- I regret that I did not know Turkish. I would have learned more about the politics and society if I could have spoken with people who don't speak English
- People from work did not invite me home - maybe because they were limited with the university-provided transportation and most lived with family, not in their own flats
- The vast majority smoke- so sad and frustrating. In June there may be riots in the street when a law banning smoking in restaurants takes effect
- The unemployment rate is 9.9% plus underemployment of 4%. Lots of men in every town and city sitting around in tea houses at all hours of the day. The underemployment perhaps is reflected in the 10 waiters that work in a shoe-size restaurant or store. You could say the Turks have an entrepreneurial spirit, but the situation is also sad when you seen men selling spin tops in the street or 5 packages of batteries.
- You need to hold on to your plates in restaurants. Waiters watch you like hawks and whisk your plate away as you swallow your last bite. Then the custom is to let you sit for hours until you request the bill.
- Turks drink tea every 47 minutes. You can decline tea, but still it will appear in front of you. They are incredulous when you decline multiple refills. Teapots look like double boilers with the tea essence on the top and water on continuous boil in the bottom. At a reception I saw a large urn with 2 spigots - I thought perhaps coffee and tea. But, it was tea essence and hot water to dilute the tea to your liking.
- Maybe it's just me and my circle of friends who question authority, but it appears that the Turks follow rules. Library web pages feature the library rules - what you can't do in the library.
- Lots of police with machine guns patrolling the street, in particular on Istiklal Caddesi - the main street of modern Istanbul. There are buses of police and policemen stop young men to check their identity cards
- Turks are very proud of their cuisine, but it appears to me that it is the same everywhere - 4 star restaurant or hole-in-the-wall cafeteria. There is variety, but meat, rice, spinach, eggplant and fresh salads are staples.
- It's not because I wasn't a buxom blond that I was never hassled. Smiles broke out on everyone's face when I used my few words of Turkish. They have a hard life of long commutes, low salaries and few career options. Yet, they are close to their families. They enjoy shooting the breeze with their friends and family. I'm convinced there is a Turkish friendly gene. They weren't helping me to give their country a good reputation with tourists, rather it just comes natural to these lovely people with a complex past and an evolving future.
Wednesday 7 January 2009
Reflections/ Observations
The best part of my time in Turkey was meeting and getting to know the incredibly friendly people. Here are some thoughts and observations as I sadly wrap up my blog
Monday 5 January 2009
Final Delightful Day
The best part of staying at the Turkoman Hotel is eating breakfast on the roof terrace. I know the owner so joined her for breakfast with her friends, an American artist and an Australian selling textiles. They recommended the exhibit at the Pera museum and when I complimented the American on her ring, she told me about the Afghan store in the Covered Bazaar.
It was great going directly to Tribal Arts in the bazaar and not dealing with the other aggressive store owners. Muhammed is an Afghan who had walked as a child to Pakistan to escape the war. He travels to Afghanistan, Pakistan, Turkmanistan and other eastern countries to collect the traditional silver jewelery. He pointed out the origin of each piece. He also sells wholesale. As usual various cousins also work at the stall- literally a hole in the wall with additional merchandise - including yemini slippers - decorating the outside columns. I had recently seen a video in a museum about the yemini slippers, so purchased a pair.
Despite the rain, I took a bus to Balat- up the Golden Horn - which was a Jewish neighborhood a long time ago. It is a 20 min. ride from the center of Istanbul, but a place frozen in time. Narrow passageways, small shops, cobblestone alleys, two-story houses cobbled together with plaster and tin. Even though it was raining I loved wandering around. Asking an abaya-clad woman for directions, I received a friendly smile and hand gestures to the center of town. I had visited the Ahrida synagogue in the neighborhood in 2006. This time I stumbled upon an entrance way with hebrew inscriptions in the lintel.
Next stop was the Pera museum to see "The Lure of the East," an exhibition of the most important works of British Orientalist painting around the world. It was magnificent. The east was so mysterious for the Europeans. A British woman traveled to Turkey in the 1800s and observed first hand the life in the harem. She commented that it was liberating for women - they could do their own thing, away from the supervision and constraints of male society.
I met Gurbet for dinner. She is a business librarian at Koc. I really like her. She lived in Houston for a few years and even in Cappadocia. I think she is a little off-beat. She wanted to make sure I had a traditional meal. She brought me to a place to have bazlama, a type of crepe. Women sit in the restaurant window in traditional dress making the bread. I thought these places were tourist traps, but that is the beauty of Turkey. Turks like to frequent such places, too! We then moved on to a cafe with a 10 page menu of desserts. It was sad when Gurbet asked me what was next - you've seen Turkey, where's the next adventure. I had been saying to so many people that of course I would see them again. Now, I wasn't so sure.
A final walk back through the bustling city streets. Packed for an hour. Up at 5:30 and on the tram at 6 to catch my 9 am flight. One more post on reflections
It was great going directly to Tribal Arts in the bazaar and not dealing with the other aggressive store owners. Muhammed is an Afghan who had walked as a child to Pakistan to escape the war. He travels to Afghanistan, Pakistan, Turkmanistan and other eastern countries to collect the traditional silver jewelery. He pointed out the origin of each piece. He also sells wholesale. As usual various cousins also work at the stall- literally a hole in the wall with additional merchandise - including yemini slippers - decorating the outside columns. I had recently seen a video in a museum about the yemini slippers, so purchased a pair.
