Feb 2, 2012

Istanbul looks to become a hub for TV series, film, documentary and commercial shoots. The city is like an open plateau with its cultural heritage sites. Istanbul became the setting for filming many series, documentaries, commercials and movies during the past two years. The city boasted a total of 1,600 shoots for television series, films, documentaries and...

Feb 1, 2012

Istanbul held on to the top spot for new real estate investment and development prospects for the second year running, thanks to its booming economy and youthful population. The survey by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and the Urban Land Institute (ULI), of more than 600 leading real estate professionals across Europe, found Istanbul number one for investment and...

Jan 30, 2012

One in five Turks live in Istanbul, new figures show. 18.2 percent of Turkey’s entire population, or more than 13.5 million reside in Istanbul, according to a recent annual demographic survey conducted by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK). Istanbul also leads the list with respect to the rate of urbanization, as 99 percent of the province’s...

Jan 20, 2012

Istanbul ranks in the top ten of the world’s fastest growing metro areas, according to a report by the Brookings Institution. The Global MetroMonitor tracks economic growth in the world’s 200 largest metro areas, both in terms of employment and per capita income. For 2011, Istanbul came in at number 7. Turkey’s three largest cities claim a spot on...

Jan 4, 2012

Istanbul had its best ever year for tourism in 2011, with most of the tourists coming from Germany, according to official figures released on Wednesday. The total number of foreign tourists visiting Istanbul reached 8 million in 2011, official data said. According to a statement released by the Istanbul Culture and Tourism Department, number of foreign tourists...

Dec 29, 2011

Shopping malls in Istanbul are optimistically positive about New Year’s sales, which is in sharp contrast to the situation in crisis-hit Europe where holiday shoppers have cut back on spending. The next two weeks will be critical in measuring the shopping climate, says a professional. With New Year’s right around the corner, malls and shopping centers in...