Mersin is competing against
Volos, Greece and Rijeka, Croatia to host the
2013 Mediterranean Games ('Akdeniz Oynalari'). The Egyptian Al-Ahram Weekly has a
write-up of each city's presentations.
The
Mediterranean Games are a multi-sport event held every 4 years in the Olympic tradition. Unlike the Olympics (and as its name suggests), participation in the Mediterranean Games is restricted to countries in the vicinity of the Mediterranean Sea. All countries bordering the Med take part except for Israel.
The final decision on who hosts the 2013 games will be made by the International Mediterranean Games Committee (
CIJM) in November 2007. Turkey hosted the Mediterranean Games once previously: the
1971 games in Izmir.
The 2009 games will be held in
Pescara, Italy.
Mersin has changed its candidature logo. The following fish logo is the original design. I took this photo at the
2006 Mersin Motor Show. I guess the bubbles coming out of its mouth are meant to represent the 3 CIJM rings.
Recently, a more conservative and informative logo has replace the fish:
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Labels: sport, turkey - mersin - events
At this moment the qualification stage of the third round in the
Turkey Offshore Racing Championships should be happening off the Mersin suburb of Pozcu.
Earlier today I walked there and saw a few of the boats on dry land.
Unsurprisingly, the Adana boat was sponsored by a kebab restaurant:
The main race will be held tomorrow afternoon.
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Labels: sport, turkey - mersin - events
Tonight the presence of dozens of internationally-flagged single and dual-hulled yachts transformed the yacht harbour near home. The catamarans were particularly impressive. The boats are here for the 2007 Eastern Mediterranean Yacht Rally (
EMYR). It seems like only yesterday that the
2006 EMYR yachts were in Mersin. Tomorrow morning I hope to get up early with my camera, go out and snap a few photos.
EDIT: here are photos from this morning (2007-05-23):
The mayor's welcoming sign
One of the ultramodern catamarans
Boats of many countries, including an Australian on the right (with the solar panels)
Yachts and their reflections-------------------
Labels: turkey - mersin - events
Offshore powerboat racing is
coming to Turkey, including races in Mersin and Adana (I don't know if the article refers to the cities or provinces - Turks have an annoying habit of not differentiating between the two).
If powerboat racing is coming to Adana city, the race would be held in the dammed Lake Seyhan. I wonder where the Mersin race will be - something to look out for.
The Turkish Offshore Championship series will have 12 races. Two points caught my eye in the Turkish Daily News
article announcing the series:
1) The Istanbul Offshore Club (another IOC) chairman Ugur Isik "
notes that the engines of the boats are environment-friendly". This is not logical for such an event and in contrast to the Wikipedia
description of of the 'sport':
Offshore powerboat racing is racing by large, ocean-going powerboats, typically point-to-point racing.
Probably the largest, most powerful racing machines of all, the extreme expense of the boats and the fuel required to participate make it an expensive and elite sport.2) Z-grade celebrity
Kiera Chaplin, the granddaughter of
Charlie Chaplin, is promoting the event. I wonder a) how much she is getting paid and b) what she knows about the sport. At least she will attract the Turkish media!:
UPDATE: according to the Istanbul Offshore Club's
website, Adana's race is on Lake Seyhan next weekend (26th-27th) and Mersin's race will be held at Mersin city 2 weeks later.
Here is a photo of Kiera Chaplin in all her Turkish powerboating goodness:
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Labels: sport, turkey - adana - events, turkey - mersin - events