Despite the rain, I took a bus to Balat- up the Golden Horn - which was a Jewish neighborhood a long time ago. It is a 20 min. ride from the center of Istanbul, but a place frozen in time. Narrow passageways, small shops, cobblestone alleys, two-story houses cobbled together with plaster and tin. Even though it was raining I loved wandering around. Asking an abaya-clad woman for directions, I received a friendly smile and hand gestures to the center of town. I had visited the Ahrida synagogue in the neighborhood in 2006. This time I stumbled upon an entrance way with hebrew inscriptions in the lintel.
Next stop was the Pera museum to see "The Lure of the East," an exhibition of the most important works of British Orientalist painting around the world. It was magnificent. The east was so mysterious for the Europeans. A British woman traveled to Turkey in the 1800s and observed first hand the life in the harem. She commented that it was liberating for women - they could do their own thing, away from the supervision and constraints of male society.
I met Gurbet for dinner. She is a business librarian at Koc. I really like her. She lived in Houston for a few years and even in Cappadocia. I think she is a little off-beat. She wanted to make sure I had a traditional meal. She brought me to a place to have bazlama, a type of crepe. Women sit in the restaurant window in traditional dress making the bread. I thought these places were tourist traps, but that is the beauty of Turkey. Turks like to frequent such places, too! We then moved on to a cafe with a 10 page menu of desserts. It was sad when Gurbet asked me what was next - you've seen Turkey, where's the next adventure. I had been saying to so many people that of course I would see them again. Now, I wasn't so sure.
A final walk back through the bustling city streets. Packed for an hour. Up at 5:30 and on the tram at 6 to catch my 9 am flight. One more post on reflections
New Year's
I had considered taking the boat to Heybeliada, the 2nd largest of the Princess Islands, but it was raining so headed to Marmara University library to use the computer. I introduced myself to Yazbahar, the reference librarian. She was eager to practice her English, having just completed a 3 month English course in Edinburgh. She proceeded to give me a tour of the library and introduce me to all the staff. It's a public university so the resources are rather meager. Librarians sit behind glass walls, simple wooden desks for students and porcelain hole in the floor for rest rooms.
Yazbahar invited me to her New Year's Eve party! She gave me simple directions and drew a map. I was off to see the Rezan Has museum. It should have been labeled a gallery seeing as it was just one room! This small private university is located in restored brick buildings with a beautiful garden courtyard.
Stopped off at the Grand Bazaar for some quick shopping. Bought a tablecloth from a man whose Indian partner was visiting. The Turkish textile industry had been devastated due to cheap labor in India and China. He claimed the design was Turkish and the product is manufactured in India.
The short bus ride to the party turned out to be an hour in heavy traffic. I was instructed to exit on a bridge. I got off on a major highway and proceeded to show multiple people my directions. I found myself walking through a dark, closed industrial area. Inquiring at a barber shop I learned that my landmark was a tall building on the horizon. I considered turning back, but was rewarded when I finally arrived on Yazbahar's doorstep. She was surprised and pleased to see me.
Her husband is doing his mandatory military service for a year. 3 male friends and 2 women friends were enjoying the first course of kebab and spinach borek. Yazbahar then ripped open a Santa Clause costume and asked for volunteers. One man quickly acceded to her request. They had picked numbers previously to buy one present for a friend. Of course she gave me a present of earrings. One man was pleased to receive a remote controlled helicopter. The man who gave the present was crestfallen when it failed to work. Then the recipient read the directions and managed to get it flying all around the room.
Then there was a break as the women retreated to the kitchen to make the next course. They played Turkish music and showed me videos from the computer. The next course was stuffed grape leaves and peppers, salad, potatoes, beer, chocolate and wine. Yazbahar was pretty good in translating the conversation for me. It was delightful to see them laughing and enjoying each other's company. About 11:30 I was fading so Yazbahar and a friend walked me to the bus stop. Turks celebrate the New Year, but the bus schedule was not extended for the holiday. We then had to go to the mini-bus stop. The friend jumped on the bus, paid my fare and instructed the driver of my destination.
From Kadikoy I needed another mini-bus to my university. A young man brought me to the stop and inquired whether I had money - he was ready to pay my fare!!
January 1 was a brilliant, sunny day - I forgot what a day without rain looked like. With a pleading look I was assisted with getting my suitcase on the ferry and over to the European side. I took the tram to my original hotel in Sultanahmet so Saturday I could easily hop on the tram to the airport.
I met Itzak Mizrachi at 1. He hosted a group of Atlantan Jewish tourists who were visiting on an interfaith tour. He's a tour guide in Spanish and Hebrew. The visit was a bit awkward because he wanted to bring me around to the sites, but I had seen them all. I really wanted to talk with him about Jewish life in Turkey. We walked in the Hippodrome and entered the Blue Mosque. While eating boreks he said that life wasn't so good for Jews, but he did not elaborate of consider leaving.
I met Erhan, my friend who is a hotel clerk whom I had met in 2006. It was the same story with him- he wants to make job changes and advance - but, he hesitates, ponders too much and is not too realistic. Once again, I quashed the option of marrying a Russian in Denmark. We drank tea in a tiny restaurant, literally a hole in the wall. We climbed a very narrow winding staircase up 2 flights to a delightful perch with a breathtaking view of the Blue Mosque at sunset.
Erhan declined my dinner invitation because he was tired. I called the remaining people on my list and found one woman at home. She was quite far away, but I had no plans so took the tram and metro to Nisantasi. This woman was type A- really driven. I suddenly showed up at her door at dinner time - a little presumptuous - but only received a cup of tea. Her #1 project is her kid. When she told me she had cameras installed to watch the nanny, I thought it was time to head out! I had my final fish sandwich near the Galata Bridge. I was surprised to see many stands closed, thankfully people were home with their families.
