Apple has opened its first retail store in Turkey at Istanbul’s Zorlu Center. President Abdullah Gül and Apple CEO Tim Cook did not join the grand opening, as some had hoped. However, Cook took to Twitter to announce the opening and posted: “Teşekkür ederim to our customers in Istanbul and all the people of Turkey.” Hundreds of Turkish citizen queued up in front of the store 13 hours before the opening. In addition to Istanbulites, many Turks from the other cities rushed into the Zorlu Center.
As scheduled, Apple opened its first-ever retail store in Turkey on Saturday morning, revealing a remarkable above-ground glass rectangular skylight that hides an underground two story store. The event in Istanbul attracted large crowds that circled the building and spilled out into other parts of the spectacular Zorlu Centre, with the new store situated as the jewel in the crown below the mall’s main plaza, surrounded by high-end retailers. As remarkably clever as the Apple’s store’s plaza skylight is, the entire center is an eye-opening architectural marvel, with eight floors of very environmentally-friendly offices and shops and walkways surrounding the open-air plaza, with three tall office towers built on top of that.
