For centuries, Istanbul lured intrepid shoppers with colourful jewellery and carpets which tumbled from shops in the ancient alleyways of the Grand Bazaar. Today, the city's affluent young middle-class is embracing a different kind of shopping experience in giant glass-and-chrome malls.
Formula One title contenders McLaren left Turkey with their confidence up on Monday despite being beaten for the fourth race in a row by champions Ferrari. Lewis Hamilton finished second at Istanbul Park but the 23-year-old Briton described Sunday's race as the best of his career after having to make an extra pit stop to ensure his tyres lasted safely.
Ferrari's Felipe Massa won the Turkish Grand Prix from pole position for the third year in a row on Sunday after tyre concerns slowed Lewis Hamilton's challenge. The Brazilian took the chequered flag 3,7 seconds ahead of the 23-year-old McLaren driver, who ran most of the race on the harder tyres and had to make three pit stops compared with his rival's two.
Double world champion Fernando Alonso was upbeat about his Renault team's prospects after a strong performance in Friday's practice for Sunday's Turkish Grand Prix. The Spanish former world champion was fourth in the morning and ninth in the afternoon, despite not being happy with his car's balance.
Brazilian Felipe Massa secured the fifth win of his Formula One career and the third of this season when he spearheaded a Ferrari one-two in Sunday's Turkish Grand Prix. The victory revived his hopes of challenging for the drivers' championship and Ferrari's bid for the constructors' title.
Felipe Massa claimed pole position on Saturday for Sunday's Turkish Grand Prix, beating championship leader Lewis Hamilton of McLaren-Mercedes into second place. Brazilian Massa, who also took pole last year at Istanbul Park, registered a time of one minute, 27,329 seconds for the 5,338km circuit.
McLaren-Mercedes team chief Ron Dennis on Friday said he had restored order between his feuding drivers following clear-the-air talks in Istanbul. Dennis said: "I've spoken to both of them independently and we were pretty clear. We run our team in a certain way and expect from every member of the team certain behaviours."
Fernando Alonso is refreshed and ready to step up his championship challenge as Formula One heads to Turkey this weekend. The 26-year-old Spaniard has been relaxing on holiday since the pit-lane controversy in Hungary three weeks ago and he is in optimistic mood going into his 100th grand prix.
Police battled demonstrators in Istanbul as tens of thousands of workers rallied on World Labour Day on Thursday while soaring food prices brought large crowds on to the streets of some Asian capitals. In Istanbul, police used pepper gas and water cannon to disperse workers outside Turkey's main left-wing labour confederation.
At least 19 people were killed and 69 were injured on Thursday when an explosion ripped through an Istanbul building that housed workshops including an illegal fireworks factory. Television footage showed debris from the building strewn through the streets of the industrial district of Davutpasa.
Turkey stepped up pressure on the United States to help curb attacks by Kurdish rebels from northern Iraq as a conference on Saturday of Iraq's neighbours and major powers sought to lower cross-border tensions. The "neighbours' conference", hosted by Turkey, was meant to focus on security inside Iraq but instead it is overshadowed by tensions between Turkey and Iraq.
