ISTANBUL— Caroline is sitting in the passenger seat of the gray Mercedes 200. She turns to Ibo, and says, “Take me home please.” Ibo’s eyes light up at the thought. “With pleasure,” he murmurs. “We can have coffee in your new house and speak a bit.” Caroline feigns outrage. “Ibo, you’re still married, you saw Mesude, she was like crazy,” she says in her deliberately broken Turkish. “I am afraid of her. They’re going to get the police. You and I … the same house—no.” “OK,” says Ibo, in full retreat. “I'll try to be patient until the divorce.”
Dubai-based Abraaj Group on Thursday announced the acquisition of a significant stake in Republika Academic Apartments, consisting of two student accommodation assets totalling 1,274 beds in Turkey. The transaction gives Abraaj substantial ownership of two exceptional quality assets, the investment firm said in a statement. The properties are situated in Ortakoy and Buyucekmece, both strong catchment areas for students, young professionals and apartment hotel guests in Istanbul, it added without giving a value for the company's investment.
Dr. Mehmet Oz sat down to talk with JTA on the Tel Aviv coast last week, but what he really wanted to do was go to the beach. Oz, the surgeon and well-known TV personality, was in Israel for the first time and had a packed itinerary. He traversed the country from the Red Sea to the Golan, lectured Israeli physicians in a northern Israeli hospital and met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. His host on this whirlwind tour was Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, the author and sexpert who lives in New Jersey. The two met when they were both on an Oprah Winfrey radio program. Boteach recently gave Oz an award for being a “champion of Jewish values,” and the trip was paid for by casino mogul Sheldon Adelson, another recipient of the award.