Yazbahar invited me to her New Year's Eve party! She gave me simple directions and drew a map. I was off to see the Rezan Has museum. It should have been labeled a gallery seeing as it was just one room! This small private university is located in restored brick buildings with a beautiful garden courtyard.
Stopped off at the Grand Bazaar for some quick shopping. Bought a tablecloth from a man whose Indian partner was visiting. The Turkish textile industry had been devastated due to cheap labor in India and China. He claimed the design was Turkish and the product is manufactured in India.
The short bus ride to the party turned out to be an hour in heavy traffic. I was instructed to exit on a bridge. I got off on a major highway and proceeded to show multiple people my directions. I found myself walking through a dark, closed industrial area. Inquiring at a barber shop I learned that my landmark was a tall building on the horizon. I considered turning back, but was rewarded when I finally arrived on Yazbahar's doorstep. She was surprised and pleased to see me.
Her husband is doing his mandatory military service for a year. 3 male friends and 2 women friends were enjoying the first course of kebab and spinach borek. Yazbahar then ripped open a Santa Clause costume and asked for volunteers. One man quickly acceded to her request. They had picked numbers previously to buy one present for a friend. Of course she gave me a present of earrings. One man was pleased to receive a remote controlled helicopter. The man who gave the present was crestfallen when it failed to work. Then the recipient read the directions and managed to get it flying all around the room.
Then there was a break as the women retreated to the kitchen to make the next course. They played Turkish music and showed me videos from the computer. The next course was stuffed grape leaves and peppers, salad, potatoes, beer, chocolate and wine. Yazbahar was pretty good in translating the conversation for me. It was delightful to see them laughing and enjoying each other's company. About 11:30 I was fading so Yazbahar and a friend walked me to the bus stop. Turks celebrate the New Year, but the bus schedule was not extended for the holiday. We then had to go to the mini-bus stop. The friend jumped on the bus, paid my fare and instructed the driver of my destination.
From Kadikoy I needed another mini-bus to my university. A young man brought me to the stop and inquired whether I had money - he was ready to pay my fare!!
January 1 was a brilliant, sunny day - I forgot what a day without rain looked like. With a pleading look I was assisted with getting my suitcase on the ferry and over to the European side. I took the tram to my original hotel in Sultanahmet so Saturday I could easily hop on the tram to the airport.
I met Itzak Mizrachi at 1. He hosted a group of Atlantan Jewish tourists who were visiting on an interfaith tour. He's a tour guide in Spanish and Hebrew. The visit was a bit awkward because he wanted to bring me around to the sites, but I had seen them all. I really wanted to talk with him about Jewish life in Turkey. We walked in the Hippodrome and entered the Blue Mosque. While eating boreks he said that life wasn't so good for Jews, but he did not elaborate of consider leaving.
I met Erhan, my friend who is a hotel clerk whom I had met in 2006. It was the same story with him- he wants to make job changes and advance - but, he hesitates, ponders too much and is not too realistic. Once again, I quashed the option of marrying a Russian in Denmark. We drank tea in a tiny restaurant, literally a hole in the wall. We climbed a very narrow winding staircase up 2 flights to a delightful perch with a breathtaking view of the Blue Mosque at sunset.
Erhan declined my dinner invitation because he was tired. I called the remaining people on my list and found one woman at home. She was quite far away, but I had no plans so took the tram and metro to Nisantasi. This woman was type A- really driven. I suddenly showed up at her door at dinner time - a little presumptuous - but only received a cup of tea. Her #1 project is her kid. When she told me she had cameras installed to watch the nanny, I thought it was time to head out! I had my final fish sandwich near the Galata Bridge. I was surprised to see many stands closed, thankfully people were home with their families.
Final Week in Istanbul
I had a delightful visit with Didar, the library director, at her home Sunday afternoon. The conversation flowed easily about operations in the library, which gave me a little more insight to my observations. She graciously called a taxi for me so I avoided lugging my large suitcase on 2 buses.
I took the boat from Besiktas to Kadikoy. It's a challenge maneuvering up the gangplank with just 2 legs' but with a 50 lb suitcase.....but, as usual men were there to pick up luggage before I even asked.
I stayed in the guest dorms of Marmara University again - very nice, cheap rooms- but not so conveniently located. It was pouring rain, so I just ducked into a fish restaurant across the street and watched BBC in the evening.
Monday I went to Uskudar Amerikan Lisesi to talk with H.S. students considering Emory. They have very heavy security with lots of gates and policeman. During lunch with Tara, the college counselor, she asked if I had a presentation. I was taken aback, I was just planning on answering the students questions! Just 3 students showed and one in particular was interested in business. The meeting was a bit disappointing; I thought they would ask more about Atlanta and campus life but they were more interested in knowing the entrance requirements.
Then it was off to Ozyegin University to visit Muhteşem Hakkı Önder, the librarian who came to my presentation and used to work at Koc. This university opened about 6 months ago. Once again, a wealthy man opened a university in his name. There are not enough universities in the country, so these wealthy philanthropists are serving an important need. Sometimes I think they should consolidate their efforts and provide funds to existing public and private colleges.
They are located in a bright, open office building. I met with Gulcin Cribb, the director, and Ilkay Holt, the manager of Information Access Services. Small world, Gulcin lived in Australia for 30 years and knows Ruth Pagell. The library and IT services are in one unit. The library stresses how they will be on the cutting edge of IT. They are starting with 18 business administration students, the 200 other students are in the English preparatory year. I could feel the excitement as they plan their new facilities, but also wonder what you do all day with so few students!
