POISED TO BECOME EUROPE’S NEWEST GOLF DESTINATION: ANTALYA, TURKEY CONTINUES TO BUILD NEW DESIGNER COURSES

Nicklaus to Join Roster of Super-star Course Designers in Antalya in 2010

New York, NY (June 18, 2009) – When the Jack Nicklaus signature golf course opens in 2010 at the Mardan Palace resort in Antalya, Turkey, it will mark the seventh new luxury golf resort – and the tenth world-class championship course – to begin operations in the area, known as the “Turkish Riviera,” since 2005. The coastal Mediterranean region – especially the Belek resort area with its 300 days of sunshine each year – has quietly but quickly grown into a world-class golf destination.

Nicklaus is not the only super-star golf course architect intrigued by the diverse blend of pine and eucalyptus forests, magnificent beaches, lakes, rivers and grasslands found in Antalya. Colin Montgomerie, Nick Faldo, Pete Dye and Michel Gayon all have contributed to its emergence among Europe’s newest premier golf destinations.

In contrast to several more mature destinations, golf in Turkey is distinguished by easy accessibility to the best courses and very reasonable prices – in many cases lower than those at public courses in the U.S – further enhanced by the favorable Dollar-to-Turkish Lira exchange rate.

A sampling of Antalya’s new golf clubs and resorts over the past few years:

• The 560-room Mardan Palace – at $1.4 billion Europe’s most expensive hotel – opened in early June to rave reviews, providing guests with an opulent experience with influences from the country’s Ottoman Empire era. In 2010, an 18-hole signature course by Nicklaus will become the centerpiece of the resort’s sports facilities that will also feature various water sports, tennis, a bowling alley, basketball, volleyball and squash.
• Two golf resorts opened in Antalya in 2008. The Papillon Golf Club, a $100 million golf and resort complex featuring the Colin Montgomerie-designed, 18-hole, par 72, 7,021-yard course which, like several others in the region, winds through pine forests and sand dunes for exciting play. There is also a nine-hole academy course and a fully-equipped practice facility. The Lykia Links is the first true “links” course in Turkey. Designed by Pete Dye and offering magnificent coastal settings and challenging playing conditions, Lykia features 27 holes of golf.

·         In 2007, Carya Golf Club opened a classic, heathland-style course roaming over undulating sand hills and shaped by home-grown heather rough, pine and eucalyptus trees. The 7,186-yard, par 72 Players course is a demanding test of golf strategy. Carya also offers a world class Golf Academy and spectacular new Club House. And the Sueno Golf Club opened two courses between 2006 and 2007: the 18-hole, par 69 Dunes course measuring 6,190 yards; and a more challenging international course, the 18-hole, par 72 Pines course, that measures 7,013 yards. Both are links courses with natural bunkers, dunes, numerous lakes and pine forests. Also in 2007, the Kaya Eagles Golf Club, set in the midst of dense pine trees, opened a David Jones-designed 18-hole championship course with a par of 72 and measuring 6,419 yards.

·         The Cornelia Golf Club opened the Cornelia Nick Faldo Club in 2006. With 27 total holes – three nine-hole courses called the King, Queen and Prince – the club can offer three different 18-hole championship combination course set-ups. The longest, at 6,947-yards, has been described as “ferociously challenging.” The resort also features the David Leadbetter Golf Academy, the first of its kind in Turkey.

·         Other new golf resorts and clubs in Antalya include the Gloria Golf Resort (2004) designed by the French golf architect Michael Gayon, and The Antalya Golf Club (2003) by Davis Jones and European Golf Design.

To learn more about the exciting activities in Turkey, call 1-877-FOR-TURKEY or contact the Turkish Culture and Tourist Office in New York at 212-687-2194, or visit www.tourismturkey.org or www.goturkey.com.

About Turkey

Turkey is a modern nation thriving amidst an outdoor museum, a captivating blend of antiquity and contemporary and of East and West,. The cradle of civilization and center of world history today stands as one of the fastest-growing tourism destinations in the world. Turkey was the site of the first human settlement; the seat of the Byzantine, Roman and Ottoman Empires; the birthplace of Homer and the last home of the Virgin Mary, just to name a few. Today Turkey, with its spectacular coastline, majestic mountains, cosmopolitan cities and quaint villages is one of the world’s most fascinating destinations and, for American travelers, a wondrous blend of the exotic and the familiar.

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