Apart from any considerations of climate, Turkey is hot in another very important way. Its resort towns are booming tourist destinations or Europeans as well as North Americans and this looks set to continue for the long term. The benefit to the rental and property market is huge and significant. Some of the more popular destinations are listed below.

Bodrum

Bodrum is a port in Turkey. It is on the Bodrum Peninsula, near the north-west entrance to the gulf of G'kova, and faces the Greek island of Kos. Today, it is a centre of tourism and yachting. The town is a very popular tourist resort for northern Europeans due to its alluring coastline and active nightlife. Every year, at least a few hundred thousand tourists visit Bodrum.

Bodrum has a typical Mediterranean climate, characterized by hot summers and mild winters. The summer season runs from May to October, providing a seawater temperature of up to 23'C and a daily temperature of around 30'C. Summers are hot and dry, and the hottest months are July and August.

The first golf course in the regio, the Vita Golf and Country Club is located in Bodrum. It features an 18 hole PGA standard golf course. A new golf course is to be built by European Golf Design and will be located 25 km from Bodrum, near the village of Mumeular.

Returns of 40 per cent or more per annum in real estate have been reported in Bodrum. Although each case and investment is different, and timing is critical, buying a property in Bodrum has great profit potential with minimal risk.

The two major airports Bodrum and Izmir enable hundreds of thousands of tourists to visit the area. Bodrum itself is located in Mugla province, which has contributed a quarter of all tourism revenue in Turkey, around $2.5 billion (?1.3 billion).

Mugla province has been chosen by the Turkish government as a model so that the it implement a similar real esate form to that used in Spain and other countries. The planned increase in the number of golf courses throughout Bodrum will positively impact rental yields ? golf has always brought in tourists.

Ease Of Access

Bodrum has a modern airport, with several flights from Istanbul arriving daily. The airport is about 36 km north-east of Bodrum, a short, 30 minute drive. Thomas Cook operates direct flights to Bodrum from May to October from several UK airports, including: Gatwick, Stansted, Manchester and Newcastle. Bodrum can be reached by sea from Kos and Rhodes (Greek Islands). Daily ferryboat and hydrofoil services from Kos and Rhodes to Bodrum are available during the summer season. By road, there are many intercity bus companies that operate bus services to Bodrum from other major Turkish cities such as Ankara, Izmir, Adana, Bursa and Konya.

Belek Belek lies between Antalya and Alanya on Turkey's Mediterranean coast. It was recently chosen as the ?model for tourism for the next 1,000 years' by the Turkish Ministry for

Tourism.

Belek is located in Antalya province and is nicknamed the 'Turkish Riviera' because of its's role as Turkey's tourism capital. Belek is host to 32 four or five star hotels and 6 golf courses, including the National Golf Club, which was designed by Ryder Cup player, David Feherty, and there are plans for another 15.

In fact, Belek's aim is to become the premier golfing region in the whole of Turkey over the next few years, and the massive development projects that are currently under progress should help this become a reality. Golf legend Nick Faldo is even designing a 27 hole, signature golf course at the Cornelia De Luxe Resort in Belek, scheduled for opening in late 2006. The resort itself will feature its own premium tier, 300 bedroom hotel and a number of associated golf villas.

Belek has a prosperous economy. Antalya international airport is planning 2 new terminals to handle the increased passenger traffic. An interlink coastal route, costing around $1 billion (?5 billion), has also been built

Also, the $40 million (?20.5 million) Tourist Roads and Rehabilitation Programme will improve the roads to cater for the expected increase in the number of visitors to the region.

Belek is host to 6 golf courses - including the National Golf Club - with a further 6 currently under construction. In 2005, foreign property investment rose by 40 per cent. The British form a major component of these investors. Other countries include: Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden. Detached villas with private pools and easy beach access were the most popular choice.

New golf villas can be priced up to ?150,000 (?100,733), which makes them very reasonable when compared to other parts of Europe. Belek has a number of world class golf courses, including the Turkish National Golf Club in addition to 5 others, including: The Pasha ? a stunning landscape with undulating greens, The Sultan - golf in a forest environment and the Gloria Golf Resort situated beside the sea with wide, challenging fairways and water hazards.

The government plans to put in another 15 courses over the next 10 years with golf legends Nick Faldo and Jack Nicklaus overseeing the design of 2 of the courses. As golf has always been a major factor in the success of property markets across the world, these developments will establish Belek even more firmly as one of the world's foremost golfing resorts.

Ease Of Access

Belek is just under 4 hours' flight time from London and only 3 hours' flight time from mainland Europe. The nearest international airport is in Antalya, which is approximately 30 minutes away and is the second busiest airport on the Mediterranean coastline.

Altinkum

Altinkum is located on Turkey's south Aegean Coast; Altinkum is heavily frequented by British holiday package tourists. Altinkum differs from Bodrum because it is small and quiet, making it perfect for families who prefer a much quieter and slower pace. The resort town's main attractions are its three long sandy beaches that stretch from the small harbor at one end of a gently shelving bay to a rocky cliff at the other end. The name Altinkum means 'golden sands'.

The Ministry of Culture and Tourism has designated a series of Tourism Development Areas along the coast, where state land is being sold to developers as part of a series of master plans. The government will be making considerable infrastructure investment in these areas and they promise good potential returns.

Altinkum is one such area to watch. As it is close to Bodrum, it benefits from the economic investments outlined previously for Bodrum.

Ease Of Access Altinkum is 1 hour 30 minutes transfer from Bodrum Airport and 1 hour 45 minutes from Izmir Airport. There are ferries to Bodrum from Altinkum Didim daily in the summer time. Altinkum's marina is currently under construction.

With resorts such as these no wonder Turkey is Europe's hottest country.