Apr 23rd, 2009 at 10:00AM: Recession? Not for everyone apparently. Russian Billionaire Telman Ismailov just spent $1.4 Billion of his own money building the most expensive hotel in Europe. The Mardan Palace hotel is located in Antalya, on the Turkish Riviera. The building was inspired by the Ottoman empire and the famous Dolmabahçe Palace in Istanbul. The hotel has 560 rooms, 2 of which are "royal suites" which can ...Click on a label to read posts from that part of the world.
Turkey posts
Most expensive hotel in Europe almost ready for its first paying guests
Apr 23rd, 2009 at 10:00AM: Recession? Not for everyone apparently. Russian Billionaire Telman Ismailov just spent $1.4 Billion of his own money building the most expensive hotel in Europe. The Mardan Palace hotel is located in Antalya, on the Turkish Riviera. The building was inspired by the Ottoman empire and the famous Dolmabahçe Palace in Istanbul. The hotel has 560 rooms, 2 of which are "royal suites" which can ...Turkish smoking ban? Your survival plan
Apr 19th, 2009 at 1:00PM: I never thought I'd have to write about a smoking ban in Turkey. It just struck me as one of a handful of locations that would never extinguish the flame. But, on July 19, the impossible will come to pass.
In part, it exists already. Since May of last year, smoking has not been permitted in Turkish taxes, malls, offices and ferries. Of course, the prohibition does not seem to have been taken ...Amazing Destinations That Can't Be Reached By Car
Mar 25th, 2009 at 8:00AM: Modern transportation has made it extremely easy for travelers to get to just about any place in the world. Each day there are international flights that can take us to the four corners of the globe and modern roads and trains will deliver us to the best sights and monuments to be found at our destination, before whisking us back to a comfy hotel, complete with hot and cold running water, room ...Breaking: Yet another plane crash. This time near Amsterdam
Feb 25th, 2009 at 6:00PM: I have to say, as much as flying does not bother me, it's a bit unnerving to click on The New York Times to see if any thing new has happened in the past few hours to find out that the new thing that has happened is another plane crash. This time the crash was just outside Amsterdam, but in a soft field instead of on a house near Buffalo, New York, on snow near Nome, Alaska or on the Hudson ...12 Amazing Crater Lakes
Feb 11th, 2009 at 9:00AM: Environmental Graffiti, the same website that brought us those amazing views from the tops of the Seven Summits last week, returns with even more great images. The subject of their latest story is the 12 Most Incredible Crater Lakes on Earth. These amazing natural wonders are created not from the impact of a meteorite, but instead they are formed when the collapsed cone of a volcano fills up with ...Find an alternative to a hotel room
Jan 5th, 2009 at 3:00PM: You can find a warm bed ... and four normal walls ... in just about any hotel room. So, if you're looking to defy convention every step of the way, opt for a yurt, treehouse or prison, instead. Unusual Hotels of the World (the name explains everything) says that you can crash in an igloo anywhere from Finland to Quebec, but be sure to bring a coat. Or, you can climb into bed after climbing into a ...Turducken: Where Does It Come From?
Nov 27th, 2008 at 8:00AM: The unnatural trio of turkey, duck, and chicken might initially make your stomach curl, but the supposed supernatural taste of the turducken might just appease the staunchest of food critics. This chicken in a duck in a turkey has become a nationwide phenomenon in the past decade - so much so that NFL commentator John Madden awards a turducken to the winning team of the Thanksgiving Day game ...Tofurkey: Where Did It Come From?
Nov 26th, 2008 at 1:00PM: I knew about tofurkey about seven years ago, when Sam, my hippie next door neighbor in Boulder, needed a vegetarian alternative to turkey and went so far as to prepare our friends a tofurkey feast for Thanksgiving. Aside from the smooth slices this mock-turkey has opposed to the sometimes dry and stringy quality some Thanksgiving birds have possessed, my rather bland taste buds were not able to ...Ferry Pier Sinks in Istanbul
Nov 24th, 2008 at 12:00PM: It was a rather bizarre series of events. A floating ferry dock on the European side of Istanbul became unhinged, began to list, and then sank during a particularly violent storm over the past weekend. Usually it is the boats themselves that are at the center of ferry disasters (like the tragic accident in the Philippines earlier this year), not ferry terminals, which are, theoretically, firmly ...Batman, Turkey accuses Batman, Superhero of identity theft
Nov 11th, 2008 at 11:30AM: Let's play word association. I'll say a word and then you tell me the first thing that comes to your mind (I can hear you, trust me). OK, ready?
Batman.
