Holiday insurance might cost you another £20 but can make you safe and secure on holiday and if you need hospital threatment or flight cancellation, well happens alot this days so why risk it? Holidays with your friends and left your family behind and what if you don’t come back? Scared yes this is a serious thing specialy if you are in another counrty well always remember Turkey is not EU and dont excpect every law will be same as you think!

To avoid little and save yourself from any type of injury and from any other problem while on holidays you can easily apply for holiday insurance online with many companies and most of the time might cost you £15, £20 l think because when we had qoute from some insaurance companies in UK that was the price and we think is perfect and worth it..

Get holiday insurance to ensure a safe and sound holiday tour. Insurance is a form of risk management that is taken to cover financial losses that may occur of course many insaurance companies offers alot of different packeges with your needs so always make your choice and cover yourself while you are on holiday and dosent matter where you are going to because cant say just Turkey but many other destinations same well as you can see from many media reports.

Any natural calamity, any accidents or any other miss happening can take place without any notification which you will not want to have problem while you are on holiday specialy with money. In such problem most, to be on safer side it certainly becomes important for you to get insured on holiday.

Alot of insaurance companies has offers and promotions with flights, holidays and you can easily get a qooute over the phone or online and we would highly recommend that you book early as you can with your trip because can save you some money if you book early holiday insaurance.

Many holiday insaurance might cover against flight delay, accidents, theft of luggage, cancellation of tickets and failure of your hotel reservation and loss of money. A change in weather may also lead to attack of any physical disease as well, which happened and some countries has flood, bad weather or many flight cancellation so dont risk it and get yourself a holiday insaurance soon as you booked your flights or planed your trip to Turkey.

Always remember some insaurance companies offers even Multi trip holiday insurance is best suits the insurance needs of frequent traveler to Turkey and will save you alot with time and paper works is well also you dont need to worry..

You might know and its a common that alot of holiday insurance companies do not offer you any discount if you book your insurance at the last moment or day before your flight, trip, holidays. It is recommended that you should always take up insurance at time you are final with your holiday plan and its a best options because you wont need to worry about post delays etc, well of course happened before so keep in mind.

Minimum of two days is required to process your policy when its peak holiday season. You can easily find holiday insurance and can access all the required information online along with many holiday insaurance companies details and contact if you need to. However if you book early you will get all the paper works and details will be posted to your adress and also you might be able to keep digital copy and print when ever you want.

Booking holiday insaurance online is very easy and simple as filling form because most of the time you do provide all the informations because your going on holiday and need to provide mush as details you can. . You can go through all the terms and conditions and select one suiting your needs also some good sites has a comprase chart that tells you all the difference between holiday insaurance packages and select which ever you need.

Well we just want everyone to have a nice and hassle free holidays in Turkey so decision is your and we do not work with any insurance companies but will be happy to see everyone has a secure safe holidays in Turkish Holidays Resorts so dont risk it and get holiday insurance qoute before your holidays and dont excpect every regulations to be same as in EU.

The first letter is from Janet; “Please can you assist me in finding out if there is to be any changes in the 90 days tourist visas for people from the UK. There is a lot of talk on the website that this is going to happen next year. Best regards, Janet.”

The second e-mail reads as follows; “Hello Berk Bey, Can you comment on the e-mail below? Has there been a change to the acquisition of residence permits? Is it true that you can only get a student visa or a work permit, but you can’t get a non-work residence permit? Thanks, MW Law.”

After seeing some of the e-mails last night about changed visa policies I went to the Ankara Emniyet Müdürlü?ü this morning to investigate first hand. We have a team member who was due to make an exit in two weeks. She was planning on staying just three months longer. I spoke three times to two different officials in the Yabanc?lar ?ubesi (foreigners department) today. I was told very clearly by both of them that two separate visa policies have been discontinued:

1. Foreigners who were previously able to make an exit and immediate return to obtain a new 90-day visa will no longer be able to do so. If you try to enter on your passport alone without waiting 90 days outside of Turkey you will not be allowed entry. I asked for clarification about this saying: “I have friends who are now outside of the country after having been here for 90 days on a tourist visa. They have only been outside of the country for one month, will they be let in?” The officer said that they wouldn’t be let in. The only way to come back as a tourist is to wait 90 days or to apply at a Turkish consulate or embassy outside of Turkey.