Monday evening I had dinner at Seval's home. Kim Whalen, who I used to work with at Emory, introduced me to Seval who is a professor of Materials Science at Marmara University.
Tuesday I took the boat back to Besiktas and then a bus to the Sabanci Museum to see the Salvador Dali exhibit. There were hundreds of school children- even 5 yr olds. I learned a lot about the life of Dali, it was an excellent exhibit including some of his films.
I met Gulnez at Taksim Square for lunch. She is the young Kurdish woman who I met a few weeks ago. She had just returned from a week-long seminar to train youth to stand for election in the upcoming municipal elections. They just lowered the age of candidates from 30 to 25. She was offered a job with UNDP. She commented that too many Turks wear horses glasses (a.k.a. blinders!) December 30 was the first broadcast day of Kurdish TV. She had not seen it yet, it wasn't clear to me where they were broadcasting from. She talked about how important it is for the current generation to know their Kurdish language. She repeatedly said how the different groups in Turkey get along and it's just the government that creates wedges between them. I could sit at her feet and learn so much about this dynamic society- subjects that are rarely discussed in most circles.
Despite no minutes on her cell and a broken computer, she was determined to buy me Turkish momento, even after she already gave me earrings. I think I really insulted her when I told her I had no room for an additional mug.
Parting from Gulnez was sad, but I am convinced I will see her again in some leadership capacity in Turkey or another country.
I took the boat from Besiktas to Kadikoy. It's a challenge maneuvering up the gangplank with just 2 legs' but with a 50 lb suitcase.....but, as usual men were there to pick up luggage before I even asked.
I stayed in the guest dorms of Marmara University again - very nice, cheap rooms- but not so conveniently located. It was pouring rain, so I just ducked into a fish restaurant across the street and watched BBC in the evening.
Monday I went to Uskudar Amerikan Lisesi to talk with H.S. students considering Emory. They have very heavy security with lots of gates and policeman. During lunch with Tara, the college counselor, she asked if I had a presentation. I was taken aback, I was just planning on answering the students questions! Just 3 students showed and one in particular was interested in business. The meeting was a bit disappointing; I thought they would ask more about Atlanta and campus life but they were more interested in knowing the entrance requirements.
Then it was off to Ozyegin University to visit Muhteşem Hakkı Önder, the librarian who came to my presentation and used to work at Koc. This university opened about 6 months ago. Once again, a wealthy man opened a university in his name. There are not enough universities in the country, so these wealthy philanthropists are serving an important need. Sometimes I think they should consolidate their efforts and provide funds to existing public and private colleges.
They are located in a bright, open office building. I met with Gulcin Cribb, the director, and Ilkay Holt, the manager of Information Access Services. Small world, Gulcin lived in Australia for 30 years and knows Ruth Pagell. The library and IT services are in one unit. The library stresses how they will be on the cutting edge of IT. They are starting with 18 business administration students, the 200 other students are in the English preparatory year. I could feel the excitement as they plan their new facilities, but also wonder what you do all day with so few students!
Monday evening I had dinner at Seval's home. Kim Whalen, who I used to work with at Emory, introduced me to Seval who is a professor of Materials Science at Marmara University.
Tuesday I took the boat back to Besiktas and then a bus to the Sabanci Museum to see the Salvador Dali exhibit. There were hundreds of school children- even 5 yr olds. I learned a lot about the life of Dali, it was an excellent exhibit including some of his films.
I met Gulnez at Taksim Square for lunch. She is the young Kurdish woman who I met a few weeks ago. She had just returned from a week-long seminar to train youth to stand for election in the upcoming municipal elections. They just lowered the age of candidates from 30 to 25. She was offered a job with UNDP. She commented that too many Turks wear horses glasses (a.k.a. blinders!) December 30 was the first broadcast day of Kurdish TV. She had not seen it yet, it wasn't clear to me where they were broadcasting from. She talked about how important it is for the current generation to know their Kurdish language. She repeatedly said how the different groups in Turkey get along and it's just the government that creates wedges between them. I could sit at her feet and learn so much about this dynamic society- subjects that are rarely discussed in most circles.
Despite no minutes on her cell and a broken computer, she was determined to buy me Turkish momento, even after she already gave me earrings. I think I really insulted her when I told her I had no room for an additional mug.
Parting from Gulnez was sad, but I am convinced I will see her again in some leadership capacity in Turkey or another country.
Saturday 27 December 2008
when you miss the boat
This Saturday was my first week-end staying up here at Koç. I went with my flatmate, Ayşe, to Anadolu Kavağı. We took the boat from Sarıyer to cross the Bosphorus- just about 10 minutes. We climbed steps, pass fish restaurants to the ruins of a Byzantine fortress. The view is superb- clear view of the Black sea and lots of large and small boats traversing the Bosphorus.
We had a delicious fish lunch at a restaurant on top of the hill. The wood-burning stove felt great. Ayşe insisted on buying me a very nice blue glass disk - a symbol to ward off the evil eye- which is in most Turkish homes. We wandered around the village, had 25 min to wait for the boat, so went to have more tea. When we returned to the ferry landing we were told the next ferry was in 2 hours! We missed the boat by 5 minutes. We had enough tea, but it was rather cold. I suggested we return to the store where we purchased the present and wait there.
The owner was happy to see us. He works as an engineer in Russia for 6 mos of the year. He thinks Putin is doing a great job. When I mentioned that I thought corrupt oligarchs control the country, he said after a year of getting the state companies, the rich have to pay 35% tax and this is distributed to the poor.
