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“Istanbul has suffered from water shortages throughout its history, and for that reason its fountains, cisterns and “şadırvans” (fountains with water-tanks) can be traced as far back as the Byzantine era.

Today, some old fountains around the city are still standing. Some have disappeared, but a handful are undergoing restoration works. Daily Hürriyet asked a group of experts about the best fountains in the city, listed below…”

“The Middle East Center at Middle Tennessee State University will present Turkish virtuoso Omar Faruk Tekbilek and his ensemble in concert at 2 p.m., Saturday, April 19, in the Keathley University Center Theatre on campus. This event is free and open to the public.

Tekbilek and his band will perform traditional Sufi, folk and contemporary music from the Middle East. Their music, while derived from centuries-old sounds, is influenced by modern music, resulting in a mystical, spiritual sound that has entertained and intrigued people of many countries and cultures.”

The shopping center will be constructed by Star Mall, a partnership between FIBA Group and Turkmall, and has an investment value of $200 million and is due to be completed in 2010.

The shopping center will be built on land rented for 40 years and will include a 40,000 square meter five-star hotel, ice skating rink, cinema, night club, spa rooms and Turkish bath.”

“As the snazzy W Istanbul opens its doors this month on the heels of the sumptuous Les Ottomans boutique hotel, and ahead of the forthcoming Four Seasons Bosphorus, you’d be forgiven for thinking that old Constantinople was the new Millionaire’s Row, full of nothing but high-end hotels and lavish waterside mansions. But don’t be put off: the gates of the city are still open to those who travel without a trust fund.

From refurbished Ottoman town houses in the centre of the city and Anatolian-themed lodgings in the historic quarter of Sultanahmet, to art-deco island hideaways and quirky boltholes within crawling distance of the clubbing district, there are still stacks of great places to stay that will give you a taste of authentic Istanbul without breaking the bank.”

Turkish Rice Pudding, known as “Sütlaç” in Turkiye.

INGREDIENTS:
1/4 cup arborio rice (or short grain rice)
2 cups milk
small pinch of salt
cinnamon stick (snapped to a length of 2cm)
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon crumbled pistachio nuts (unsalted)

2008 edition of Turkey’s oldest international motorsport event will be called as ‘Istanbul Rally’ and that one will be the new name of the event which has 36 years of history. Route of the rally will once again be consisting of smooth gravel roads of Istanbul’s Asian side and its neighbour city Kocaeli.

This year, Istanbul Rally is moved to the first weekend of April. So all the competitors will have a chance to drive in Europe and Asia continents on same day, under warm spring sun. 2008 event once again will be counting for European Rally Championship, Intercontinental Rally Challenge and Arkas Otomotiv Turkish Rally Championship.

@4-6 April

Today International Swimming Championship will start in the Turkish largest city of Istanbul.

Nearly 230 swimmers from Turkey, Greece, Portugal, Poland, Brazil, Israel, Czech Republic, Belgium, Switzerland, Cyprus and Albania will compete in the event.

The championship will last for two days at the Olympic swimming pool of Istanbul Technical University.

TURKEY: Carlsberg prepares sale of Turk Tuborg.

COPENHAGEN, March 27 (Reuters) - Danish brewer Carlsberg (CARLb.CO: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Thursday it was in talks to sell its 95.65 percent stake in Turkish unit Turk Tuborg TBORG.IS to Israel-based Central Bottling Company Group (CBC).

Trade between Bulgaria and Turkey has grown strongly in recent years and would reach $10 billion annually within several years, Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan told a forum attended by 240 Bulgarian and Turkish business people in Sofia on March 27 2008.

The forum was part of the events scheduled for Erdogan’s two-day visit to the country, the Bulgarian Cabinet’s press service said in a statement.

The dynamics of the political and economic relations between Bulgaria and Turkey over the past two years is very visible, Bulgarian Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev said at the opening of the forum, as proven by the fact that each year trade between the two countries grows by $1 billion.

Stanishev added he was confident that the positive dynamics will stay the same in the future and that the increase in trade over the next several years will continue at the same pace. The phenomenon was a logical conclusion of the internal economic reforms that were being carried out in Bulgaria and Turkey, and the economic growth of the two countries.