Zafer Caglayan, the Turkish state minister for foreign trade, has announced that between 2000 and 2009 the country's exports grew by a massive 268%. For the 16 countries that Turkey has signed Foreign Trade Agreements with, the increase in exports is even greater at 524% over the same period.

Turkstat, the Turkish statistical institute, released figures showing that exports in September 2010 were at 8,950 Million USD, which was up 5.5% from that same period in the previous year.

Turkey currently has 16 Foreign Trade Agreements signed of which 14 have come into effect. Another 10 agreements, including with Chile and Jordan, are currently in the pipeline according to Zafer Caglayan.

Turkey's continued strong growth in exports is just one of the reasons why it's economy is such a strong force in the post-crunch world. It's the fastest growing economy in Europe and has the lowest debt to national income ratio in Europe.

Turkey's economy combined with a number of other factors are reasons why now is the perfect time to invest into Istanbul's property market. No.1 Knightsbridge is located in Istanbul's most promising area for capital and rental growth with a new metro line due for completion in mid 2011. Property prices are increasing at around 20% per annum and set to continue for the next 5 years.