The head of the Justice and Development Party, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, announced the names of the party’s candidates for the presidency of 26 municipalities in Turkey in the local elections expected on March 31, 2024.

This came at the conference announcing the party’s candidates on Sunday at the Gulf Convention Center in Istanbul, with the participation of President Erdogan.

During the conference, the Turkish President revealed the names of 11 candidates for mayor of the following major cities: Istanbul, Aydin, Balikesir, Bursa, Denizli, Erzurum, Eskisehir, Kocaeli, Mugla, Ordu, and Samsun.

The names of 15 candidates for the mayors of Artvin, Bingöl, Bitlis, Çanakkale, Canakiri, Duzce, Edirne, Elazig, Giresun, Sparta, Kastamonu, Rize, Sinop, Tokat and Yalova were also announced.

The Turkish President is expected to announce the names of the candidates for the remaining states (a total of 81 states in Turkey) within the next few days.

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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan confirmed that his country is moving forward towards having a rapidly developing electric car market.

This came in a speech he delivered on Saturday during the opening of the Ford Otosan factory in Gölcük district of Kocaeli state (northwest).

Erdogan said, “In Turkey, we are moving forward towards having a rapidly developing electric car market due to the interest sparked by the spread of TOGG (local electric) cars on the roads.”

He added, “Our rise from fifteenth to thirteenth place in the global car production rankings within five years shows that we are moving in the right direction.”

He continued: “Our goal is to make our country one of the leading players in the world in the field of producing electric cars and their batteries.”

Erdogan considered that Ford Otosan’s steps, such as investing in the factory that opens today, are the fruits of the “Turkey Century” vision.

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The volume of the e-commerce market in Turkey reached 800.7 billion Turkish liras during the year 2022 (the dollar is equivalent to about 19.33 liras), an increase of 109 percent over the previous year.

According to information from the E-Commerce Information System (ETBİS) of the Turkish Ministry of Commerce, there are 548,688 online sellers in Turkey.

The number of online shopping operations increased by 43 percent, reaching 4 billion and 787 million requests, after it was 3 billion and 347 million requests in 2021.

The proportion of e-commerce volume in Turkey’s total trade volume also increased from 17.7 percent to 18.6 percent.

With regard to payment methods in online purchases, the percentage of payment by bank cards amounted to 61 percent of total sales, amounting to 486.7 billion pounds, followed by 36 percent payment by bank transfer, with a value of 287 billion pounds, and 3 percent by means of payment upon receipt at the door, with a value of 27 billion pounds.

Istanbul ranked first among the Turkish states in terms of the number of owners of electronic stores, with a rate of 37.7 percent of the total number, followed by Ankara with 8.5 percent, then Izmir with 7.1 percent, Bursa with 4.6 percent, Antalya with 3.4 percent, Konya with 2.4 percent, and Kocaeli with 2. .4 percent.

The percentage of online purchases from within Turkey amounted to 91.3 percent, at a value of 731 billion liras, while shopping rates from Turkish websites from customers of other countries reached 4.2 percent, at a value of 33.8 billion liras, while the percentage of Turks buying from external shopping sites amounted to 4.5 percent, at a value of 35.9 billion liras.

Electrical household items ranked first in electronic sales, with a value of 96.7 billion pounds, followed by clothes, shoes, and accessories with 54 billion, then electronic devices with 45.9 billion, then airline cards with 45.1 billion.

The percentage of women who own online stores reached 58 percent, and men 42 percent.

Istanbul topped the list of online purchase orders with 36 percent of the total orders, followed by the capital, Ankara, with 9 percent, then Izmir with 6 percent, Bursa and Antalya with 4 percent each, then Kocaeli with 2.5 percent.

The rate of payment by installments reached 15 percent of the total payment transactions, while the prepayment rate reached 85 percent.

Customers preferred to pay by installments in 77 percent of purchases in the home and decoration sector, 34 percent in the electrical appliances sector, 31 percent in the clothing sector, 10 percent in the tourism sector, 15 percent in the accommodation sector, 15 percent in the airlines sector, and 6.5 percent in books and magazines.

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The exports of the Turkish state of Kocaeli, the pioneer in the field of industry, during the first quarter of this year amounted to 4 billion 554 million 374 thousand dollars.

According to data from the Turkish Exporters Council, 70 percent of the state’s exports during the first quarter of this year came from the automotive and chemical sectors.

The data added that the imports of the automobile and chemicals sectors during the first quarter of this year amounted to 3 billion 183 million 89 thousand dollars.

The British markets came at the forefront of the most importing markets for the products of the Turkish state of Kocaeli, followed by France, then Italy third, Slovenia fourth, and Germany fifth.

It is noteworthy that Turkey’s total exports in the first quarter of this year amounted to 61 billion and 587 million dollars, an increase of 2.5 percent compared to exports for the same period last year.

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The state of Kocaeli, northwest of Turkey, witnessed the production of 1,563 vehicles per day during the past year 2022.

According to the data of the Vehicle Industry Association in Turkey, Kocaeli, which is one of the most prominent vehicle production centers in the country, witnessed the production of 570,769 vehicles last year.

According to the data, Kocaeli’s car production increased during the past year by 14 percent compared to the year before 2021.

The state allocated 82 percent of its vehicle production for export.

Thus, Kocaeli’s vehicle exports amounted to 48 percent of the total Turkish exports.

The volume of exports of the Turkish auto sector last year amounted to 30 billion and 955 million dollars, registering a growth of 5.7 percent compared to 2021.

The auto sector production in Turkey last year amounted to 1,402,189 vehicles, 988,278 of which were for export.