2. Residence permits for tourists and “extensions” of tourist visas will no longer be granted.

This is definitely the more devastating change. Both officials were very clear that in order to stay for more than 90 days at a time, a person would have to have either a student visa or a work visa. I had gone to the emniyet with our team member to try to apply for a three-month residence permit. They wouldn’t accept her application. However, the officers also told me that she would be able to get a student visa if she were enrolled at a language school in Turkey. I told him that in the past students weren’t able to get student visas for language school alone but he assured me that they would take her application for a student visa if she had her language school registration documents. I also asked him whether the people who now have residence permits as tourists would be able to renew their residency. He told me that a definite decision on that policy had not been made and that I should communicate to my friends that their renewal applications may or may not be granted. I asked whether there was somewhere we could go to read about details of the new policy and he told me that it hadn’t been posted on the website yet, but that it would be posted soon.”

I will be responding and commenting on these e-mails next week.

Berk Cektir http://www.berkcektir.av.tr The information provided here is intended to give basic legal information. You should get legal assistance from a licensed attorney at law while conducting legal transactions and not just rely on the information in this corner. http://www.todayszaman.com info@berkcektirlaw. Photo by Altinkum Web Design

Alot of expats, business owner can get benefit from flights because available to book over the internet, Monarch’s new flights will service Dalaman from Birmingham and London Luton, Bodrum from London Luton and Antalya from Manchester operating an extra three flights per week for the former route and two flights for each of the latter. Including airport charges and taxes within the €99 fee the competitive cost will allow tourists to access an increasingly popular destination as the summer season commences.

New Monarch services to the UK
• Dalaman to Birmingham – 3 flights per week
• Dalaman to London Luton – 2 flights per week
• Bodrum to London Luton – 2 flights per week
• Antalya to Manchester – 2 flights per week

Monarch has a long history within the UK, operating for 42 years and being the oldest air carrier in the British Isles to continue working under its original name. With a fleet of 30 aeroplanes and operating routes to more than 100 destinations around the world it currently carries approximately seven million travellers a year, a figure set to increase as it looks to increase flights in several areas.

Talking of the new services to benefit British individuals managing director, Tim Jeans, said “We are delighted to have launched these new services between Turkey and the UK, which is not only great news for tourism in the country but is also fantastic for Turks, ex-pats and second home owners travelling regularly between Turkey and the UK.” Mr Jeans added that the new flights would provide a high quality service with more legroom and entertainment whilst being competitively priced for all.

Full details on all Monarch services can be found on www.monarch.co.uk  and if you want to visit Bodrum Gumbet, Turgut Reis or Yalikavak in Turkey check for Bodrum Airport which is nearest airport.

Source – Gumbet Bodrum News

For that crime he was sent to a conventional prison, but later when he was accused of sedition for writing about Kurdish conscripts who had run away from the army to return to their villages, he was punished with three years of internal exile, a story related by his niece, the actress Shirin Devrim, in her book “A Turkish Tapestry: The Shakirs of İstanbul.”

In Bodrum the troubled Cevat finally found himself, as many others have done since then. Soon he had established a new life as a painter and writer with a particular interest in recording the lifestyle of the sponge fishermen who then made up much of the local population. Nicknamed “The Fisherman of Halicarnassus,” Cevat also organized regular cruises along the coastline for his friends, giving birth in the process to what is now known affectionately as the Blue Cruise. Needless to say, when the three years were up he chose to stay on in Bodrum, where there’s a bust in his memory in the town center.

Nowadays no trip to Turkey is really complete without participating in a Blue Cruise, and every resort from Bodrum to Antalya boasts its fleet of gülets, graceful wooden-hulled yachts that come equipped for everything from a one-day pleasure jaunt to longer voyages of one or two weeks at a time. The three most popular routes are from Fethiye to Olympos, from Fethiye to Marmaris and from Bodrum to Marmaris.

