Year-on-year Rise in Visitors to Turkey

The number of foreigners visiting Turkey in the first half of 2017 increased by more than 14 percent on the same period last year, the Tourism Ministry said Tuesday. The figures showed 12.25 million foreign visitors entered from January to June, compared to 10.74 million in the first six months of 2016. However, three years ago 15.24 million visitors came from overseas in the six months to July.

Why is Turkey Buying the S-400 Russian Missile Defence System?

Turkey, which boasts the second-largest army in NATO, announced last week, on Tuesday, it had inked a deal to buy an S-400 (NATO version SA-21 Growler) missile defence system for $2-3 billion from Russia. The deal led NATO members to question Turkey's move and what it means for their alliance with NATO. The parties did not share the details of the S-400 agreement due to its sensitivity. But according to initial agreements, next year Turkey will receive two S-400 missile batteries from Russia and in the next two years will produce two batteries on Turkish soil. The agreement dates back to November 2016, however, at the end of April 2017, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu made it clear that they were in talks with Russia regarding the S-400s and negotiations about joint production and costs have picked up steam since then.

Davidoff Hutcher & Citron LLP Welcomes Brian C. Kochisarli as Senior Counsel to the Firm

Davidoff Hutcher & Citron LLP welcomes Brian C. Kochisarli as Senior Counsel. Brian’s primary focus will be on government relations, corporate and land use areas of practice representing public and private companies, venture capitalists, partnerships, and individuals. Brian has significant experience in navigating his clients and major development projects through the complexities of City and State agencies. Prior to joining DHC, Brian was the managing partner at Amanatides Kochisarli PLLC. Brian graduated from Brandeis University, where he received his B.A. degree and earned his J.D. degree from New York Law School. Brian can be reached at (646) 428-3204 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..  

Three New Sites and Two Extensions Added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List

Krakow, Poland, 9 July—The World Heritage Committee, meeting in Krakow since 2 July, this afternoon ended the inscription of sites on UNESCO’s World Heritage List with the final addition of three cultural sites in Brazil, Turkey and the United Kingdom, and the approval of the extensions of Strasbourg: from Grande-île to Neustadt, a European urban scene (France) and The Bauhaus and its Sites in Weimar, Dessau and Bernau (Germany).

Christie’s Must Name Bidder for a ‘Stolen’ $14.5 Million Turkish Idol, Judge Rules

In what can only be described as a highly unusual art law case, a Manhattan federal judge has ordered Christie’s auction house to identify the winning—yet ultimately unsuccessful—bidder of a 5,000-year-old artifact that Turkey is claiming as stolen cultural property. The bizarre part? The troubled deal stemmed from an auction in late April that was never consummated. The buyer reneged and Christie’s still possesses the piece, described as an Anatolian marble female idol of Kiliya type. The artifact, known as the Guennol Stargazer, has been in the US for nearly 60 years and has already passed through the hands of several owners since it was allegedly illegally excavated and smuggled out of the country.

First Baptism in 150 Years At Turkish Church

A Baptism ceremony has taken place at a chapel located near the ancient Temple of Apollo in Turkey's southwestern Aydın province for the first time after 150 years. According to reports, the son of Assyrian businessman Enlil Simon Afram was baptized at the 300-year-old chapel, located in Aydın's Didim district. The Metropolitan Bishop of Mardin and Diyarbakır Saliba Özmen performed the baptism. He noted that he led couple's wedding ceremony two years ago at a Greek Orthodox Church in Didim.

Interviewing A Billion Dollar Company CEO, Engineer Dr Sani Sener of TAV Companies

By Gediz Karaca, MSc * - Without the benefit of experience in business management, it can be easy to underestimate the importance of the decision-making processes in companies. These processes can appear easy to master when judged by the standard of their respective results. As a young businessman with limited experience, I would argue that decision-making is indeed one of the trickiest duties of all. As the future is unknowable, senior business people are forced to make predictions with limited data. One poor decision can bring huge losses or can even push a company out of business. Young professionals have much to learn and benefit from senior business people’s experience in these matters: how to behave, how to forecast, and how to make successful business-critical decisions without suffering significant losses. To this end, the aim of this article is to share engineer Dr Sani Sener’s unique perspective and experience with young professionals on their journey of learning the art of business management and decision making.

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Turkish American Dr. Asu Ozdaglar Named Associate Department Head at MIT

Turkish American Dr. Asu Ozdaglar, the Joseph F. and Nancy P. Keithley Professor of Engineer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), was recently promoted to both Associate and Interim Department Head of the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS). She is best known for her contributions in the areas of optimization theory, economic and social networked systems, and game theory.

US Homeownership Spikes A Year After Hitting 50-year Low

The homeownership rate across the country hit 63.7 percent in the second quarter of the year, according to the Census Bureau. The jump is a full percentage point increase from the same time period last year, the Wall Street Journal reported. In the second quarter of 2016, the homeownership rate was 62.9 percent, a 50-year low, according to the publication.

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