Then things got more interesting. This guy was happy with Obama. He then said Jews didn't vote for Obama because he was Black and they thought he was Muslim. I corrected him on that. Then Ayşe and him claimed that the US is supporting the PKK (the Kurdish separatist group.) I chimed in that I didn't think that was correct because Turkey is a strategic ally for the US. He said the US woke up to Turkey only after they were turning toward Russia. Then he asked why the US didn't get a peace deal in Palestine. I asked him to what period was he referring. I said things are complicated- the Palestinian Authority is fıghting Hamas. (little did I know that at that moment Israel was bombing Gaza.) Then the guy said- why is Hamas considered a terrorist organization and the PKK is not?
We moved on to 9/11. Ayşe, a post-doc in chemical engineering, said that perhaps the US was behind the bombing of the WTC. There were 4000 Jews in the building and they did not die. A plane crashed into the Pentagon, but that was planned because it didn't do so much damage. Needless to say I told her she was incorrect. She said it was reported in the news. Sightings from extraterrestrial beings are also reported in the paper was my response.
They then asked if I think there was an Armenian genocide. I felt uncomfortable even though I was asking this same question to Turks. I said yes. Ayşe said, "we lived with the Armenians for 600 years. Why didn't we massacre them during this period?" (I was thinking- the Serbs and Bosnians didn't massacre each other when they were under the iron fist of Tito.) Then she said- "They say 1.5M were massacred. But, I am from that region. There were not that many Armenians in the area." They both said it was war time. People naturally defend their homes and people. There were atrocities on both sides. Archives must be open and "objective" historians need to review the material. They insist that the Armenians are not open to reviewing the Turkish documents. They agreed that the Germans committed a genocide on the Jews. Then they said the Germans never admitted this and that they did these atrocities because of Hitler. I again corrected them on this score!
We touched on the American Indian massacres, killing Iraqi civilians and WWII. Of course we parted friends and again putting our hopes for a better world on Obama.
We caught the ferry this time. Back in Sarıyer for my last time, we went to the pudding shop where they serve a special cream pudding with rose water and sugar. Then on to the best borek shop where the man ceremoniously raises his cleaver to cut the cheese pastry.
As I write on Sunday, I have just returned from Kilyos, a small town on the Black Sea. It is a holiday resort for Turks- quite a few hotels and lots of restaurants with big lawns and picnic tables. I dipped my toe into the sea and then walked up to the point. Reminded me of the headlands north of San Francisco. Windy, quiet, abandoned - hearty plants clinging to the rock cliffs. Unfortunately Turks have a very undeveloped sense of the environment. There was litter everywhere. Lots of abandoned property on this beautiful coast and most of the structures standing were quite ugly.
I leave Koç now and head to the city center- Asian side. I am staying in Istanbul for my final week. I contemplated going to the Black Sea coast- east of here. But, it's raining here and that area is the rainiest in the country!
I hope you all are enjoying your time off. Hopefully I will do some final postings before I leave on Saturday. Tomorrow I am talking to some H.S. students in Üskadar- a little recruiting for Emory.
We had a delicious fish lunch at a restaurant on top of the hill. The wood-burning stove felt great. Ayşe insisted on buying me a very nice blue glass disk - a symbol to ward off the evil eye- which is in most Turkish homes. We wandered around the village, had 25 min to wait for the boat, so went to have more tea. When we returned to the ferry landing we were told the next ferry was in 2 hours! We missed the boat by 5 minutes. We had enough tea, but it was rather cold. I suggested we return to the store where we purchased the present and wait there.
The owner was happy to see us. He works as an engineer in Russia for 6 mos of the year. He thinks Putin is doing a great job. When I mentioned that I thought corrupt oligarchs control the country, he said after a year of getting the state companies, the rich have to pay 35% tax and this is distributed to the poor.
Then things got more interesting. This guy was happy with Obama. He then said Jews didn't vote for Obama because he was Black and they thought he was Muslim. I corrected him on that. Then Ayşe and him claimed that the US is supporting the PKK (the Kurdish separatist group.) I chimed in that I didn't think that was correct because Turkey is a strategic ally for the US. He said the US woke up to Turkey only after they were turning toward Russia. Then he asked why the US didn't get a peace deal in Palestine. I asked him to what period was he referring. I said things are complicated- the Palestinian Authority is fıghting Hamas. (little did I know that at that moment Israel was bombing Gaza.) Then the guy said- why is Hamas considered a terrorist organization and the PKK is not?
We moved on to 9/11. Ayşe, a post-doc in chemical engineering, said that perhaps the US was behind the bombing of the WTC. There were 4000 Jews in the building and they did not die. A plane crashed into the Pentagon, but that was planned because it didn't do so much damage. Needless to say I told her she was incorrect. She said it was reported in the news. Sightings from extraterrestrial beings are also reported in the paper was my response.
They then asked if I think there was an Armenian genocide. I felt uncomfortable even though I was asking this same question to Turks. I said yes. Ayşe said, "we lived with the Armenians for 600 years. Why didn't we massacre them during this period?" (I was thinking- the Serbs and Bosnians didn't massacre each other when they were under the iron fist of Tito.) Then she said- "They say 1.5M were massacred. But, I am from that region. There were not that many Armenians in the area." They both said it was war time. People naturally defend their homes and people. There were atrocities on both sides. Archives must be open and "objective" historians need to review the material. They insist that the Armenians are not open to reviewing the Turkish documents. They agreed that the Germans committed a genocide on the Jews. Then they said the Germans never admitted this and that they did these atrocities because of Hitler. I again corrected them on this score!
