Faith Tourism Booms in Turkey
Turkey is a fascinating country that is home to a mesmerising blend of East and West. Ancient civilisations have come and gone in the country over generations in time, each leaving behind an incredible heritage that resonates with followers of many different faiths.
Consequently, millions of people from all over the world visit the spiritual attractions. Turkey is home to and faith tourism has become an important part of the country’s growing tourism sector.
Here we take a look at the most popular sites and attractions for religious visitors to Turkey:
Konya: Shrine of Rumi and Museum
Konya was the final home of Rumi (Mevlana), Anatolian mystic, poet and the father of the Mevlevi Order. He is known as Mevlana in the East and as Rumi in the West and his tomb is in the city. In 1273, his followers in Konya established the Mevlevi Sufi order of Islam and became known as the Whirling Dervishes. Konya has the reputation of being one of the more religiously conservative metropolitan centres in Turkey. It was once known as the ” citadel of Islam ” and its inhabitants are still comparatively more devout than those from other cities.
Izmir: Virgin Mary’s House
The house was discovered in the 19th century by following the descriptions in the reported visions of Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich, a Roman Catholic nun and visionary which were published as a book by Clemens Brentano after her death. The Catholic Church has never pronounced in favour or against the authenticity of the house, but nevertheless maintains a steady flow of pilgrimage since its discovery.
Catholic pilgrims visit the house based on the belief that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was taken to this stone house by Saint John and lived there until her Assumption, according to Catholic doctrine. The shrine has merited several papal visits from several popes, the earliest pilgrimage coming from Pope Leo XIII in 1896.
Trabzon: Sumela Monastery
Sumela Monastery is a commonly-visited attraction of faith tourism in Turkey, as well as pleasure trips. The ancient monastery and buildings surrounding it were built in the 19th century, with the Roman Orthodox community permitted to perform the religious ceremony of the ascension of the Virgin Mary since 2010. The area, already rich in natural beauty draws significant numbers of faith tourists in Turkey.
Nevşehir: Cave Churches and Haji Bektash
Nevşehir is the capital of the Cappadocia region where the first settlements date back to 3000 BC; the oldest name of the city was ” Nyssa “. The city also has some interesting remains from the Seljuk period, such as the castle which stands at the highest point of the city.
The Kursunlu Mosque has an impressive complex of buildings and a medresse surrounding it which dates back to 1726. They were built by carving the soft rock surface located in what is now the Göreme Open Air Museum, attracting thousands of visitors as well as faith tourists every year.
Sanliurfa: Legendary Pool of Sacred Fish- Standing Place of Abraham
According to Jewish and Muslim tradition, Urfa is Ur Kasdim, the hometown of Abraham and is also one of several cities that have traditions associated with Job. For Armenians, Urfa is considered a holy place since it is believed that the Armenian alphabet was invented there.
Urfa, town of Prophets, still cherishes the memory of the Prophets Abraham, Eyup, and Suayb, today. The Pool of Sacred Fish which is one of the most beautiful places in Urfa and the Halilürrahman Mosque right next to it constitute an island of spirituality. The pool of Sacred Fish and its surroundings where Prophet Abraham was born, thrown into the fire, and saw the most significant moments of his life include attraction spots for local and foreign visitors.
Istanbul: Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia
The Blue Mosque ranks 20th among most commonly visited historical buildings in the world. Its very construction was marked by the desire to compete with Hagia Sophia, a Byzantine architectural masterpiece. Undoubtedly, both of them play a great role in making Istanbul, which is already the centre of culture, business and entertainment, an outstanding destination for faith tourism as well.
Hagia Sophia is a former Christian church, later an imperial mosque, and now a museum in Istanbul. From the date of its construction in 537 until 1453, it served as an Orthodox cathedral and seat of the Patriarch of Constantinople and in 1261, it was converted to a Roman Catholic cathedral under the Latin Empire. The building was a mosque from 29 May 1453 until 1931. It was then secularized and opened as a museum on 1 February 1935.
Article by +Roxanne James on behalf of Propertyshowrooms.com
Eighteen Consecutive Months of Growth in Spanish Property Market
The latest data released from Spain’s General Council of Notaires shows that residential property sales in the country increased by 7.3% in November last year, compared with the same month in 2014.