The abandoned town of Kayaköy

The Fethiye to Olympos route has established itself as part of the regular backpacker circuit of Turkey, and makes a great introduction to the superbly beautiful coastal scenery of the part of the Mediterranean dubbed with good reason the Turquoise Coast. Fethiye itself is a lively town which has been hosting tourists for decades and which offers a wide range of hotels and pensions, restaurants and shopping options, especially in its bazaar area. There, too, you’ll find an old and authentic hamam (Turkish bath), a great place to get scrubbed squeaky clean before embarking on a journey which may mean less than ideal bathing conditions for a few days.

Most trips kick off with an overnight stay in the Fethiye marina before leaving in the morning to cruise to Kaş. On the way you may drop in on Gemile Adası, a rocky outcrop just offshore from the abandoned town of Kayaköy which is crowned with the ruins of the seventh century monastery of St. Nicholas, as well as some rock-cut tombs and the remains of a 19th century church. The boats continue on to Butterfly Valley, where they may make a short stop so people can sunbathe on a wonderful stretch of sand bracketed by sheer cliffs.

Kaş itself is another regular port of call. For many people this is one of Turkey’s finer small resorts since it comes equipped not just with a superb range of restaurants, but also with shops that range from the trendy and upscale to the cheap and cheerful. What’s more, there are all sorts of reminders of ancient Antiphellos dotted about town, including a romantically sited theater and several sarcophagi and rock-cut tombs. The seascape around Kaş is also especially beautiful, not just because of the backdrop of mountains on shore and islands offshore, but also because it’s possible to gaze down on the remains of an ancient city completely submerged beneath the water. Most cruises also drop in on Kaleköy (Simena), an absurdly picturesque rocky peninsula topped with the remains of a castle and with a Lycian necropolis full of enormous sarcophagi. Fish restaurants ring the shoreline and there are pensions, too, for those who’ve had enough of life onboard.

The backpacker cruises continue on to Kale (Demre), where everyone disembarks to continue by road to the tree-house sanctuary of Olympos. Altogether these cruises last for four days and three nights, and along the way you’ll have ample opportunity to swim, snorkel and even perhaps take to the water in a kayak. The same is true on the cruises that head west from Fethiye to Marmaris, with a particularly popular stop on the way being in Dalyan, where the gülets ply along the Dalyan Çayı (river), past some magnificent rock-cut Lycian tombs, to İztuzu Beach, a long strip of sand which is well known for its nesting loggerhead turtles. Here, too, passengers can visit the remains of the Carian city of Kaunos and the mud baths at Sultaniye on the Köyceğiz Gölü (lake). Boats also call into Göcek, a pleasant small resort that’s very popular with the international yachting fraternity.

Fantastic time on Blue Cruise

The cruises from Bodrum to Marmaris tend to cater to a better-heeled bunch of passengers, although if you ask around you may be able to find something not too budget-busting. There are not quite as many obvious sites to visit along this route, although the scenery is uniformly spectacular, with mountains soaring up beside you especially as you cruise round the Gökova Körfezi (Gulf of Gökova). Just before you moor in Marmaris, most of the boats put in at Cleopatra Island (aka Sedir Adası), whose talcum-powder-fine sand is said to have been brought from Egypt by Mark Anthony as a gift for his lover, Cleopatra. Most people are too busy relaxing in water which has the consistency of a foamy bath to bother about what else there may be to see here, but those of an archeological bent will want to stride inland to inspect the remains of the fortifications and theater of what was once Cedreae, a Carian settlement that was later occupied by Greeks and is now gently slipping back into the surrounding greenery.

