More than 150 years since it was first dreamed up by an Ottoman sultan, Turkey on October 29 unveiled the world's first sea tunnel linking two continents. The tunnel, which has taken nine years to construct under the Bosporus straits, is part of Istanbul's metro service, and will connect the European and Asian sides of Turkey's biggest city. Known as the Marmaray metro link, it is slated to revolutionize the city, where public transport is limited and traffic jams are the stuff of legend. First suggested by Ottoman sultan Abdoul Medjid in 1860, it wasn't until 2004 that Erdogan - then Mayor of Istanbul - gave the final go-ahead for the tunnel, as part of a series of lavish construction projects for the city including a third airport, a parallel canal and a third bridge. Nine years after Erdogan gave it the green light, the US$ 4.6 billion first stage of the Marmaray project is now opened - four years behind schedule. Presenting something of a technical challenge, the 1.4 kilometer long undersea tunnel was constructed by lowering steel-lined pre-cast concrete sections into a trench excavated 60 meter down on the seabed of the Sea of Marmara, where they were then buried. A further 12.2 kilometer of on-land tunnels connect the three stations which make up the project's first phase. The rail tunnel is said to be earthquake-proof, an important consideration in an area plagued by strong seismic activity.

Turkey's Teknopark Istanbul, a hub of research and development efforts similar to the Silicon Valley but for the country's defense and related industries, will be completed in 8-10 years, reported the Hurrietdaily. After construction it will generate nearly US$ 10 billion for Turkey's economy annually. Teknopark Istanbul will operate a 750 thousand square meter indoor space at Sabiha Gokcen Airport, east of Istanbul, accommodating more than 30 thousand people and targeting US$ 10 billion in defense and nondefense business annually, to become one of Europe's largest technology parks. The site will bring together companies and many universities in Istanbul, targeting strategic fields like aviation, maritime, electronics, information technology, nanotechnology, energy and automotive, biotechnologies, automation systems and robot technologies. Its major shareholders are the Under secretariat for Defense Industries (SSM), with a 45 percent stake, and the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce (?TO), with a 40 percent stake. Construction work began late last year, when Science, Industry and Technology Minister Nihat Ergun and SSM chief Murad Bayar laid its foundation. Currently there are 37 teknoparks in Turkey, which include 1200 companies.

According to Turkishnews, a new eco-friendly region plans to be built in Istanbul. A new project was named "The Yenisehir", which in Turkish means "The new city". The eco-region design was made by reputed American architect Sidney Rasekh, a founder of Urban Green Global architectural company.40 thousand hectares of land near the northern coast of Black Sea has been allocated under the construction. The new region basic concept is ecology. "The Yenisehir" should be an eco-friendly: here will be taken into account and minimized the adverse effects of such environmental factors as an unwise energy, water and food expenditure, air pollution by carbon dioxide and methane and water pollution. According to preliminary information, "The Yenisehir" will include 10 villages with population about 1 million. The eco-city will house an Olympic Village with 700 hectares total area, 2 universities and a medical center, a new airport, with 3.5 thousand hectares total area, which will reduce the workload of the Ataturk Airport.

As reported by Hurriyetdailynews on December 8 in Istanbul opened an exhibition of photos of more than 100 buildings built by Armenian architects living and creating in Istanbul in XIX and in the beginning of XX century. The exhibition is called "Armenian architects of Istanbul in the Era of Westernization" and will continue until January 2. Istanbul is deservedly considered one of the most beautiful cities in the world, with beautiful monuments of architecture built since the Byzantine Empire. As noted by the Turkish daily Radical, Istanbul never would have been so beautiful without architects of the Armenian origin. Especially remarkable mark was left by famous Balyan family architects, who designed and built the most beautiful palaces, mosques and barracks for more than 100 years. To slightly understand the Balyan's contribution to the whole Istanbul architecture, here are only some photos of perfect Palaces. Also we want to drive our gratitude to the curator of the exhibition, Hasan Kuruyazici, who carried out a 15-year study about the works of Armenian architects in Istanbul and the photography took one year.