TURKEY: Disabled Woman Of 87 Years Paraglides In Fethiye

An 87-year-old local woman has impressed social media with her paragliding skills in the Aegean province of Mugla.

Halime Akcan, a retired worker living in the Aegean province of Denizli, visited her grandson Günay Tutgun, 43, a paragliding pilot, in Fethiye’s Oludeniz region last year, only to be refused by him to take on the daring experience.

Akcan told her grandson that she wanted to paraglide, but was rejected by him many times. But Tutgun eventually gave up saying no to his grandmother.

Tutgun brought his grandmother, who has walking difficulties, to the Babadag paragliding facility, which is 1,965 meters high.

Tutgun went on a tandem paraglide with his grandmother, recording the experience and later posting it on social media.

He shared the video on his social media accounts showing the two flying.

In the video Akcan is seen keeping her calm during the paraglide, while she also had a tranquil attitude after she took control of the parachute.

Tutgun stated that his grandmother was a good pilot and that he learned to fly from her.

The 87-year-old grandmother sent her greetings to her beloved ones in Denizli from the sky.

The video was watched by at least 500,000 social media users and shared thousands of times on the internet.

Following a great interest over the video, Tutgun said his grandmother returned to her home in Denizli, saying that he was pleased with the interest.

Earlier, I was worried because she has difficulties walking.

But I could not resist her insistence. We made the departure in a lovely weather with the help of the wind. So, she did not have to walk or run, he said.

He also remarked that his grandmother’s traditional clothes drew attention while she was flying.

My grandfather died many years ago. So, she sent her greetings to her beloved ones in Denizli. I also had the chance to chat with her in the air, he added.

Tutgun said there was no age for paragliding, adding that he previously flew with a 93-year-old person.

My oldest passenger was 93 years old. I have a friend who flew with a 101-year-old passenger. So, everyone between three to 103 years of age can paraglide. Paragliding is extremely safe and an entertaining sport, he said.

TURKEY: 1,318 Hotels & Resorts For Sale, Affected By Russian Sanctions And Terrorists

As many as 1,318 hotels have been put up for sale along the Aegean and Mediterranean coasts after Russian sanctions along with security concerns hit Turkey's tourism industry hard.

The Mediterranean resort of Antalya has the highest number of tourism facilities, 410 that are listed for sale, followed by the provinces of Muğla, which has 349 for sale; İzmir, 203; Aydın, 162; Balıkesir, 139; Çanakkale, 35 and Denizli, which has 20 in total listed.

The total sale price of the 410 hotels in Antalya amounts to TL 30 billion, while the remaining 908 have sale prices of a total of TL 8.8 billion.
Denizli Colossae Thermal Chairman Abdurrahman Karamanlıoğlu said a number of hotels in resort towns were left on the brink of bankruptcy after Russia imposed sanctions against Turkey after the latter downed a Russian warplane in November last year.

“We talk the realities but officials put a brave face on the issue. We have been heavily affected from the jet crisis. Especially the hotels in Antalya; being closed for the last four months, most of those are on the verge of bankruptcy,” Karamanlıoğlu said.

Nearly two months after Russia advised its citizens to cancel their visits to Turkey, an Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) militant blew up himself and 10 tourists; most of whom were German, in central İstanbul earlier this month, adding more turmoil to an already stagnant industry.
Russians and Germans represented the two largest groups of nationalities that visited Turkey in 2014. Turkey's tourism revenues fell 8.3 percent to $31.46 billion in 2015.

A large number of hotels in resort towns were left on the brink of bankruptcy after Russia imposed sanctions against Turkey, according the managing director of the Denizli Colossae Thermal Hotel, Abdurrahman Karamanlıoglu.

Moscow imposed sanctions after a Russian warplane was shot down by a Turkish fighter jet during combat operations in northern Syria. Sanctions included reintroducing a visa regime, and a travel warning against Russian tourists visiting the country. Travel agencies in Russia stopped selling tour packages to Turkey on the request by the Kremlin.

The measure added more turmoil to an already stagnant industry. Turkey's tourism revenue fell 8.3 percent to $31.46 billion in 2015, according to the Turkish online daily Today’s Zaman. The tourism industry accounts for 11 percent of Turkey's GDP.

The Turkish tourism ministry expects to lose 4.5 million tourists from Russia this year. As a result, the country could lose about $7 billion, according to analysts.