Most people have a fantastic time on their Blue Cruise. Indeed, many list it as one of the highlights of their holiday. Still, it’s as well to be aware of a few things to look out for before making your booking to avoid unpleasant surprises later. Most people seem to prefer sleeping beneath the stars on the deck to using their cabin, but if you think you will want to sleep inside you need to check that you will not be expected to share not just a cabin but also a bed (or a very confined space) with a stranger. The better cruises will certainly ensure that you have at least one fish supper on board, but otherwise the quality and range of food on offer can sometimes be disappointing — and sweets seemingly served as dessert have been known to show up on bills at an absurdly inflated price at the end of the journey. Cruise companies routinely forbid passengers from bringing their own alcohol on board. Some even forbid you to bring your own water. While you may need to book ahead in July and August to be sure of a berth, at other times of year you might want to leave booking until the day before to make sure you don’t find yourself cruising through the rain. If at all possible, it makes sense to take a quick look at the boat you will be sailing on before you commit yourself.

It’s all a far cry from the days when the Fisherman and his friends had the coast more or less to themselves, but given the right group of companions you should have just as enchanting a time as they did.

Source – Todays Zaman in English

Susan discovered the InterNations Istanbul group when she came across an article in the Hürriyet Daily News that described the group’s activities and gave information on the venue of the next get-together in March 2009. “Why not?” she asked herself, and said to her daughter, “Let’s go along.” She went along and met, among others, the woman behind the start-up of the Istanbul branch, Gundula Strittmatter, and left pleased of having found such international organization.

English-born Marechal has lived in Bodrum, Istanbul, Frankfurt, Geneva, France and Crete (Greece), hence her words, “I really know what it means to be on your own.”

In earlier days in Istanbul she was on the committee of the International Women’s Club for nearly three years. In Geneva she went along to the very formal but very well organized International Club, which gave excellent introductory sessions for new arrivals. However, it was in Crete where she realized that after five years of living, she didn’t know anyone. With what seems to be characteristic energy, once she discovered an almost defunct association for expats, Marechal and a friend hosted coffee meeting session and from an encouraging turnout of people they revived the group, built up membership and organized activities such as hiking, sailing, lunches, nights out, presentations and cookery groups.

She has now returned to live in Bodrum where she spent the summers with her young children in the 1970s and 1980s. After living in so many new places and finding friends, information and a life wherever she was, she is ready to do it all again. Marechal now feels that down in southwestern Turkey the InterNations concept will also become a success.

“There is an obvious demand for a group of this caliber within the local international community,” she said. “This group is geared toward people who have either lived abroad or were born in other countries, or local people who enjoy meeting new people from all walks of life and in every occupation.”

Though the connections are made online, the emphasis is on being able to meet up personally and build up contacts and social relationships. She feels it can be for everyone. “If you are a long-time resident or just new on the scene, this is a new innovative group for anyone with a sense of trying to put down roots in a new environment. It is a group created with these people in mind with a new way of making friends, building business relationships, networking and attending social events at interesting places in a relaxed atmosphere. Members can begin a new hobby, enlarge their personal circle of acquaintances, find out firsthand about cultural events going on in the local area, the arts, concerts and activate their life with cross cultural connections.”

Marechal said participants can interact online through newsgroups forums and get reliable information and tips from other members about the immediate environment. “It’s about having fun and being able to exchange ideas with trusted people who have experienced living and working in other countries.”

Better still, for some of the very mobile Bodrum expats, the InterNations welcomes members anywhere in the world. Internations.org already exists in more than 230 cities worldwide with over 100,000 members. The group in Istanbul has grown to 2,500 members in just over two years. All branches have regular get-togethers where visiting members are welcome.

Marechal said Bodrum get-togethers will not be just in Bodrum town, but in the near future in other centers around the peninsula such as Yal?kavak, Turgutreis and Gündo?an, so everyone can get a chance to come out. Eventually she said she hopes to organize splinter groups for those interested in participating in other activities. Hiking groups, painting, photography, wine tasting, gourmet cooking, yoga, spiritual workshops, or other interests members would like to share with other members.

It is easy to join and the good news is that it is free. All you have to do is go to Internations.org and apply. For this event you can also apply for an invitation direct to Marechal at suzanmare@gmail.com. She asked, “Please be sure to tell all your friends and neighbors. As members online build up, groups can be started in other southern towns such as Marmaris, Fethiye and Antalya.”

