In the past few days, a hawk, which had probably just vanished, caused a strange curiosity in Turkey.

The geo-strategically favourable location between the three large economic blocks Asia, Europe and Russia makes Turkey one of the most important international transport hubs in the world.

Dignity, noblesse, righteousness, enormous stamina and bravery are some of the characteristics of the Turks. They are relatively reserved and not that gossipy like some of their neighbours.

The term "New Turkish Lira" has had its day. From January 1, 2010, the currency will only be called the "Turkish Lira", said central bank chief Durmus Yilmaz.

Solar Heating can be used as space or water heating which uses the heat energy from the sun’s radiation. There are two different types: passive solar heating (or Passive Solar Design), where the building itself, or parts of it, such as a sun room, are used as a collector, and active solar heating.

Meanwhile completed - despite multi-layered, long-lasting protests: For several weeks, heavy machinery has been working on the foundations of the new bridge on the Bosporus,

Whenever you are in Turkey, you may be surprised that a lot of Turkish people notice your orign just by watching you and they are able to use your language properly. Listening to all the different people in a bazaar, you will hear a lot of different nationalities as there is English, German, Dutch and Danish, but also Norwegian and Russian.

With the Foreign Capital Law No. 6224 which went into effect in 1954, Turkey adopted the most liberal law of the period. The liberalization policies adopted in the 1980s, and the changes in the regulation of currency exchange have made foreign capital investments quite attractive.

Post offices are mainly small and sometimes hard to find. You need to look for signs showing PTT or, in tourist areas, post office. Post office business hours vary. Main post offices in the centres are always open from Monday to Saturday from 8.00 am to 12.00 noon, and on Sundays from 9.00 am to 7.00 pm.

One thing every visitor to Turkey would like to avoid, is to need a lawyer. However, as usual in daily life, there can be certain situations where you are absolutely helpless and may need the experience of a well - trained lawyer, whether it is because of a traffic problem or something more serious.

Everywhere in ancient cities you will find "souvenirs" in the form of potsherds with the remains of decorations, amphora handles, roof tiles, processed marble lumps, pieces of glass and much more.

We have raised the issue of "domestic violence against women in Turkish society" a number of times, when news of brutal murder of a woman shakes the world again.

Because of the rapid development in tourism and more requests for flats and villas, the duties of the architects have changed. Today clients want modern designed villas and technically equipped flats.

In order to make the Turkish laws as similar as possible to the European ones, the Legal Board of Construction is introducing new ones. Most of the newly introduced regulations are quite similar to the ones we know from Europe, especially from Germany.

Whenever travelling to Turkey, don´t forget that Turkey belongs to the Eastern European Time zone. In relation to CET (Central European Time), you need to add one hour.

Flats, plots and beautiful villas for a reasonable amount of money! European buyers of real estate in Turkey will get the full guarantee and security of the Turkish government concerning their property.

All over Turkey you will see these blue wall eyes, called Nazar Boncugu. In Arabic, Nazar means view or look. This word has the same meaning in the Turkish language. There is a strange belief held by people that there are sometimes negative, bad, and even destructive forces at work. This is what they call the evil eye.

On the way back from Konya we stopped at a wonderful place in the mountains near Akseki, about 50 kilometres from Manavgat. There was a small green area with a wonderful view of the surrounding mountains. We were having a drink and a nice piece of cake when suddenly some backpackers appeared.

Paragliding sport is to take off by means of running from a high hill instead of plane with a parachute similar to free style jumping parachute on the first look. Parachute, which is lied on a inclined and high hill, is filled with air with the running of pilot and take off with pilot.

Relax and enjoy the panoramic views when flying between 100 to 300 metres high above the water. See the silhouette of Alanya and the sightseeing attractions from a new point of view.