Saturday, April 26, 2008

Borum ferries to Samos

BODRUM- Turkish Daily News


Ferry round trips will be launched in early May between Muğla's Bodrum district and the Greek island of Samos, with the aim of promoting commerce and strengthening friendship between the two sides of the Aegean Sea.

A meeting was held midweek in the Bodrum Chamber of Commerce Conference Hall relating to the issue. Turkish Travel Agencies Association (TÜRSAB) Bodrum Executive Committee Vice President Tülay Çevik, managers of travel agencies, ferry operators and tourism business owners participated in the meeting chaired by Bodrum Chamber of Commerce President Mahmut Kocadon.

Speaking at the meeting Kocadon said that annually about 350,000 tourists arrive from Rhodes, İstanköy (Kos) and Kilimli (Kalymnos) islands but the amount of commercial income loss was high due to a lack of organization. In three years, at least 600,000 tourists are expected to visit Bodrum from neighboring islands.

Kocadon said they were making mutual efforts to ease the visa procedure along with Greek İzmir Consul General Hara Skolarikou. Bodrum Express Ferryboat A.Ş. Administrative Board Member Bülent Güven said the 40-mile trip between Bodrum and Samos will take about 75 minutes and a round trip will cost 35 euros.

Stating that they came to an agreement with Reina Travel Agency to increase and contribute to tourist circulation between Bodrum and the Greek Islands, Güven said, “we will help build a bridge of friendship and commerce between Bodrum and Samos with the tours we will organize.”

Tapu update

URGENT changes to the title deeds laws are to be presented to Parliament as part of a package of new reforms.

The ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) proposed the changes as part of constitutional amendments in a democratization package that is expected to introduce a number of significant reforms.

The main changes will see the amount of land that foreigners can buy will worked out on a district basis – ie Didim – instead of previosuly on a pronvince basis – such as Aydin.

They will be allowed to buy a total of one per cent of the available building land in the district where as previously it was half per cent of all the land in the province, which included mountains, rivers and agriculture land.

The suspension of Tapus, which came into force last week, was instigated by the Land Registry in a letter to all Title Deeds offices after a lawsuit challenged two elements of the Foreign Direct Investment Law in the Constitutional Court.

The changes were placed before the Cabinet of Ministers and it has emerged the changes will now be included in the package.

The package will also include the establishment of a political ethics commission. Laws concerning political campaign financing and the duties and authorities of deputies will be revamped.

It will introduce amendments to the law on political parties, the elections and electoral registries law, the property declaration law and the bribery and anti-corruption law.

Legal reforms concerning women and children that were originally planned for inclusion in a new constitution will be put into this package as constitutional amendments.

Opposition parties have already voiced their objections to many of the reforms that will be included in the package. Therefore, the AK Party has decided to make the amendments part of the 10th EU harmonization package.

While it will seek the backing of other political parties, the AK Party also understands that it might not be able to find this support, in which case, the package would be referred to public vote.

There are also expanded rights for children in the package. Provisions in the package will ensure that children have the right to express their opinions freely.

Friday, April 25, 2008

Title deeds Suspended news

Taking into consideration the Constitutional Court's cancellation decision, a revamped bill about the right of foreigners to purchase property rights in Turkey has been submitted to the Parliament Speaker's office.

According to the bill that foresees amendments to the existing Title Deeds Law, foreign national real persons will be able to acquire real rights over immovable property on a maximum of 10 percent of a total plot within the borders of a district development plan. But the cabinet, taking into account a district's importance in terms of infrastructure, economic conditions, energy, environment, culture, agriculture, and security, will have the authority to determine a different percentage on the condition that it doesn't exceed the permitted level.

According to the bill, the authority to determine areas where foreign national real persons cannot acquire property will again belong to the cabinet. Those areas include protected areas such as irrigation, mining, agriculture, energy sites and areas that are protected due to their special cultural characteristics. The latest bill has been prepared after a careful review of legal grounds cited in the Constitutional Court verdict that canceled a previous bill including some amendments to the Title Deeds Law.

Saturday, April 19, 2008

Title deeds altinkum

THE Government has acted swiftly to end the panic and chaos over the suspension of title deeds – which has left thousands of them waiting to be issued to foreign property owners in Didim.

The suspension of Tapus, which came into force last Wednesday, was instigated by the Land Registry in a letter to all Title Deeds offices throughout Turkey due to a lawsuit launched in the Constitutional Court in Ankara.

Panic set in among some estate agents who rushed to the Tapu office in Didim on Tuesday and besieged the workers, and new manager Hüseyin Akdi, in a bid to get hands on Tapus for foreign investors before the office closed at 5pm.

The Tapu office re-opened as normal on Wednesday, irrespective of the suspension of the issuing of Tapus.

But the government has acted, stating that the Cabinet of Ministers had received a new regulation on property sales to foreigners, and promised a swift end to the chaos.

A statement from the Finance Ministry, in an attempt to ease the air of panic, said a new regulation looking to remedy the situation was already before the Cabinet, with all ministers due to sign it, and plans for it to be before Parliament shortly.

The lawsuit, filed by two Turkish residents, had challenged the ease by which foreign companies investing in Turkey could freely acquire real estate or land under the Foreign Direct Investment Law.