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A Turkish farmer has set up a greenhouse in which shoppers can leave their purchases in a bucket marked “Box”.

Yasar Tosun, 42, was able to establish his project in the district of Bash Isikle in the northwestern state of Kocaeli, after receiving financial support through the “Young Farmers” program of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.

Ten years ago, Toson built a greenhouse on an area of ​​5 acres, from which he started producing types of vegetables such as tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers.

Since Toson was busy with other business, he decided to continue selling greenhouse products without being restricted to being in the place, so he put a bucket with the words “box” written on it, where customers could put the price of the products they bought.

At the entrance to the greenhouse, Toson put a scale and shopping bags, hanging a board containing numbers and prices of vegetables and the method of payment after determining the weight.

Customers can get fresh vegetables after picking them themselves from the branches and leaving their price in the bucket.

Toson said he loves farming as his father’s profession and continues to grow different products in his greenhouse, which he established in 2012 with government support.

He noted that he cannot stay in the greenhouse all day because he takes care of a group of other farms and greenhouses inside and outside Kocaeli State.

He mentioned that he guided customers to the new method of shopping by placing a board containing shopping instructions at the entrance to the greenhouse.

He added: “Customers select the necessary vegetables, collect them from the branches, weigh them, calculate their price, and leave the money in a bucket with the words “box” written on it.

He continued, “With that money, I spin the economic wheel of the farm and provide for my household needs.”

Toson was satisfied with the sales that took place in the greenhouse and the cooperation shown by the customers.

He added, “A sign has been placed in the greenhouse telling customers that they can eat the products they want inside the greenhouse for free, in addition to allowing those who do not have money to get what they want from the products.”

He added: “Customers can leave the price of the products they buy in the box later if they do not have the money at the time.”

Toson noted that most customers who shop in his greenhouse do not know him personally.

“My customers were as much as the trust I gave them… they were eager to pay for the products they bought, and I am grateful for the amount of cooperation they showed towards my project,” he stressed.

One of the greenhouse customers, Jahan Adiyaman, said that he came to shop from the district of Korfaz (in Kocaeli), which is located about 15 kilometers from the place of Tosun.

Adiyaman said he regularly shopped from the greenhouse because their produce was fresh and the prices were very reasonable.

“We come two to three days a week to pick and buy vegetables, and the payment system established by Toson gives customers a large margin of confidence,” he added.

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Thanks to its fresh air and beautiful nature, Lake Tahtali in the northwestern Turkish state of Kocaeli attracts local and foreign visitors in all seasons of the year.

The lake is located in the district of Drince in the state of Kocaeli, one of the states of the eastern Marmara region.

This state is one of the important Turkish states in the natural tourism sector, as it offers its visitors the opportunity to spend special times in the lap of nature.

There is Tahtali Lake, about 15 km from the center of Drenge, which is a district characterized by wooded areas and green hills with a lot of streams and waterfalls.

Dringe municipality seeks to attract a larger number of local and foreign tourists to the area by organizing camping and fishing activities, providing social facilities and special paths for cycling and walking.

During the coming summer, the municipality seeks to complete construction work on a number of facilities and start providing places for selling traditional agricultural and animal products.

Dringe Mayor Zeki Aygun said that the municipality is working on organizing new activities for nature lovers in the area that contains Lake Tahtali and is characterized by its scenic beauty.

He added that through these activities, they aspire to provide visitors with enjoyable times in the lap of nature.

He continued, “The area used to contain a tourist and sports center, but the municipality decided to establish a new center with modern standards, in a desire to stimulate tourism and attract more visitors.”

Aygon added that the municipality is working to transform the lake into a suitable place for organizing small boat trips through projects it is working on, in addition to establishing a camping center for caravans.

He explained that walking and cycling tracks will be built in the Lake District, giving it a new look.

Aygun said that the local administrations in Kocaeli attach great importance to the development of tourism activities in the state.

He continued, “We are working to build advanced social facilities to provide the best services to visitors, and to establish sales points to serve visitors wishing to purchase agricultural and animal products produced by the local population in traditional ways.”

Dringe witnessed a significant increase in the number of visitors from Istanbul, according to the mayor.

He concluded that the municipality is working on completing important projects such as the natural park in Tahtali Lake, the camping center and the caravan park, as well as public and recreational facilities.

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Turkish security forces seized 133 ancient coins and a metal statue in the northwestern state of Kocaeli.

The gendarmerie arrested a suspect in antiquities smuggling, and when his house was searched, 133 antique coins and a metal statue were seized.

The suspect was referred to the relevant authorities for investigation procedures.

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Photographic lenses have spotted a part of the “sinking city” off the coast of Golcuk in the state of Kocaeli in northwestern Turkey, which was hit by a devastating earthquake on August 17, 1999.

The earthquake, which is described as “the catastrophe of the age”, led to the withdrawal of parts of the coastal areas towards the sea, to form a city in itself at its bottom.

The “Sunken City” includes a hotel, a marina, a café and houses, all of which were gathered to the bottom of the sea by the earthquake.

To highlight this, Turkish photographer and documentary film producer Tahsin Ceylan, accompanied by a professional diver, took a dive in the “Sunken City”.

The scenes filmed by the two Turkish divers show parts of Çınarılık Square, which was one of the worst affected areas during the earthquake that occurred 23 years ago.

Damaged hotels, homes and cafes also appear and are now home to aquatic life.

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The state of Kocaeli, northwest of Turkey, announced the return of 170 foreigners to their country after it was proven that they entered the country illegally.

The state’s statement on Tuesday said that the foreigners were seized in and around Kocaeli state and handed over to the state’s immigration department.

The Immigration Department supervised the return of the aforementioned foreigners to their countries.

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