Turkey used to treat its property market rather like a playground squabble.
The law stated that if Turks were not allowed to buy property in another country, that particular country's citizens were not allowed to buy property in Turkey.
This made it almost impossible for some foreigners to buy property and difficult for Turkey to attract foreign direct investment from the Gulf.
Because of this so-called reciprocity law, citizens of most Arab countries, including the UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Iraq and Kuwait, were not allowed to buy property in Turkey.
That was until a few weeks ago, when the reciprocity law was abolished, and estate agents in Turkey say they are now receiving floods of inquiries from Arab nationals keen to buy in the country.
"We have got more than 2,000 inquiries [so far] this year and we are expecting to have at least 10,000 inquiries this [full] year," said Arda Obuz, the managing director of Turesta, a property sales, management and consulting firm in Istanbul.
"[Arab nationals] love Istanbul, and Turkey is a Muslim secular country, secure and democratic. Istanbul is a European city with Muslim motifs, and they feel very comfortable in Istanbul," he said.
Mr Obuz said the process of buying a property in Turkey was "remarkably straightforward" and that the transaction could be completed within hours for domestic residents and two weeks for foreign buyers.
Turesta is looking to hire Arabic-speaking staff to manage the number of inquiries from Arab nationals. Previously, foreigners would need to seek special permission to buy more than 2.5 hectares, but this limit has been increased to 30 hectares.
"People are ready to buy all different properties, especially by the seaside," said Sedat Gönüllüoglu, the Turkish tourism and culture office's attaché in the UAE. "We are trying to organise work permits and resident permits for people who buy properties."
Agents say Arab nationals are looking at properties for a number of reasons, including buying holiday homes on the coast or as buy-to-let investments.
"Arab investors are regarding Turkey as a safe haven for social life and for investment," said Mr Obuz.
The number of Arab tourists visiting the country has burgeoned in the last year after the Arab Spring, which led to many traditional holiday hotspots for Arabs becoming less popular.
"We have seen a significant number of inquiries this year. The story has been hotting up in the past year," said Kelly Macfarlane, the owner of Didim Sun Properties, located in Didim on the Aegean Sea. "One year ago, we would have not had a single inquiry from anybody from any Arab country."
Didim Marina, one of the biggest marinas on the Aegean, can accommodate more than 1,000 vessels.
Despite the growing wealth in the town, Ms Macfarlane said she had received requests from a wide range of buyers.
"Everyone has the image that Saudi Arabians are all oil princes, but they are just ordinary people that want to make their money work for them," she said. "There's huge demand for rental apartments in Didim and there's not enough supply."
rjones@thenational.ae
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Sustainable Development Goals
1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere
2. End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
6. Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
7. Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
8. Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation and foster innovation
10. Reduce inequality within and among countries
11. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
13. Take urgent action to combat climate change and its effects
14. Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development
15. Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
16. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
17. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalise the global partnership for sustainable development
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Tips to avoid getting scammed
1) Beware of cheques presented late on Thursday
2) Visit an RTA centre to change registration only after receiving payment
3) Be aware of people asking to test drive the car alone
4) Try not to close the sale at night
5) Don't be rushed into a sale
6) Call 901 if you see any suspicious behaviour
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
SPECS
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Farasan Boat: 128km Away from Anchorage
Director: Mowaffaq Alobaid
Stars: Abdulaziz Almadhi, Mohammed Al Akkasi, Ali Al Suhaibani
Rating: 4/5
WIDE%20VIEW
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Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
