that are used daily by 6.5 million people.

The Istanbul Grand Tunnel is a mixed tunnel project that includes 3 floors, passing under the Bosphorus Strait, with a length of 6.5 km, ensuring movement between the European and Asian parts of Istanbul through road and rail tracks.

The Turkish president drew attention to the giant transportation projects during the governments of the Justice and Development Party in the country, including the “Yavuz Selim” bridge, the third bridge that connects the two parts of Istanbul and was opened in 2016 after the “Martyrs of July 15” and “Mehmed Al-Fatih” bridges.

Also, the Osman Ghazi Bridge on the Sea of Marmara connects the states of Kocaeli and Yalova on the path of the cities of Istanbul and Izmir, and it opened in 2016 as well.

According to Erdogan, his governments also completed the “Eurasia” tunnel, which passes under the Bosphorus Strait for the passage of cars, and opened in 2011, in addition to the “Marmaray” railway tunnel, which opened in 2013.

He added, “Now we will implement the Istanbul Grand Tunnel project.”

And reiterating his emphasis on the importance of Istanbul voters in the elections, Erdogan made it clear that he would deliver a “honorary speech” in front of his supporters on the evening of May 14 – after winning the elections – in Istanbul.

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