We touched on the American Indian massacres, killing Iraqi civilians and WWII. Of course we parted friends and again putting our hopes for a better world on Obama.
We caught the ferry this time. Back in Sarıyer for my last time, we went to the pudding shop where they serve a special cream pudding with rose water and sugar. Then on to the best borek shop where the man ceremoniously raises his cleaver to cut the cheese pastry.
As I write on Sunday, I have just returned from Kilyos, a small town on the Black Sea. It is a holiday resort for Turks- quite a few hotels and lots of restaurants with big lawns and picnic tables. I dipped my toe into the sea and then walked up to the point. Reminded me of the headlands north of San Francisco. Windy, quiet, abandoned - hearty plants clinging to the rock cliffs. Unfortunately Turks have a very undeveloped sense of the environment. There was litter everywhere. Lots of abandoned property on this beautiful coast and most of the structures standing were quite ugly.
I leave Koç now and head to the city center- Asian side. I am staying in Istanbul for my final week. I contemplated going to the Black Sea coast- east of here. But, it's raining here and that area is the rainiest in the country!
I hope you all are enjoying your time off. Hopefully I will do some final postings before I leave on Saturday. Tomorrow I am talking to some H.S. students in Üskadar- a little recruiting for Emory.
Final Party
December 26 was my last day at Koç. The library staff and I shared a mutual feeling- I felt like part of the staff, it was so natural to be there, it seemed impossible that my time was ending. The day before Didar (the library director) and I met with the provost. He is the man that made this adventure happen. He was at GA Tech for 9+ years so I gave him a painting of Hot Atlanta. He mentioned how he tried in the past to establish a relationship with Emory and nothing happended. I said I would report back on my positive experience and hopefully we could make things happen this time. He requested a short report from me.
I took Mithat, my office mate, up to the clock tower for tea. This is the jewel of the campus. Robin- you would love this room. It's like a large sun room, Ottoman style. Upholstered benches, marble fountain in the middle, delicate china in recessed shelves and 2 walls of windows looking out onto the Black Sea.
Due to the economıic crisis, the big faculty and staff party at the Koç museum was cancelled. Our party was in the staff area of the library- tables set up in horseshoe with a XMAS tree in the middle and presents underneath. The cleaning staff were given huge presents (I didn't see the contents) and then left. One cleaning woman stayed as the waitress and ate by herself. I thought this was reminiscent of the South in the 60s.
I lit the menorah before we sat down and briefly explained the origins of Chanukah. Figured this was a first of Koç library. Different people lit the 6 candles. Didar then mentioned how much they enjoyed and benefitted from my visit. She gave me a bag of presents.
The dinner was catered by a local restaurant and featured a whole turkey and wine.
We all bought a present for 20 lira. Each present was labeled with a number and then numbers were drawn from a hat. If my present was selected, I was next to draw a number. Everyone seemed to enjoy the process- scarves and various tea mugs were the prevalent presents. After taking a smoking break, people lingered and helped clean up. Everyone seemed to enjoy the evening.
I took Mithat, my office mate, up to the clock tower for tea. This is the jewel of the campus. Robin- you would love this room. It's like a large sun room, Ottoman style. Upholstered benches, marble fountain in the middle, delicate china in recessed shelves and 2 walls of windows looking out onto the Black Sea.
Due to the economıic crisis, the big faculty and staff party at the Koç museum was cancelled. Our party was in the staff area of the library- tables set up in horseshoe with a XMAS tree in the middle and presents underneath. The cleaning staff were given huge presents (I didn't see the contents) and then left. One cleaning woman stayed as the waitress and ate by herself. I thought this was reminiscent of the South in the 60s.
I lit the menorah before we sat down and briefly explained the origins of Chanukah. Figured this was a first of Koç library. Different people lit the 6 candles. Didar then mentioned how much they enjoyed and benefitted from my visit. She gave me a bag of presents.
The dinner was catered by a local restaurant and featured a whole turkey and wine.
We all bought a present for 20 lira. Each present was labeled with a number and then numbers were drawn from a hat. If my present was selected, I was next to draw a number. Everyone seemed to enjoy the process- scarves and various tea mugs were the prevalent presents. After taking a smoking break, people lingered and helped clean up. Everyone seemed to enjoy the evening.
Thursday 25 December 2008
Excursions to other libraries
İstanbul Ticaret Odası
December 3 Gurbet, Mithat (the 2 new Koç business librarians) and I were scheduled to visit ITO. We researched the ferry schedule in order to avoid the horrific traffic and settled on our meeting time. Then Gurbet informed us that the library director had arranged a driver for us. I said let's take the ferry anyway, but Gurbet said that wasn't an option now. (the driver then just waited all day for us to finish our meeting...so much for Turkish productivity)
It was very boring when the librarians started out by explaining their thesaurus terms. Gurbet had to translate because the librarian would not speak English. I was there to learn about ITO- what I thought was the Istanbul Trade Organization. I asked to speak with a researcher and when I proceeded to ask about how they support businesses who want to import to Turkey, I learned that we were at the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce, who just support local businesses! They produce a lot of sector reports on the major industries such as textiles, automobiles and agriculture. So if you want to know how many red apples are grown on the Black Sea coast - this is your address.
They invited us for lunch. Gurbet hesitated, thinking we needed to be back at work. I said I will take responsibility for the decision- we're staying for lunch! Most places of employment provide lunch. The food is basically the same, it just varies whether or not there are waiters and tablecloths.
