Even the most jaded of travelers can’t help but be struck by the contrast between the ancient city of Istanbul and the ever so modern A’jia. Here, on the Asian side of town, on the quiet eastern shore of the Bosphorus, a 19th-century governor’s mansion has been given a makeover — behind its classic Ottoman facade it’s now the very picture of contemporary city life, all glossy wood floors and sleek modern furnishings.
In fact looking just at these interiors, you’d be hard pressed to identify the setting at all; fortunately all rooms but one (oh unfortunate one) look out over the Bosphorus strait, many from private balconies. No contemporary comfort is spared, from LCD televisions with a near-infinity of channels to the deep freestanding tubs with views from the upper floors of the split-level suites.
A’jia makes the most of its location: the hotel perches rather dramatically over the waters of the strait, and dining out on the terrace at the water’s edge is something to remember. If you’re longing for the noise and clamor of the city center, then this isn’t the place for you — you’re a half hour from the old city center, and fifteen minutes from the commercial district — but for those guests who choose A’jia this seclusion is no small part of its charm.
Posted by Phillip Holt at 2/8/2008 5:26 AM and is filed under NLP,Travels
Yesterday I was lost, as I was half in and half out of sleep, I did not know where I was. Click here to read.
This morning I know where I am. The Seminal Hotel in Istanbul.
                                                         Seminal Hotel, Istanbul, Turkey
I have stayed in the hotel many times over the years I have been visiting and training in Turkey, but it is a tourist hotel, with guests only staying for a few days, then they are off to visit another “important” site. The hotel seems to cater for mainly Arabic nationals, who always seem to have to shout at the top of their voices to have a conversation. They seem to have large families, taking many rooms, and they race from room to room, or shout from one room to another.
The hotel is comfortable, in need of a refurbishment, perhaps new carpets and a coat of paint, and like many hotels in Istanbul, sometimes have a bad smell. But the staff are friendly now they know me, and it is home for a few days.
My time to relax is in the breakfast room, where I can observe other guests starting their day. I feel at ease, as I watch, and try and workout the fellow guests nationality, are they Arab, Turkish, German, Russian?
As I sit drinking my strong Turkish tea English style, with a drop of milk, I watch the staff, as they busy themselves replenishing the food laid out in a buffet style, or cleaning the tables, wondering what they are thinking about the guests they are looking after.
One member of staff aways has a welcome, it is good to see his smiling face. I know where I am when I see Cafer, I am in the Seminal Hotel.
                                                          Cafer, staff member, Seminal Hotel
OSHOCTON - Hannah Shaw, 10, had been anticipating Saturday’s trip to the store for several weeks.
She even stamped a note on the fridge as a reminder.
But it wasn’t the excitement that goes along with an average trip to the grocery store that peaked Shaw’s interest, it was the chance to lob a frozen turkey.
“I just figured it would be fun,” she said. “And it’s for a good cause.”
The thud of a frozen turkey hitting the extra-slick floor at Baker’s Foods, in Coshocton, could be heard throughout as Shaw and many others made attempts to bowl a strike in the Turkey Bowl Saturday.
An attempt cost each participant $2, and anyone who successfully knocked down all 10 two-liter bottles of pop, which served as bowling pins for the day, won a $10 gift card.
“She was ready for it,” said Carol Shaw, Hannah’s mom, as she watched her daughter wind up to toss a turkey. “She’s just like ‘Give me money, mom, I have to do the Turkey Bowl.’”
After watching her daughter, Shaw gave the turkey tossing a try as well.
Several customers made their rounds and eventually stopped to watch and take a shot at it themselves.
All proceeds from the Turkey Bowl benefited the Coshocton County Relay For Life.
“It’s just something different,” Baker’s Assistant Manager Carrie Phillips said. “We always have things like car washes and stuff but this is something different and fun,”
Staff members cleared a lane out near the rear of the store and waxed it extra long and hard to make it extra slick for the turkeys to slide across.
“We were looking for something that would get people’s attention,” Phillips said. “We have had a bunch of people come up to us and ask, ‘What’s a Turkey Bowl?’”
