PRINCES

The Princes' Islands and Silivri, a district along the Maramara Sea, is home to the cleanest beaches in Türkiye's largest metropolitan city of Istanbul, the General Directorate of Public Health has announced.

While some Istanbulites are preferring to enjoy the pleasant waters of Bosphorus to cool off from the scorching heat, others are flocking to the beaches in the city.

Local authorities in Istanbul have imposed a ban on battery electric vehicles on Princes' Islands, a cluster of nine islands in the Marmara Sea, in a bid to curb increasing accidents involving the vehicles and unauthorized parking at pedestrian-only venues.

The ban will come into force starting from Oct. 5 with exceptions for permanent residents who are below the age of 66.

An event at Istanbul's historic Büyükada Greek Orthodox Orphanage, which has been closed since 1964, called for cooperation to launch a massive restoration project for the iconic building.

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Described as Europe's largest wooden building, the Prinkipo Greek Orphanage in Büyükada, the largest of Istanbul's nine Princes' Islands, will be saved from a possible collapse with a planned but expensive restoration work.

The historic structure will require some 20 million euros for restoration, according to experts, who completed surveying the building following long delays.

White layers on the surface of the Marmara Sea formed due to sea saliva (mucilage) continues to be a threat to marine species despite its decreasing density.

A group of divers and photojournalists dived 30 meters deep off Büyükada, the largest of Istanbul's nine Princes' Islands.

The Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality has shared pictures of horses that were once used for horse-drawn carriages on Istanbul's Princes' Islands, saying they were being fed regularly despite the outbreak.

Following the killing of 81 horses due to an outbreak of glanders on Dec. 19 in Büyükada, the largest of Istanbul's nine Princes' Islands, Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality has decided to buy 277 registered horse-drawn carriage plates and the horses in Adalar district.

An Albanian archaeological site and post-Byzantine churches, Bulgaria's UFO-like communist monument and an abandoned casino in the Romanian city of Constanta have been selected among the 12 finalists for the pan-European "7 Most Endangered Programme 2018".

Turkey's flourishing indigenous arms industry has defied a "hidden embargo" on the country for the last 15 years, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on July 3, signaling new projects in the sector.