The figures show just over 18-months of continuous growth in Spain’s real estate sector, reflecting increasing buyer interest in the country, set to extend well into 2016 and beyond. Furthermore, analysts believe growth is sustainable, with price growth stability.
A breakdown of the data shows that apartment sales increased by 6.2% year-on-year, more than double the increase recorded in October 2015. This was largely due to transaction volumes of new apartments which increased by 8.3% and resale apartments 12.2%.
Sales of individual family homes also saw strong growth, up 11.4%, recording nine months in a row of double digit increases. However, sales of new housing fell for a tenth month in a row, down in November by 18.6%.
In the new-build market, the issue holding back price growth is lack of supply. This dynamic is slightly misleading however, as there is a vast supply of unfinished and empty housing stock across Spain that is mostly held in bank inventory.
As this inventory is released and made available to buyers, it could serve to prevent Spain’s property market from overheating in the face of significantly increased buyer-interest. In the meantime, the supply issue is likely to affect price volatility in certain regions of the country.
The average price of homes sold in November was €1,219/m2, a fall of 1.1% year-on-year. A breakdown shows that apartment prices fell by 0.6% and the price of individual family homes fell by 0.8%. The data also shows that the price per square metre of second hand apartments fell by 0.7% year on year to €1,320 although new apartments increased by 5.9% to €1,666.
The total number of new mortgage loans also increased by 7.3% year on year in November but in seasonally adjusted terms this figure moderates to an increase of 2.4% year on year, the lowest increase in 18 months.
Spain’s economy remains hampered by high unemployment rates and a significant public deficit. However, tourism has been booming in the country and its contribution to the economy continues to grow. In the regions of Spain popular with holiday home buyers and investors, property prices are set to continue to rise throughout 2016, albeit at a meandering pace.
As with all property markets, there are anomalies that present themselves as opportunities for value growth and savvy investors can still find such opportunities in Spain.
Article by +Roxanne James on behalf of Propertyshowrooms.com
UK BTL Investors Face Significant Challenges in 2016
Despite the fact that demand still outstrips supply in British buy to let markets, government measures are set to change the landscape of the property investment market to slow down purchases of second homes.
As from April this year, buy to let investors in the UK will have to pay an additional 3% stamp duty surcharge. In real terms, this will add a further £3,000 to BTL investors’ tax bills to the purchase of a £100,000 home that would ordinarily be exempt from stamp duty. For properties purchased at £250,000, the tax bill amounts to no less than £7,500, bringing the total obligation to £10,000.
The measures are set to curb the rapid growth of private investment in UK property markets and extend to all second-home buyers in the country. According to Reuters, BTL transactions made up a quarter of market activity last year, far more than in most other advanced economies and a major cause of spiralling prices.
There is a rising voice of descent among younger first-time buyers struggling to get their feet on the property ladder as private investment reduces affordability. The inability of the younger generation to buy principal residences has also increased pressure on social housing, already experiencing supply shortage at critical levels in some UK regions.
Earlier this month, the Council for Mortgage Lenders revealed a late surge had pushed buy to let lending up 35% year-on-year in November as investors look to act before the new tax comes into force. New figures from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) reveal buyer enquiries were at a three-month high in December, driven by demand from would-be landlords seeking to complete before April.
The surcharge is not the only tax change hitting buy-to-let. In his earlier budget last July, Osborne announced that investment owners would be restricted to a flat 20% rate of relief on mortgage interest, effectively halving relief for higher-rate taxpayers. Investors and second home buyers will also be assessed for tax before the relief is deducted, pushing more into the higher rate bracket.
Although it is predicted that there will be a slowdown in the BTL sector from April, there are certainly no signs that momentum is declining in the market. RICS did note however, an increase in new instructions in December for the first time in almost a year, a sign that landlords could be seeking to exit the market due to concerns about yield.
If investor interest does wane after April, it should serve to remove some of the heat from the housing market and slow price growth although there is bound to be a period of adjustment to improve affordability for first-time buyers in the UK.
Article by +Roxanne James on behalf of Propertyshowrooms.com
International Hotel Brand Announces its First Luxury Hotel in Portugal
Meliá Hotels International and Discovery Fund have signed a joint agreement that will see Europe’s third largest hotel chain open its first luxury hotel in Lisbon, Portugal.