Our host warmed up when we visited their publications department and started talking English. He was very generous and gave me a cd of traditional music, Istanbul guidebook and more. Then he proudly gave me a paperback book and explained to all that this was written by the first prime minister of the independent Armenian Republic. The intro states: "this is a full fledged documentary ...historical document..entire facts about the 1915 Armenian issue. It is a silent cry against the unfounded Armenian genocide claims made by Armenia and in particular the Armenian Diaspora with the purpose of embarrassing the Republic of Turkey..." This opinion is in sharp contrast to the 200 Turkish intellectuals that apologized on Dec. 15 for the Armenian ethnic cleansing.
Sabancı University
Mithat, Gurburt and I visited the rival university on 18.12.08. About 3 families control Turkey, Koç and Sabancı being 2 of them. Sabancı is located on the Asian side- quite remote from the center of activity. The campus is not as pretty as Koç, but it has some nice architecture. I felt like a visiting dignitary from the EU when we arrived! Librarians greeted us at the door and ushered us into the Director's office. He was a bit obnoxious saying how much better they were than Koç, listing all their firsts.
The librarians gave powerpoint presentations of all their services. Their mission: Access vs. Ownership." So they want other libraries to purchase the materials and they will just borrow!They have a proprietary database of Ottoman Culture images - some from the Topkapi Palace. Students are given free laptops so very few computers in the library. Library staff does more manual labor than us- clipping articles, etc.- we are more automated.
I was blown away by the MBA Director who came straight from the hospital to deliver his talk. His first child was born the previous night- talk about dedication to your work!! Sabancı,like Koç, is a new school so they are very proud of their accomplishments.
Freshmen are required to be involved in a civic project. This is not for credit, 40 hrs in the semester, work as a group, a significant percent continue with their project after fulfilling the requirement.
They were very proud to show the stats of how they attract the top students. Turkey has a very antiquated education system. High School graduates take an exam and depending on their grade, get placed in a university. Students must list 20 preferences- specific university and major- their scores determine their placement. University is free, but there are few good public schools. Koç and Sabancı are private, they provide scholarships for the top students. Some rich students attend Engish, German, Italian or French private hıgh schools where they acquire very good education. Most universities offer a year of preparatory English. Sabancı is unique in allowing students to choose their major in the 2nd yr.
CAFE- Center for Applied Finance Education has a simulated trading floor- real-time date from Istanbul stock exchange, Bloomberg and Reuters terminals- to support teaching and research. This is the only trading floor in the Middle East, except for the one in Israel. It started in June 2008- 25-50 M dollars to set up. Most interested in energy trading.
Turkey strives to be an international player, but now they are a regional actor in the Middle East and E. Europe. Turkish companies are now investing in Russia, E. Europe, Romania, Ukraine and Egypt. Challenge for companies in this region to find competent management. Sabancı wants to attract students from these countries.
It was great to learn that Sabancı has signed on the the UN Global Compact. They have committed to integrating principles of human rights, anti-corruption, labor and environmental issues into their curriculum. "By doing so, business, as a primary agent driving globalization, can help ensure that markets, commerce, technology and finance advance in ways that benefit economies and societies everywhere." Seems like more US companies need to get on this bandwagon.
SINAİ KALKINMA BANKASI
23.12.08 we visited the TKSB- the Industrial Development Bank of Turkey. It is a private investment and development bank whose mission is to grow investment in Turkey and the surrounding region. The researchers and economists create sector reports, mainly in the areas of textiles, banking, energy, automobiles, education, health, paint, metals, mining, scientific fibers, transportation, logistics, renewable energy, meat, poultry and tourism. The librarian reads 13 newspapers daily and scans relevant articles into a database. This is something we did 30 yrs ago, but Turkish newspapers are not in a database so users cannot easily conduct their own research. The World Bank helped create the library. They don't have databases, mostly purchase paper reports.
They are proud to be the first Turkish Bank to obtain an ISO 14001 environment certification. "TSKB has been involved in important environment related activities in Turkey through the loans extended for the projection of the enviroment as well as the loans provided for investmentsin renewable energy."
I asked to speak with a researcher and was pleased that an Economist came down. This man was very smart and knew well the global economic scene. They track US, China and then Europe. Of course he knew that Nouriel Roubini (a Turk) at Stern was most correct with his predictions on the economic crisis. He said Turkey is in recession now and they predict negative growth for '09. They are in the worst position since 2001, when they experienced a macroeconomic crisis. The World Bank took over and reformed the banking system. Turkey does not have a direct exposure to the mortgage crisis because they only started offering mortgages in 2004 and they have a 5-7 yr maturity. They'e waiting to see what kind of government intervention Obama will take. He thinks the entire financial architecture must be restructered. He noted how Hyman Minsky was right. He proceeded to give us a short history of the mortgage crisis. If there is going to be a short recession, we should see positive signs by April- watch commodities- oil should rise. If this doesn't happen world economy could recover in 2010.
Of course they took us to lunch and our driver joined us.
December 3 Gurbet, Mithat (the 2 new Koç business librarians) and I were scheduled to visit ITO. We researched the ferry schedule in order to avoid the horrific traffic and settled on our meeting time. Then Gurbet informed us that the library director had arranged a driver for us. I said let's take the ferry anyway, but Gurbet said that wasn't an option now. (the driver then just waited all day for us to finish our meeting...so much for Turkish productivity)
It was very boring when the librarians started out by explaining their thesaurus terms. Gurbet had to translate because the librarian would not speak English. I was there to learn about ITO- what I thought was the Istanbul Trade Organization. I asked to speak with a researcher and when I proceeded to ask about how they support businesses who want to import to Turkey, I learned that we were at the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce, who just support local businesses! They produce a lot of sector reports on the major industries such as textiles, automobiles and agriculture. So if you want to know how many red apples are grown on the Black Sea coast - this is your address.
