Despite Istanbul's splendour, Turkey's not quite on the mark

Frank Kane explores a few reasons why Turkey will remain an "emerging" market for the foreseeable future.

Mohamed Alabbar, the chairman of the property developer Emaar. AFP
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We all love lists, don't we? Well, here's a list of a few reasons why Turkey will remain an "emerging" market for the foreseeable future.

Without wishing to appear ungrateful to the country where I just spent a pleasant week in the Ottoman splendour of Istanbul, I left with the impression it still had some way to go before it could fulfil its ambitions to be the "role model" for the rest of the Muslim world.

You might dismiss my observations as a tourist's gripes, but I think they're symptomatic of inherent flaws in the country's development:

1. The fact that arrivals at Ataturk airport cannot buy a visa in Turkish lira, but have to stump up in euros or US dollars. It shows a basic lack of faith in the currency, despite the government's track record in tackling inflation.

2. The fact that Istanbul taxis do not have air conditioning. Well, they do in theory, but the drivers of the cars (small, uncomfortable Fiats for the most part) prefer to travel with all windows wide open. Astonishingly, a request to switch on the AC was met by a demand for a surcharge of 5 lire (Dh10). Imagine a Dubai taxi driver trying that one on.

3. Istanbul traffic. It's a fantastic city, but the pleasure of sightseeing was negated by the gridlock that gripped all its streets, even major thoroughfares. On the evening Madonna played there last week, it took an hour to travel 2 kilometres. Urban infrastructure should be a serious priority for the government of Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the prime minister.

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On the subject of lists, this is the time of year when all eyes in the Middle East are on the local list par excellence: the Arabian Business Power 500.

This annual catalogue of the region's movers and shakers always throws up a talking point or two, though not usually about the identity of the winner. Saudi Arabia's Prince Al Waleed bin Talal has been judged the most powerful man in the Arab world by AB's experts for the past seven years, and he romped home again this time. "Despite so much success, there is no sign of the prince slowing down," purred the website. Looks like we can take a fair stab at next year's winner then.

The identity of the man in second place, however, is quirky. Few could gainsay the track record of Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, chairman of Emirates Group as well as chief strategist of Dubai's economic and financial recovery. But his inclusion, and in fact that of Prince Al Waleed, seem to contradict AB's own rule excluding royals or politicians from the list.

Stranger still were the comments of Walid Akawi, the chief executive of AB's owner, ITP Publishing, at an obligatory glittering event at the Pavillion in Downtown Dubai on Monday.

The event was honoured by the presence of Mohamed Alabbar, chairman of property developer Emaar, who was himself ranked number four in the list. As head of the UAE's best-known property company since 1997, in good times and bad, Mr Alabbar's "place in history is already secure", AB gushed.

But Mr Akawi went further in his speech to the audience. "Mr Alabbar has done more to grow the region's business than anyone else in the world," he proclaimed.

What, more than Prince Al Waleed or Sheikh Ahmed? Or more even than Reem Asaad, the Saudi activist whose inclusion on the list at number three was due to the fact that women in the kingdom can now sell bras and knickers in lingerie shops there?

All very quirky, but it depends on your definition of power, I suppose.