Istanbul Bulletin

Playing host to organizations working on an international scale, Istanbul has been on the rise in recent years. Istanbul hotels achieved the fullest capacity out of all major European tourist cities for the year 2005.

According to results of surveys carried out on a regular basis by the British corporate consultant company Deloitte, prominent Istanbul hotels reached a 65% capacity in 2004, compared with 2005 figures which soared to the 75% mark. Closely behind Istanbul were hotels in Moscow reaching 72%, followed by Tel Aviv with 68 % capacity.

It was stated that the reason behind the recent success of Istanbul hotels, reaching nearly 75% of their overall capacity, was the increasing popularity of the city as a choice to host a large number of international organizations. The Deloitte research shows that there has been a 4.5% increase in income per room throughout Europe in general, lead by Moscow hotels at 136 Euros per room, with Istanbul following with 86 Euros increase in income per room.

115,000 people have visited "Picasso in Istanbul” exhibition at Sabanci University Sakip Sabanci Museum in Istanbul in the last two months. President of Turkish Republic Ahmet Necdet Sezer and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan were among the visitors of the exhibition.

Sakip Sabanci Museum stated that the exhibition will remain open till March 26th. The exhibition was mostly visited by people between 26 and 35 years of ages. A total of 371 schools attended education program which was held for children and youth within the scope of exhibition.

The exhibition puts on display 135 paintings covering each period of Picasso's work, including the samples of his early paintings when he was a young artist in Spain.

The exhibition brings together works from the Picasso Museums in Paris and Barcelona, Lille Modern Art Museum, Fundacion Almine y Bernard Ruiz-Picasso para el Arte (FABA). In conjunction with the exhibition, a program of lectures, gallery discussions, educational activities, and film screenings are acquainting visitors more closely with Picasso and his art.

Bernard Ruiz-Picasso (grandson of Picasso and the President of Malaga Picasso Museum); Almine Ruiz Picasso, President of FABA; Marta-Volga Guezala, the representative of Images Modernes; SSM Director Dr. Nazan Olcer and Exhibitions Director Selmin Kangal are the curators of the exhibition.

The historic museum of Hagia Sophia, considered one of Istanbul's most outstanding historical assets, is on a list for the New 7 Wonders of the World due to be announced on Jan. 1, 2007.

The New 7 Wonders Foundation, based in Switzerland, received the top 77 nominations proposed by people from various countries since the launch of a project titled “New 7 Wonders” in 2000 announced that they had selected 21 finalists for the New 7 Wonders of the World campaign.

Among the sites under consideration are the Eiffel Tower, the Taj Mahal, the statues on Easter Island, the Great Wall of China, the Colisseum in Rome, the Sydney Opera House and the Statue of Liberty as well as Hagia Sophia. The commonly known Pyramids of Giza in Egypt, on the other hand, retained its place and remained on the list as the unique original ancient wonder of the world.

Voting will take place throughout 2006 and people will be able to vote via telephone and TV voting later in 2006.

Voting will continue until Dec. 31, 2006, and the New 7 Wonders of the World will be officially announced on Jan. 1, 2007 with a live television event broadcast around the world.

Only structures that were completed before the year 2000, preserved at an “acceptable level” and were man-made were approved by the foundation for the new list.

The foundation aims to protect man's heritage around the globe and to celebrate human achievement.

Two wonders from Turkey:
The current list of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World was originally compiled around 200 B.C. by Philon of Byzantium and chosen from the Mediterranean coasts.

The current Seven Wonders of the World, two of which belong to Turkey, include the Great Pyramid of Giza (Egypt); the Hanging Gardens of Babylon (Iraq); the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus (Turkey); the statue of Zeus in Olympia (Greece); the mausoleum in Halicarnassus (Turkey); the Colossus of Rhodes (Greece); and the Pharos of Alexandria (Egypt).

One of the most important travel exhibitions organized in Eastern Mediterranean Eastern Mediterranean International Tourism and Travel Fair (EMITT) Istanbul will be held between 23 rd and 26th February 2006 at TUYAP Exhibition Halls.

Due to the great interest EMITT has received in 2005, EMITT 2006 will be held in a total six separate halls. More than 1,500 participants from nearly 50 countries will attend this year's exhibition. Representatives from nearly 50 countries including Germany, Azerbaijan, Brazil, Bulgaria, China, Armenia, Morocco, Georgia, India, the Netherlands, Iran, Spain, Italy, TRNC, Kazakhstan, Cuba, Libya, Lebanon, Macedonia, Malaysia, Egypt, Poland, Russia, Syria, Tunisia, Ukraine and Greece will attend EMITT.

Istanbul Modern, Turkey's first modern art museum, currently hosts 3 exhibitions.

“A Selection from the Modern Turkish Sculpture – 1950-2005”
The exhibition, which covers a historical period in depth, acquires characteristics that will ensure Istanbul Modern to approach its mission

for modern museology one step further. The exhibition is introducing the journey of Modern Turkish sculpture and analyzing the evolution. The exhibition intends to bring together the masterpieces and the works that are representative of the 15 artists who work with the materials of metal, stone, wood, and bronze while making the modern analysis of sculpture with a perception of the interrelations between mass-space-form since the 1950s.

A generation trained up by two professional artists Ali Hadi Bara and Zühtü Müridoglu created unique works which led to achievements in Turkish sculpture. The exhibition can be viewed until April 30th, 2006.

Under The Light of The Republic
There will be a new exhibition in Istanbul Modern, “UNDER THE LIGHT OF THE REPUBLIC, Photographs by Othmar Pferschy”.

The exhibition, which is composed of documentary photographs taken by Othmar Pferschy (1898-1984), one of the pioneers and most important representatives of documentary photography during the Republic Period, is a step that is of utmost importance in the history of Turkish Photography.

“UNDER THE LIGHT OF THE REPUBLIC, Photographs by Othmar Pferschy” exhibition will bring about 170 photographs, printed out from the original negatives of this unique collection, out to daylight. The exhibition can be viewed until May 14th, 2006.

Intersecting Times
A year has passed since Istanbul Modern held its opening with its first exhibition, “Observation-Interpretation-Multiplicity”, which traced the story of Turkish painting taking into consideration the last 100 years.

With the second permanent collection exhibition, “Intersecting Times”, Istanbul Modern continues to explore his art historical view. Every new work acquired is an opportunity for expanding its thematic ideas and interpreting art history in alternative ways. The exhibition can be viewed until March 28 th , 2006.

Ships of Istanbul

Ships of Istanbul will be on exhibit at Karaköy Wharf until February 28th. Historic period of ships that sailed in Istanbul and Marmara Sea will be on exhibit. 50 models of ships including steamships, coal ships and modern ships of today can be viewed at Karaköy Wharf.

Skål International Istanbul organized its General Assembly on February 3rd at Ramada Plaza Istanbul. The new president and board of directors of Skål Istanbul are:

The International Road Transport Union (IRU) opened its Middle East Regional Permanent Office in Istanbul on January 25th.

Speaking to reporters after the opening, IRU President Paul Laeramans said that 12 countries from the Black Sea Economic Cooperation and five countries from the Middle East met in Istanbul upon the occasion. Laeramans said that the connections and integration among economies in the world should be better established in today's world, adding that IRU also wanted to revive the historic Silk Road by undertaking a new project.