They invited us for lunch. Gurbet hesitated, thinking we needed to be back at work. I said I will take responsibility for the decision- we're staying for lunch! Most places of employment provide lunch. The food is basically the same, it just varies whether or not there are waiters and tablecloths.
Our host warmed up when we visited their publications department and started talking English. He was very generous and gave me a cd of traditional music, Istanbul guidebook and more. Then he proudly gave me a paperback book and explained to all that this was written by the first prime minister of the independent Armenian Republic. The intro states: "this is a full fledged documentary ...historical document..entire facts about the 1915 Armenian issue. It is a silent cry against the unfounded Armenian genocide claims made by Armenia and in particular the Armenian Diaspora with the purpose of embarrassing the Republic of Turkey..." This opinion is in sharp contrast to the 200 Turkish intellectuals that apologized on Dec. 15 for the Armenian ethnic cleansing.
Sabancı University
Mithat, Gurburt and I visited the rival university on 18.12.08. About 3 families control Turkey, Koç and Sabancı being 2 of them. Sabancı is located on the Asian side- quite remote from the center of activity. The campus is not as pretty as Koç, but it has some nice architecture. I felt like a visiting dignitary from the EU when we arrived! Librarians greeted us at the door and ushered us into the Director's office. He was a bit obnoxious saying how much better they were than Koç, listing all their firsts.
The librarians gave powerpoint presentations of all their services. Their mission: Access vs. Ownership." So they want other libraries to purchase the materials and they will just borrow!They have a proprietary database of Ottoman Culture images - some from the Topkapi Palace. Students are given free laptops so very few computers in the library. Library staff does more manual labor than us- clipping articles, etc.- we are more automated.
I was blown away by the MBA Director who came straight from the hospital to deliver his talk. His first child was born the previous night- talk about dedication to your work!! Sabancı,like Koç, is a new school so they are very proud of their accomplishments.
Freshmen are required to be involved in a civic project. This is not for credit, 40 hrs in the semester, work as a group, a significant percent continue with their project after fulfilling the requirement.
They were very proud to show the stats of how they attract the top students. Turkey has a very antiquated education system. High School graduates take an exam and depending on their grade, get placed in a university. Students must list 20 preferences- specific university and major- their scores determine their placement. University is free, but there are few good public schools. Koç and Sabancı are private, they provide scholarships for the top students. Some rich students attend Engish, German, Italian or French private hıgh schools where they acquire very good education. Most universities offer a year of preparatory English. Sabancı is unique in allowing students to choose their major in the 2nd yr.
CAFE- Center for Applied Finance Education has a simulated trading floor- real-time date from Istanbul stock exchange, Bloomberg and Reuters terminals- to support teaching and research. This is the only trading floor in the Middle East, except for the one in Israel. It started in June 2008- 25-50 M dollars to set up. Most interested in energy trading.
Turkey strives to be an international player, but now they are a regional actor in the Middle East and E. Europe. Turkish companies are now investing in Russia, E. Europe, Romania, Ukraine and Egypt. Challenge for companies in this region to find competent management. Sabancı wants to attract students from these countries.
It was great to learn that Sabancı has signed on the the UN Global Compact. They have committed to integrating principles of human rights, anti-corruption, labor and environmental issues into their curriculum. "By doing so, business, as a primary agent driving globalization, can help ensure that markets, commerce, technology and finance advance in ways that benefit economies and societies everywhere." Seems like more US companies need to get on this bandwagon.
SINAİ KALKINMA BANKASI
23.12.08 we visited the TKSB- the Industrial Development Bank of Turkey. It is a private investment and development bank whose mission is to grow investment in Turkey and the surrounding region. The researchers and economists create sector reports, mainly in the areas of textiles, banking, energy, automobiles, education, health, paint, metals, mining, scientific fibers, transportation, logistics, renewable energy, meat, poultry and tourism. The librarian reads 13 newspapers daily and scans relevant articles into a database. This is something we did 30 yrs ago, but Turkish newspapers are not in a database so users cannot easily conduct their own research. The World Bank helped create the library. They don't have databases, mostly purchase paper reports.
They are proud to be the first Turkish Bank to obtain an ISO 14001 environment certification. "TSKB has been involved in important environment related activities in Turkey through the loans extended for the projection of the enviroment as well as the loans provided for investmentsin renewable energy."
I asked to speak with a researcher and was pleased that an Economist came down. This man was very smart and knew well the global economic scene. They track US, China and then Europe. Of course he knew that Nouriel Roubini (a Turk) at Stern was most correct with his predictions on the economic crisis. He said Turkey is in recession now and they predict negative growth for '09. They are in the worst position since 2001, when they experienced a macroeconomic crisis. The World Bank took over and reformed the banking system. Turkey does not have a direct exposure to the mortgage crisis because they only started offering mortgages in 2004 and they have a 5-7 yr maturity. They'e waiting to see what kind of government intervention Obama will take. He thinks the entire financial architecture must be restructered. He noted how Hyman Minsky was right. He proceeded to give us a short history of the mortgage crisis. If there is going to be a short recession, we should see positive signs by April- watch commodities- oil should rise. If this doesn't happen world economy could recover in 2010.
Of course they took us to lunch and our driver joined us.
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