The Meliá lisboa is part of an ambitious project that aims to return life to a strategic location in the city, with the hotel set on the corner of the central Antonio Augusto de Aguiar and Fontes Pereira de Melo avenues.
The hotel will open in early 2018 with 239 rooms, a 24-hour restaurant adapted to the lifestyle needs of guests, and a panoramic lounge-bar on the upper terrace with stunning views of the city.
The hotel is set to follow the ‘bleisure’ (business and leisure) concept, providing everything needed by guests visiting Lisbon for a combination of business travel and leisure, while also giving local residents a meeting point where they can ‘see and be seen’, with attractive options for dining, drinks and music. Meliá Lisboa will feature modern facilities for conferences and conventions for between 50 and 550 people, two floors of parking, and a health club and Yhi Spa, the chain’s spa brand.
Portugal is considered one of the most important destinations for European tourism and with a growing strength in urban hotels; the Meliá Lisboa is set to mark the group’s continued growth in Portugal. The hotel chain is working closely with Discovery Portugal Real Estate Fund who are focused on real estate and tourism assets management in Portugal.
Pedro Seabra, partner of Discovery Fund, highlighted the importance of the agreement in bringing an international brand into the hotel’s management:
” This alliance and the Melia Lisbon’s project represent the continuation of the excellent work of the Discovery team, with the aim of revaluating the Fund’s assets, ” he said. ” We are also excited to be able to count with the best professionals to make this project a successful reality from 2018 “.
Gabriel Escarrer, vice chairman and CEO of Meliá, added: ” We are very excited about the Meliá Lisboa because it combines architectural innovation in a hotel with the highest standards of quality and service, with the history of such an emblematic corner of the city of Lisbon, with the attractiveness that you only find in the centre of the great historic capital cities in Europe “.
Portugal remains one of the most popular destinations for property investors in Europe and despite some economic and political instability in recent years, considerable growth now seems to be back on the agenda for 2016.
Article by +Roxanne James on behalf of Propertyshowrooms.com
American Retailer Claims Prime Barcelona Asset
Real estate giant Hines expanded its retail portfolio this month with the purchase of Arcs 10, an upscale retail asset in Barcelona. Houston-based Hines forked out almost €40m for the 1,200m² property, located close to the Cathedral and Plaza Sant Jaume in Spain’s perennially popular tourist hotspot.
The building is leased to Barcelona-based international fashion retailer Desigual, who emerged in Ibiza back in 1984 to become one of the largest fashion retailers in Europe with a presence in 42 countries around the world. Arcs 10 is also home to the four star hotel, Catalonia Catedral.
Hines acquired the retail asset from a private Spanish investor on behalf of its Pan-European Core Fund (HCEF), a euro-dominated Luxembourg-based investment fund established in 2007. Managed by the Hines group, the fund aims to develop an extensive portfolio of commercial real estate assets across Europe.
The acquisition comes at a time when confidence in Spain’s economic stability and future performance is riding high among investors.
” With the acceleration of economic growth, take off of retail sales and consequent performance of the High Street, Spain is an attractive market, where tenant activity is seen to be strongly improving, for both existing retailers in the market, and newcomers seeking to make a presence, ” said Jamie Rea, managing director for Hines España.
As part of its Europe expansion, Hines entered the Spanish market with an investment in 84 acres of land in downtown Barcelona in 1996. That investment, fronting onto the Mediterranean Sea, is now known as Diagonal Mar, one of Europe’s largest mixed-use developments, totalling more than 37 hectares.
The project consists of a retail and leisure centre, which opened in November 2001, five residential phases totalling 1,400 apartments, three hotels, three office buildings and the third-largest public park in Barcelona. Hines expanded its Spain operations in 2000 by opening the Madrid office and in 2004 with its Marbella office.
Significant purchases of this nature are proving to boost investor interest in Spain’s real estate markets. Investors in residential properties have been growing in numbers in recent months, buoyed further by euro weakness against other currencies. With major players taking the lead, this is a trend that is set to continue well into 2016 and beyond.
Article by +Roxanne James on behalf of Propertyshowrooms.com
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