An hour into the fundraiser nearly 40 people had tossed a frozen turkey once or twice, workers said.
Paulette Russell, of Warsaw, parked her shopping cart for a minute so she could try it out.
“That was just great throwing that turkey,” she said laughing. “I think I should have wound up a little more though.”
Justin Mushrush, 12, of West Lafayette, knocked down a several bottles as well and said it was a lot of fun.
Kendra Hogue’s mom heard about the Turkey Bowl on the radio so the two decided to make a stop while they were shopping.
Hogue bowled a strike.
“It was fun,” she said. “I work at Wal-Mart and I’ve handled turkeys before. I have always wondered what it would be like to bowl one so I had to come down and try it out.”
Modern, comfortable, family-run hotel set in well-shaded garden by the riverbank.
Easily the most popular among the now more than a dozen hotels lining the riverbank of AÄŸva. Part of the popularity is due to a famous soap opera that was filmed here in 2004. Weekends can be hell. At other times, it is a remarkably green and quiet escape from the tribulations of the big city.
The hotel offers an informal, boots-and-fireplace style to a largely young and urban clientele. There is a large garden and restaurant by the riverbank, a pleasantly “rustic” lounge, and plenty of lawns to spread out on. Rooms in the main building are fairly routine, but the newer units in the back show increasing sophistication. Access is via a curious mechanical raft that is pulled across the river by ropes and pulleys.
It is a green and slow-moving river that flows through some surprisingly lush parkland. At night, sitting by the campfire on the edge of the garden, one is easily transported into a forest camp very far from the bustle of the city. The frogs make a terrible racket. And you can pick berries from the riverbank as you row down to the beach, 800 metres downstream.
Host: Mr&Mrs Gulsun - Hakan Celen
Address: Kurfalli Koyu 81740 Sile
Phone: +90 (216) 721 71 43
Fax: +90 (216) 721 89 56
Email: acquaverde@acquaverde.com.tr
Web: www.acquaverde.com.tr
Capacity: 25 units , 60 total beds
Quiet and natural setting · Beach within 5 km · Nice garden · Swimming pool · Restaurant · Suitable for families with children · Pets not allowed · TV in rooms · Air conditioned rooms · Open all year
Nearest airport: Istanbul100 km
Nearest town: Sile31 km
Road directions: L in Cayirbasi village, R after bridge at Agva entrance, cross river by raft
The province of Tekirdag is located at the northern shores of the Marmara Sea and is a major port of commerce. The sandy beaches lie at the both side of the province. The joyful mixture of sunflowers and the vineyards covers the entire medium.
The major architectural creation of the province is the Rüstem Paþa Mosque, which is a creation of Architect Sinan and was constructed by the Grand Vizier of Süleyman the Magnificent in 1554.
An extensive collection is exhibited in the Archeology and Ethnography Museum. The Rakoczy Museum is the house in which the Hungarian Prince II. Rakoczy Ferench whom had fought for the freedom of his nation had lived his last years. The Namik Kemal………
Aydinbey Hotel is located at Konakli town, 12 km away from Alanya. While resting and relaxing, you may also try the various kinds of activities whenever you like to, including animation programs, water sports, fitness and beautiy center. A cinema for children is also one of these several activities of the hotel. Aydinbey Hotel is 95 km from Antalya Airport.
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Hotel Details
299 total rooms, 10 suites, 2 disabled rooms, 287 standard rooms. Sea, garden views are available.
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Room Features
Direct dial telephone, minibar, safe box, satellite tv, central air conditioning, split air condition, shower, wc, hair dryer, telephone in bathroom.
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Dining
All inclusive, lobby bar, pool bar, beach bar, restaurant bar. 1 open buffet restaurant, 1 outdoor restaurant (500 pax). International Cuisine, Turkish Cuisine.
Central air conditioning, central heating, garden, tv room, internet, hairdresser, laundry, ironing, market, gift shop, jewellery store, power generator, parking without fee.
