Altinkum Property Boom - It's Time to Start Living the Life You've ImaginedWritten by Laura Bower - Turquoise Homes
“It’s Time To Start Living The Life You’ve Imagined”This quotation, attributed to American author, Henry James, captures perfectly mood among property buyers in Altinkum, Turkey. James would have been intrigued by excitement rushing through this Aegean resort - an excitement that started in 2002 with change in laws allowing foreign nationals to own property in Turkey in their own names, and now fuelled by intense interest from British media and experiences of early investors. Until a few years ago, Altinkum was purely a holiday town. An arc of golden sand running gently down into a turquoise sea, so perfectly clear that in shallows, fish skimming around a bather's feet appear to be swimming in glass. A beachfront lined with small bars selling typical Turkish food and international favourites, a small central square with stalls of trinkets for souvenir hunters, and one nightclub summed up total of Altinkum's tourist facilities. Now property is main industry of Altinkum, and once minor resort in Turkey has become an investor's dream. Specialist magazines like A Place In The Sun and Homes Overseas have featured articles on Altinkum gold rush, and property boom has even caught attention of national press and television stations with news stories and TV programmes hailing Turkey as next Spain and Altinkum as new Marbella. The Altinkum locals have responded in kind, ploughing billions of lira into regenerating area. The main highway into resort is now a tree-lined boulevard, with flower beds lining pavements. Along main beach runs a paved promenade studded with palm trees, and a marina and golf course will complete transition from dusty town to cosmopolitan resort.
| | Beautiful Vancouver, City of the Sea & MountainsWritten by Clint Leung
As one flies over Vancouver during decent into Canadian city’s airport, surrounding beautiful natural scenery is already noticed with mountains on one side and sea on other. Once inside baggage claim area of international airport, visitors are greeted with large Pacific Northwest Coast Indian art carvings. This adds to overall flavor of nature and environment that makes Vancouver so different from other major cities. When driving along Granville Street towards city center, one can’t help but notice that trees and hedges in residential areas are so much larger and taller than ones we normally see elsewhere. One of locals claims that superior growth of area’s plant life is due to huge amount of rainfall. Vancouver is close to both ocean and mountain range so lots of rain is expected. In fact, rain here can actually be a problem as grey skies, especially during winter months, are one of few negatives of living in Vancouver. Fortunately, there is very little snowfall within city so for Vancouverites, it is a trade off of some sort to have to deal with rain rather than shoveling snow during their winters. As for tourists, best time to visit Vancouver is least wet season which is during summer months. I’ve been told by another local that September is one of best months to visit. When sun is shining in Vancouver with both ocean and mountains as background, it really doesn’t get any better.Stanley Park on west side of downtown Vancouver is most visited attraction. A drive around island will reveal great photo spots of both city and ocean. Vancouver’s Aquarium is also on site in Stanley Park as well as a magnificent collection of Pacific Northwest Coastal Indian art totem poles. Of course, one can always marvel at tall trees which seem to touch skies here. The Lion’s Gate Suspension Bridge connects Stanley Park with North Vancouver on other side of harbor. On north side is Grouse Mountain, area’s closest ski resort to city that has turned into an all year round attraction. During non-winter months, one can take gondola up Grouse mountain for some wonderful hiking and views of Vancouver skyline. The Capilano Suspension Bridge which visitors walk across to a nice nature area is another must see nearby. One of cuisine highlights in British Columbia province is salmon and one of best restaurants to sample it is Salmon House in adjacent West Vancouver. Dinner there with Pacific Northwest Coast Indian art décor and spectacular nighttime views of city is one of best ways to finish off a day of sightseeing.
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