ISTANBUL -- 'Let's meet where the continents meet' is the catch phrase Istanbul has chosen for its bid for the 2000 Summer Olympics, underlining its unique geographical position linking Europe with Asia.
'Blending the modern and the ancient, the city offers an ideal site for emphasizing the values of Olympic movement as humanity crosses the threshold into the next millenium,' Turkish bid officials say. They point to a first-ever chance to simultaneously hold the games on two continents.
But the rhetoric can't hide the fact that Istanbul is the outsider of the five bidding cities, with little chance of winning the Sept. 23 vote.
Despite its long shot status, the Turkish parliament last April ratified a bill which identified and provided funding sources for the organization of the Games.
The income includes revenue from the sports and national lotteries, horse racing and an annual allocation from the consolidated budget.
Istanbul's proposed budget for hosting the games is $1.2 billion with a projected surplus of $207 million.
This surplus will be used to cover the travel expenses of the athletes and officials who participate in the Games.
A further $3 million will be set aside from Istanbul's budget to cover the traveling costs of journalists from the developing world.
By the year 2000 Istanbul will have more than 80,000 hotel beds and all are within easy reach of all the venues and Istanbul's center.
Istanbul is planning to stage all the events within a 25 mile radius and provide accomodation for all the athletes in a single village.
The Olympic village will be built as part of a satellite town already being developed near Lake Kucuktekmece on the European side. It will comprise approximately 140 five-story buildings arranged around 10 large parks.
With the accent on a compact Games, the furthest traveling time from the village to any venue will be only 40 minutes and 15 of the 25 sports will be contested in the Olympic Park, 25 minutes from Istanbul's city center.
The other proposed venues are all within easy reach of the village and the park, Turkish officials say, adding that while only three venues already exist, four are currently under construction and plans are well underway for the others. All venues will be completed two years before the opening of the Games.
Istanbul, with a population of more than eight million, suffers badly from heavy traffic and pollution. But local experts say that as more than 50 percent of the air pollution comes from chimney smoke, usage of natural gas will greatly reduce the problem.
The city has also embarked on a plan to transfer traffic to ring roads and increase the capacity and variety of mass transit facilities.
With the completion of the subway system currently under construction, the residential areas will be tied to work centers in the city which, according to the officials, will greatly reduce traffic congestion.
But, as with Beijing, another bidding city, Turkey's human rights record is considered a major obstacle with torture allegations and the ongoing Kurdish separtist issue topping the list of concerns.
The London-based Amnesty International, in its report of November 1992, claimed political killings were reported almost daily in Turkey. Officials, however, say that torture is not systematic and that individual cases are brought to courts.
On the Kurdish issue, the government officials say Turkish troops are fighting the illegal Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in the southeast which attacks villages. Since August 1984 some 6,000 people have been killed in PKK-related violence.
Turkey's first woman Prime Minister, Tansu Ciller, will lead Turkey's bid team in Monte Carlo but it will be a major surpise if the IOC members reward her with a yes vote.NEWLN:
