İzmir

The coronavirus pandemic hit the entertainers the most, one of them being a female percussion artist who had to resign from her orchestra, but little did she know that her videos of playing the goblet drum would make her a social media sensation.

"People getting astonished while seeing me play goblet drum gives me a kick," Ceren Özdemir said.

In the first incident of its kind in Turkey, police in the western province of İzmir have suspended the driving license of a 21-year-old man over drink-driving an e-scooter.

Turkish Coast Guard teams have rescued 77 irregular migrants pushed back by Greek authorities in two separate operations conducted off the western province of İzmir's Dikili district on June 8.

The first team patrolled the Dikili coasts upon notifications that some migrants on a dinghy were floating on the sea.

Security units have detained 22 out of some 28 suspects, linked to the Migration Monitoring Association in Istanbul, accused of funding the PKK terrorist organization with the money donated by some international institutions.

The asphalt on a road in the Aegean province of Denizli has melted due to a new heatwave Turkey entered on May 28, causing temperatures to surpass the season norms by 5 to 7 degrees Celsius countrywide.

Over the coming week, the temperatures will be around 32 degrees Celsius in the capital Ankara, 33 in Istanbul and 36 in the western province of İzmir.

The Gediz Delta, located in the western province of İzmir's Çiğli district, has been added to the "Birding Places" list, an EU platform displaying all the bird watching regions across the world.

"With this platform, millions will be aware of Gediz Delta and Çiğli," Utku Gümrükçü, the mayor of the district, told Demirören News Agency.

With the pandemic weakening, tourism professionals in Turkey's southeastern region are hopeful of witnessing a tourism boom this year, expecting an influx of both local and international tourists.

According to a feature story in daily Milliyet on April 21, the occupancy rate in region's hotels is around 90 percent as of April.

Eduardo Sepulveda from the Drone Hopper-Androni team won the 57th Tour of Turkey's Stage four, which is known as the "Queen Stage" and is the most challenging lap between the western province of İzmir and Mount Spil in the neighboring province of Manisa, on April 13.

Caleb Ewan of Lotto Sudal sprinted to victory on April 10 in the first stage of the 57th Presidential Tour of Turkey to claim the right to carry the turquoise jersey of the leader.

The 57th Tour of Turkey will start on April 10 from the Aegean tourism hub Bodrum and end on April 17 in the country's largest metropolis, Istanbul, with 175 cyclists of 25 teams from 14 countries participating, the head of the Turkish Cycling Federation (TBF) has said.

The Çanakkale 1915 bridge, inaugurated on March 18, will be part of the total route of 1,308 kilometers this year.