Read more on Hurriyet Daily News to find about first meeting now.

1. If you ever hire a car, make sure you get a car seat for kids and seat belted at all points when the automobile is moving. Keep your young youngsters or children safely placed in a rear facing auto seat. The reason why this is a top 10 safe travel tip is apparent. The youngsters are our number one concern when referring to traveling.

2. Dont carry alot of cash on you while you are out for drink or dance. When you stop don’t display big quantities of cash and do not flash it in any stores.

3. Always find out where first aid kids are kept in hotels, apartments or bar restaurants..

4. Don’t visit an ATM machine at night or when alone and try to use ones on the main streets and some of ATM machines near marina and Bodrum Castle.

5. We always recommed to everyone, drink plenty water during the days, on the beach and protect yourself from direct sunshine specially in August..

6. Be conscious of how is around you at every point. Ensure that you are listening to where you kids are, and where others are found re them and to you.

7. On the beach don’t permit strangers to come close your bags or ask them to watch it while you swim or have a lunch.

8. Make sure that you have medicines if you need to because sometimes might be hard to get it also dont forget you need to pay for your tablets in Turkey. Keep your ordinary medicine convenient and on your person vs packed all separate from you.

9. Many hotels offers safe boxes so don’t carry your most valued jewellery or your most costly coat with you on holiday. Its in open invite to burglars etc…

10. Dont let youngster teenagers to visit Night clubs, discos or bars because they need to be 18 years old, you are resbonsible and owner of the bars, clubs.

Emergency Numbers in Turkey

Emergency: 115
Ambulance: 112 (all over Turkey)
Police: 155 (all over Turkey)
Tourism Police: (0212) 5274503 (Istanbul only)
Gendarme: 156 (all over Turkey)
Coast Guard: 158 (all over Turkey)
Fire: 110 (all over Turkey)
Forest Fire: 177 (all over Turkey)
Yellow Pages: 11818 (all over Turkey)
Tourism Info: 170 (all over Turkey)

You can print numbers and keep in you house, apartment or hotel room. Dont take anything from strangers or accept a car service because many bars, restuarant and hotels has free car service anyway so stay safe and enjoy your holidays in Bodrum Gumbet and Turgut Reis, Yalikavak in Turkey.

Source – Gumbet Bodrum News

Why should you sign a blank promissory note? It sounds very unlikely to happen to a sane person, isn’t it? However, a promissory note is the easiest instrument to issue as security. For a very simple transaction a foreign person may be required to put his/her signature on promissory notes in Turkish. My office dealt with several cases and defended foreign persons many times on fraud or abused promissory notes which were given as security with good will.
What is a promissory note?

A promissory note is a written promise committing an individual or institution to pay a specified sum of money at a fixed or determinable future date, with or without interest. A promissory note is a contract detailing the terms of a promise by one party (the maker) to pay a sum of money to the other party, the payee.

Business people use promissory notes very commonly as security for commercial purposes.

A valid promissory note must include the following elements according to Article 688 of the Turkish Commercial Code: 1. The wording “promissory note,” or if it is written in a foreign language, the correct translation of this wording in this foreign language should be included in the text of the promissory note. 2. An undertaking for an “unconditional” and “absolute” payment of a definite sum of money. The definite sum can be shown in Turkish lira, or it is also possible to show it in a foreign currency. 3. The maturity date (non-existence of the maturity date does not invalidate the promissory note; a promissory note without a maturity date is generally considered to be payable on submission). 4. The name of the beneficiary. 5. The signature of the maker (or drawer). 6. The date of issuance. 7. The place of issuance. If the place of issuance has not been designated on the promissory note, then the promissory note is deemed to be issued at the place written next to the name of the issuer. 8. The place of payment.

If one of these terms are missing on the promissory note, then the promissory note may not be deemed a promissory note anymore, and therefore, any legal action can be contested easily.

Why did I give you this boring list? I want you to see that issuing a promissory note is not something you do on the street. Please consult your lawyer if you are required to sign it.