Great. I heard "Robin," "cape," "Batmobile" and a something that sounded like "kablam." While there are no wrong answers, you are all so very wrong. The correct response, of course, is "Turkey." As in, Batman, Turkey. Batman is the capital of ...Photo of the Day (10.28.08)
Oct 28th, 2008 at 4:00PM:
Usually I pick a Photo of the Day that's somehow reflects on my current situation or feeling as I shop around for photos. But sifting through some of the pictures during my weekly duties last week, I stumbled across the picture of a mosuqe taken by flickr user flicts in Istanbul. I'm a sucker for mosque and cathedral photos, probably because I'm always in awe of the architecture and silence in ...Drunk Man Tries to Hijack Turkish Airlines Flight
Oct 15th, 2008 at 11:30AM: A man on a Turkish Airlines flight from the resort town of Antalya, Turkey to the Russian city of St. Petersburg threatened to blow up the plane unless it was diverted. The man, who appeared to be drunk, approached a flight attendant and handed her a note to give to the pilot: "I have a bomb. If you don't take me in (the cockpit) I will blow it up," As he stumbled toward the front of the plane, he ...Photo of the Day (08.12.08)
Aug 12th, 2008 at 4:00PM:
Istanbul's Blue Mosque -- one of my favorite places in the world in one of my favorite cities in the world. Walking into The Sultan Ahmed Mosque is one of those jaw dropping experiences that you remember for the rest of your life, its vaulted ceilings and Ottoman and Christian influences gently meeting far above the silent crowd. Today's photo of the day comes from smallscreen, who does an ...Photo of the day (06/30/08)
Jul 1st, 2008 at 12:50AM:
Beautifully cropped! A shot of a hot air balloon in Istanbul by smallscreen. This is what they call big sky in Turkey, I guess.
I realize I am a little late with this Photo of the day, but it's still June 30 here on the West Coast.
***To have your photo considered for the Gadling Photo of the Day, go over to the Gadling Flickr Pool and post it. Make sure it is not copyrighted, otherwise we ...Happy Holidays from Rail Europe
Dec 7th, 2007 at 2:06PM: Want to see how Turkeys dance in Europe? Go check out this Christmas Card from RailEurope. It's cheesy, yes, but oh my good lord, I can't stop laughing at it. Seriously. Go now. But make sure you come back. Funny, yes? Or maybe the incessant cold has finally gone to my head and I've become a raving lunatic. My favourites are the Irish Turkey and the German Turkey. And gosh darn it, I want to know ...When Bad Stuff Happens, Is It Better To Be At Home?
Aug 31st, 2007 at 8:30AM: Most people can remember where they were when events of major importance happened like 9/11 or the Columbia space shuttle tragedy. When such events occur, the best place to be is usually at home surrounded by friends and family.
August 31 is the tenth anniversary of the death of Princess Diana. In August 1997 I was travelling alone in Eastern Turkey and got to a cheap hotel in Erzurum after a ...Which Country Has the Most Couch Potatoes?
Aug 15th, 2007 at 5:18PM:
The Economist answers what may be the easiest question ever: which country has the most couch potatoes? It's obvious: the United States. What's not obvious, however, is just how much TV Americans watch. It's unbelievable really. According to the study, people in the United States watch an average of 8 hours and 11 minutes per day. Crazy! But maybe not so crazy considering Americans have what, ...World's Sexiest Beaches 2007
Jul 20th, 2007 at 12:38PM: Each year, our friends over at Concierge.com put out a list of the world's sexiest beaches, featuring the best places to "flirt with millionaires, lick the salt off a margarita glass, siesta in a hammock, and gaze at blood-orange sunsets night after night." If these don't make you wish you were somewhere else, you've either got your toes in the sand right now, or you're dead to the world. Here is ...The Top 100 Hotels in the World
Jul 16th, 2007 at 5:30PM: As odd as it was to have some of the most extreme poverty I'd ever witnessed co-existing with the most grandiose luxury, it was no coincidence that the nicest hotel I'd ever been to was in India. I didn't have the privilege of staying at the JW Marriot on Mumbai's Juhu Beach (I was there for a wedding reception), but I did spend plenty of time getting lost in the lavishly decorated hallways ...One for the Road: Rick Steves Istanbul
Jul 10th, 2007 at 9:12AM: European travel guru Rick Steves has changed things up a bit for one of his latest books. This new stand-alone guide to Istanbul was not written by him--a first for the super active and involved guide book master. Instead, Rick turned the project over to a pair of trustworthy and knowledgeable Europe Through the Back Door tour guides. Husband and wife team, Lale Surmen Aran and Tankut Aran are an ...
