[Al Arabiya Latest] Turkish local authorities ordered Saturday the closure of the country's first nudist beach only six days after it was opened, citing architectural reasons.Technical inspections at the Adaburnu-Golmar hotel, which overlooks the Aegean Sea said that one of the terraces is not built according to the architectural standards specified in the design.
The hotel, the authorities declared, will not be reopened until this "mistake" is redressed. The hotel owner said he hoped to get things sorted out by Wednesday.
Adaburnu-Golmar is the first naturist hotel in the predominantly-Muslim country and is exclusively for foreigners.
The opening of the hotel, located near the famous southwestern resort of Marmaris, was regarded as a sort of revolution since this is the first time Turkey officially allows people to swim naked.
However, the hotel administration stressed that nudity is only allowed inside the hotel premises and not on the public beaches nearby. The hotel provides shuttle buses to the private nudist beach.
Tourism is one of the most important sources of national income in Turkey and most of the tourists come from Western countries. Turkey offers summer tourism along its beaches on the Mediterranean and the Black Sea as well as winter tourism in the mountains where skiing is very popular. Skiing competitions take place on regular basis on the Alma Dagh Mountains near the capital Ankara.
Since Turkey decided to float the lira, the value of the local currency against the US dollar dropped sharply, which made the country a cheap destination for tourists from all over Europe, especially the UK and Germany.
In 2002, around 14 million tourists entered Turkey and the revenue from tourism alone amounted to 10 billion US dollars. In 2005, the number rose to 21 million with a revenue of 16 billion.
As far foreign investment in Turkey is concerned, tourism ranks second after the automotive industry.