It is also a common practice to ask the maker to write the amount and to leave the other details blank. In this case the payee can fill in these blanks freely and any such promissory note shall be valid under Turkish law, provided they are duly signed by the maker.

I strongly recommend you not to use promissory notes for whatever reason since there is almost no difference in giving a promissory note or paying the same amount in cash.

If you have to sign a promissory note for some reason then please make sure that there are no blank parts on the form. If you leave the promissory note blank or in some way open to abuse and if someone fills it in and files it before the execution office then you may be forced to pay the amount written on the note. I should note that it is very difficult to get that paid money back because the gang who abused the note usually vanishes.

Source – Todays Zaman

“In this day and age the most successful gulet holiday companies are the ones that embrace new technologies and connect themselves directly with their target audiences,” said Jonathan Bowker, founder of Maritime Media.”What we do at Maritime Media is leverage these technologies and create mediums to distribute our customers messages. Our Social Media Framework does just that and is designed specifically to support the gulet charter industry and provides a new and unique way to our customers in Bodrum to reach their holiday maker customers and other interested parties directly.”

“Social Media News releases perform well for the gulet holiday industry, they grab the audiences attention and are easy to read and can convey messages concisely. Maritime Media work closely with customers to counsel them on the editing, optimisation and creation of Social Media News from scratch,” added Mr Bowker.

Through the Maritime Media SMR service gulet holiday companies in Bodrum can create news releases that are visible worldwide, almost immediately following dispatch. The majority of Social Media Releases are 400 words with a headline of up to 100 characters. The new SMR service is an inexpensive and valuable tool that reaches travel and marine bloggers as well as marine trade journalists around the world.

Maritime Media provides a trusted source of information for the industry and a powerful online distribution network that creates worldwide awareness of sailing holiday destinations.

Source -maritime media

Professor Elif Dagli, chairperson of the committee, received the award at a ceremony at the Hilton Baltimore Hotel. Speaking at the award ceremony, American Cancer Society Chairman Thomas Glynn said that despite all pressure by giant cigarette industry, Turkey had applied the smoking ban in public places successfully. He said that Turkey was the first Muslim country which put into practice a nationwide smoking ban.

The Global Smoke Free Partnership is a multi-partner initiative formed to promote effective smoke-free air policies worldwide. The Partnership is coordinated by the American Cancer Society and the Framework Convention Alliance with contributions of nearly 20 partners.

Turkey banned smoking on public transportation and in workplaces and malls in May 2008. It gave extra time to restaurants, bars and cafes to bring themselves in compliance with the smoking ban law. Expanded smoking ban went into effect across Turkey on June 19, 2009.Accordingly, it is illegal to smoke in coffeehouses, cafeterias, pubs, narghile-smoking places, clubs of associations and foundations, restaurants, taxis, mass transportation vehicles of highway, railway, seaway and airway.

Under the law, making advertisement and promotion of tobacco products as well as names and brands of producer companies is forbidden too. Turkey is the seventh country in the European continent which bans smoking in all enclosed public places.

Recent public surveys indicated that smoking ban led to a significant decrease in number of addicts.

…Bodrum is exceptionally pretty and I wanted to go back there – in better circumstances (not summer). The Castle of St. Peter on a small peninsula in the sea, 2-storey, flat roofed, white-washed houses nestling into the bay and cobbled streets in the old town.

We went back there in November 2008 with friends and stayed overnight and we saw a completely different side to the town. We stayed in a pension (I think it was called Artemis) on the seafront for a very reasonable amount (70 lira for the room, with breakfast and a view of the bay as in the second photo). I’ve read in guidebooks that Bodrum is purely a summer town.

This is very far from true. It may be true of Gümbet which seemed completely closed down for the winter but Bodrum – as I’ve been told by Turkish friends – is a bit of a playground for Turkish pop / rock stars and actors who live in Istanbul but have holiday homes there. I was expecting Bodrum to be sleepy in winter but all is active – but in a nice way. As you can see in the photos, the weather wasn’t the best but it didn’t matter.

Source – turkey for life