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Leisure and Sports
Outdoor swimming pool, children’s swimming pool, aquapark, Turkish bath, sauna, massage, jacuzzi, fitness center, table tennis, billiards, live entertainment shows, sports animation, beach volley, children’s playground.
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Location
Konakli 1 km, Avsallar 3 km. 100 m to the sea. Antalya Airport 110 km. Private beach.
With 326 beds is a new and elite all inclusive facility in Alanya a city of the unique beauties and historical prosperity. With its private beach on the excellent coast and swimming pools, water slides, the Boutique Hotel Antique Roman Palace is only 2 km to the centrum and 1 km to the shopping center. The hotel invites you to enjoy a perfect Turkish and international cuisine and best service by the qualified staff all the times with its Ottoman Restaurant, beach bar, pool bar and terrace bar. Besides you can enjoy all kinds of sea sports alongside the beach.
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Hotel Details
109 total rooms, 323 total beds, 1 disabled room. Sea view is available.
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Room Features
Direct dial telephone, music, balcony, minibar, safe box, satellite tv, split air condition, bathtub, wc, hair dryer, telephone in bathroom.
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Dining
All inclusive, beach bar, pool - snack bar, Open buffet service. 1 outdoor restaurant (70 pax), 1 Ottoman restaurant (180 pax). International Cuisine, Turkish Cuisine.
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Meeting
1 meeting room (180 max. capacity). Overhead projector, screen, whiteboard, slide projector, flipchart, projector, barcovision, sound system, microphone, video player, DVD player, television, fax, air conditioning, light system, simultaneous translation system. Largest room capacity 180 pax.
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Facilities and Services
Split air condition, air condition heating, garden, tv room, game room, internet connection, business center, hairdresser, laundry, ironing, dry cleaning, safety box at reception, market, boutique, 12 hrs.room service, power generator, doctor on demand, baby sitter on demand.
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Leisure and Sports
Outdoor swimming pool, children’s swimming pool, water slide, Turkish bath, sauna, massage, fitness center, table tennis, animation programs, mini golf, beach volley, children’s playground, diving school, parasailing, banana, jet ski, mini club, dart, all water sports with fee at the beach.
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Location
Alanya 2 km. Antalya Airport 122 km. At the beach, private beach.
Bed & breakfast, half board, full board, breakfast lounge, restaurant bar. 1 a la carte restaurant (40 pax open ,75 pax closed). Turkish Cuisine.
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Meeting
1 meeting room (50 max. capacity). Overhead projector, slide projector, sound system, microphone, video player. Largest space 100 m2.
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Facilities and Services
Central heating, garden, tv corner, game room, internet connection, safety box at reception, market, power generator, doctor on demand, parking without fee, pets are allowed.
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Leisure and Sports
Thermal pool, Turkish bath, massage, mini football, table football, beach volley, basketball, jogging, children’s playground, air hockey.
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Location
Afyon 20km, Antalya 260 km. Ankara-Esenboga Airport 250 km. In old city center, near ruins, near mountain.
All roomsfeature direct dial telephones, satellite tv and music broadcast, computer modem connection, tv message & info system, pay - tv, mini-bar, hair dryer, electronic safe, commecting, non-smoking and handicapped rooms.
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Dining: Roof restaurant, breakfast saloon (cap.200) Lobby Bar, Vitamin Bar, Tropikal Bar, Cafe Sumela, patisserie.Meetings: Full equipped conference hall, 4 meeting rooms (Horon, MÖatara, Macka, Liser) cap.900, simultaneous translation system, ballroom. Facilities and service: Game hall, reading lounge, tv hall, shopping center, coiffeur, health club, laundry, dry cleaning, doctor, parking, rent a car. Leisure and Sports: Live music, gymnassium hall, indoor swimming pool, saunas, jacuzzi, billiards, tracking, hunting.In Macka, Trabzon 20 km., Sumela Manastry 13 km, Vazelon Manastry 8 km,Â
20 km. (Trabzon Airport)
 Seminal Hotel, Istanbul, Turkey
  Cafer, staff member, Seminal Hotel
( Tekirdag / Turkey )
 
