Stats reveal foreign legion numbers
THE numbers of foreign people granted residence permits in Turkey reached 563,000 as of May 17.
The top five destinations are Istanbul: 241,348; Ankara: 63,214; Antalya: 48,293; Bursa: 32,797 and Izmir: 16,173.
Aydin Province , which includes Didim and Kusadasi, has 4,623 residents, while Mugla Province, which includes Bodrum, Marmaris and Fethiye, has 11,801.
The largest number of residences was given to Iraq, Syria, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Russia.
5,000-year-old ‘luxury’ settlement found in Izmir
ARCHAEOLOGISTS have discovered an ancient settlement consisting of “luxurious” houses during excavations in Yassıtepe, which is connected to Yeşilova Höyük (settlement mound) in Bornova, Izmir.
Head of the excavation committee, Dr. Zafer Derin told Anadolu Agency that by studying maps from 1923, archaeologists were able to determine there was likely an ancient settlement in the region.
In 2010, excavations at Yeşilova Höyük, which is the first known prehistoric settlement in the Izmir region, expanded to begin work at the Yassıtepesite.
“We have discovered 10 settlements built on top of one another. The top settlement is from the Trojan period. We can almost say that we are digging up a little Trojan city,” Derin said.
Derin added the long, thin metal and bronze axes and stone tools, as well as pottery discovered at the site were in line with artifacts associated with Troy. “Luxury life began here 5,000 years ago. The pottery they produced is of extremely high quality,” Derin explained/
Excavations also revealed empty spaces in front of the home foundations, which served as a type of patio for residents to sit, talk and pass the time.
One house sold every 2.5 minutes in Turkey in 2017
A TOTAL of 440,226 houses changed hands in the first four months of 2017, the equivalent of 2.5 residential sales per minute, according to Turkish Statistical Institute.
With big real estate projects, the sector increased its diversity and thus offered investors and those looking to buy a house new opportunities.
Long-term sales also reflected positively on the market, and during the period between January and April residential sales increased by 7.42 percent to 440,226 sales. The same period saw an average rate of 3,668.55 sales per day, the TÜİK said.
According to the data, nearly 35 percent of the sales were made in Turkey’s three biggest cities – Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir. 76,099 houses changed ownership in Istanbul in 2017 so far, making up 17 percent of Turkey’s overall residential sales. Ankara and Izmir followed with 50,328 and 27,184 sales respectively. A total of 2,700 houses were sold in Aydın.
Istanbul took first place for foreign sales with 571 houses in April, with the sale of 385 houses in Antalya, 109 houses in Bursa, 97 houses in Trabzon, 69 houses in Yalova and 65 houses. Sales of foreign residences in Aydın amounted to 59.
Tunnel, bridge to be built in İzmir
AN IMMERSED tunnel and bridge will be built in İzmir, Transport Minister Ahmet Arslan has said/
Speaking at the second Roads, Bridges and Tunnels Fair in İzmir, Arslan said an underwater tunnel and a bridge would be built in the province as part of a new project.
He said they aimed to connect the bridge and the tunnel to establish “ring traffic” for İzmir in a bid to mitigate traffic congestion.
“We will build the ‘İzmir Gulf Passage’ in İzmir. We will build both a bridge and an immersed tunnel here. We will connect them and we will make a ‘ring traffic’ for İzmir,” he said.