Open Air Museums in Turkey - Historical places are preferred by people who wish to spend their vacations not only resting but also visiting the ruins. If you are interested in the history of the place where you spend your holiday, we suggest you visit the Ancient Sites which are the open air museums of Turkey. The jury of the daily newspaper "Hürriyet", who are archeologists, art historians, travelers and authors, have chosen the best Open Air Museums in Turkey. They are mostly located in western Anatolia. Ephesus (Efes) is located 70 kilometers south of İzmir on the delta of the Küçük Menderes river. It was built in 5000 BC. The most important buildings are the Amphitheater, Celcius Library, Odeon Square, Temple of Artemis and Hillside houses. It is also believed that the Virgin Mary may have visited Ephesus. It is open everyday between 08:30 and 19:00. There are almost 60 souvenir shops on the upper and lower entrances to Ephesus. Transportation can be provided by minibuses taking off from Selçuk and Kuşadası. You can return to Selçuk at any time via taxis waiting in line at the lower entrance. Bergama is a district of İzmir named after the historical hero Pergamon. In addition, Pergamus is a word used for a high hill in the Hittite language. Furthermore Bergman means city and Pergamun means citadel-castle in the Ahroca Phyrigian language. Bergama is the original location of The Altar of Zeus, which is on display in Berlin. It has one of the steepest amphitheaters of the world. The world's first hospital was built in Bergama. Sergis Temple is in the middle of the city with its red bricks.>>

Turkey is one of the fastest growing economies in OECD,The Turkish economy has grown steadily over the last 27 quarters with an average rate of 7%. This growth is expected to continue in coming years with a lower rate due to the global financial crisis. After the 2001 financial crisis, Turkey made important structural reforms which have led to improve her financial system. Therefore, Turkey is relatively less affected by the global crisis. Although nowadays Turkey has to deal with debts which mostly belong to private companies, effects of the global financial crisis to Turkey are not going to be an internal one on the most part, but it is going be an external one as less demand for exports. Also previous crisis experience of Turkish businessmen and economy officials make Turkey more resilient to the global financial crisis today. Being the commercial center of southeastern Europe, Middle East and Eurasia, Turkey is becoming an increasingly important economic and diplomatic country in the region. Between 2001 and 2007, Turkey’s GDP have increased by 242% totaling to USD 656.6 billion and she became the 15th largest economy in the world.>>

Monthly AT-A Glance : “Double icing on the cake OR a hopeful mirage in a desert?”

We expect the EU bailout package, combined with strong Turkish growth dynamics to reflect on 1Q results, leaving the ISE feel adventurous, and helping Turkish yields ease back towards 9-9.20% levels, while the Lira is likely to regain lost ground.

So, we are positive on the markets in the near term with the spillover effects of the EU bailout package and strong IP growth in 1Q. The EU bailout package is positive for equities, and will result in a quick dip in yields. And yet the impact is likely to fade in the longer term as more liquidity is likely to increase inflationary worries further, which in turn would, of course, pressure yields. Hence, we expect market volatility to decrease in the upcoming weeks, but increase in M/T.

Our portfolio recommendation for the month is once again a combination of defensive and cyclical names, as better-than-expected GDP growth and strong 1Q10 earnings estimates are expected to shift interest to more cyclical stocks in the short term. Our recommended portfolio consists of; Akcansa , Anadolu Hayat , Ak Enerji , Aygaz , BIM , Is Bank , Sinpas REIC , Turkish Airlines , Tekfen Holding , Turk Telekom.>>