The Constitution Court ruling – effectively overturning this part of the law – will now go to Parliament which will revise it to allow foreign investment to continue.

Following the Court’s ruling – the Land Registry issued a letter to all Title Deeds’ mangers calling for the suspension of all Tapus of property and land.

The knock-on effect of this decision means that thousands of property investors and owners already waiting for months and, in some cases, years for their Tapus, will now be left waiting even longer.

The ruling means British property investors can still buy property and land here, but it means estate agents will not be able to apply for their title deeds until Parliament’s decision on the Constitutional Court ruling.

Friday, April 11, 2008

Didim emlaks


DIDIM – A SOCIETY representing estate agents in Didim has pledged a fresh start amid moves towards rigorous self-regulation and provision of better information to buyers.

The Didim Emlak Society, which has 60 members, wants to radically increase its membership to 500 so that it can become a recognised chamber – similar to that of the Chamber of Commerce – and establish codes of conduct and discipline.

The multi-million pound industry – which has become a bigger, and more important player, than tourism, in the town’s economy – has been beset by a number of ’bad news stories’ in the last 12 months, culminating with the highly publicised police inquiry into the town’s title deeds office.

Now the society, established three years ago, has a fresh team of board members who have pledged to heighten people’s awareness of its existence among the 1,000 or so registered and unregistered emlaks in the resort, and with potential property investors.

Vice-president Sevim Külekgi told Voices: “The time has come for the society to make great, positive strides, get some structure and organization in place, and to heighten our presence in the town.

“We want to increase our membership to 500 so that we can then become a registered association, which would enable us to better regulate our members. We also want to offer a helping hand to those looking to invest.”

Bi-lingual Ms Külekgi, the owner of Akbuk Estate, said the society had already approached mayor Mumın Kamaci to get the council, which issues licenses to those seeking to run estate agencies, to get the same applicants to join the society. It is not presently compulsory for estate agent owners to join the society.

She added the society had also approached the Didim Governor to consider granting an office, which presently lies vacant next to the Tapu office, for a base for its members to meet and operate from.

She said: “Together with the society president Osman Çoskun and its members, we, as a group, want to represent the industry in Didim as a whole so that we can advocate best practice and procedures, and better represent the area.

“At the moment, there are about 700 agents registered with the Chamber of Commerce and everyone is doing their own thing. Coming under one professional association would allow us all to pull in the same direction and achieve more in the future.”

She said the society, once established as a chamber, could set commission percentages and take action against members who fall foul of complaints from clients.

“Importantly, we also want to offer tips and help to buyers on what to do and they can contact us to see if an emlak is a recognized member,”she said

http://www.voicesnewspaper.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1639

Germans in Altinkum


As Didim sees its international stock rising, the lure of the resort is ever increasing in popularity for all nationalities.

Entering the New Year with new hopes, Didim is approaching the turning point in its tourism arc – as it seeks to move up and begin mixing with the “big boys” in the tourism league such as Marmaris, Bodrum and Kuşdasi.

While bringing a host of new tourism “attractions” on board – such as the new marina, plans for ferry services to Greece and a stock of new bars and restaurants – Didim and its tourism officials are concentrating on helping fill these places with new tourists.

The last five years has seen the British make a well-trodden path down to the shores of Altinkum, but the town has begun to open the eyes of other fellow Europeans, particularly the Germans.

Bringing in the likes of German nationals to the town will in effect be a very good thing. Didim needs to break away from being a “one-trick pony” bringing tourists from the same countries.

In this regard, German Economy Undersecretary Helmut Möller came to Didim as part of a fact-finding mission about the area.

Möller spoke at a meeting organized by Mayor Mümin Kamacı with some tour operators, where he also exchanged ideas about promoting Didim to German tourists.

He said: “Didim, Bodrum and İzmir, because of their closeness to airports and also for their cultural wealth, have advantageous positions for us.”

Möller said he would suggest Didim as the first place in a report he is to prepare for the German Ministry of Tourism and German Tour Operators Association, and mentioned that Didim was on their agenda at the meeting in Belek a while ago.

Stating the meeting had been a success, Möller said, “I am also the chairman of the Consumer Protection Commission. I traveled all over Turkey and I truly appreciated it.

“I have spoken to the Chairman of the German Parliamentarians Tourist Association and he will visit Turkey with a delegation of six members.

“I believe that directing this committee to Didim would be very helpful.”

Kamacı said the arrival of German tourists to the resort would follow that of those who had come on cultural expeditions to Didim in the 1970s.

He said that four million tourists came with the all-inclusive holiday package system and they would often return home without seeing the cultural values of Turkey.

Kamacı emphasized that Turkey should be accepted as a country facing the West and that the end of the all-inclusive system could be a fresh start.

“Our capacity in Didim, regarding both infrastructure and the human factor, is good enough to host German tourists. As the authorities, we are willing to do everything possible,” he said.

Kamacı said the resort was moving in the right direction with the marina set to be complete next year, the customs due to open and the construction of a wharf for ships.

Hopefully, 2008 will be a new chapter in the success story of Didim's emergence on the tourism world map.