Earlier this year, Tim Cook traveled to Turkey to meet with the country’s president, to reportedly discuss the opening of a retail store in Istanbul, research and development and other matters. The store opening is of particular significance, as it would be Apple’s first in the region.
Well it looks like the talks were successful. According to Turkish Apple blog ElmaDergisi, Apple is set to open a retail store in Istanbul’s Zorlu Center on April 4. And as proof of the gravity of the event, both Cook and Turkish president Abdullah Gül are expected to be in attendance…
Here’s a rough Google Translation of the report from ElmaDergisi (via MacRumors)
“During his visit to Turkey in February, Tim Cook announced Turkey’s first Apple store would opened in April. Today, however, based on new information we received from our source in the office of Apple, we know the official opening date to be 04/04/2014.”
Cook says that Apple’s first store in Turkey will be ‘unique,’ occupying a 21,000 square foot space inside the Zorlu shopping center in Istanbul with a cubic glass ceiling. The store is situated between retail locations of two high-end luxury clothing brands: Burberry and Louis Vuitton.
Apple has been working on increasing its presence in Turkey for several months now. It opened a Turkish web store back in November, and Cook is said to be working on multiple projects with the country including the facilitation of R&D, and a staggering $4 billion iPad education deal.