Istanbul, Monday February 11th

So after our free day in Istanbul, we had to rally the troops for our last day of sessions, a day in which I was the facilitator for the proceedings.  Our first stop was a visit to the headquarters of Migros, the largest grocery store chain in Turkey.  We left early to battle the infamous Istanbul traffic as travelled across the city, including a trip across the Bosphorus to Asia.  The photos below detail our commute. 

A car ferry not too far from our hotel

A passenger ferry on the Golden Horn as seen from the Galata Bridge

A bridge over the Bosphorus in the distance

On approach to the Bosphorus

Midway across the bridge over the Bosphorus -- I'm half in Asia and Europe while taking this photo :-). 

A business center in the Eastern part of Istanbul

We got to Migros headquarters early enough that we were able to tour one of their stores, a modern grocery store with a wide selection, very similar to what you would see in the U.S including a Krispy Kreme kiosk.  The produce section was a little bigger, the meat section had a different feel (less beef, no pork) and the frozen section was much smaller, but overall was very similar. 

We were fortunate to have the chairman of Migros, Bulend Ozaydinli as our speaker.  He told us how Migros gives all its managers iPads so they can work from the store floor, not back in an office.  They use technology for online ordering (far ahead of the U.S.) and self checkout as well, and he also told us some very interesting plans of the government for a bridge across the sea of Marmara, a second channel connecting the Sea of Marmara and the Black Sea and a second city given that Istanbul had outgrown itself -- other than the bridge I'm not sure of the liklihood of the other two, but the ambition of the projects ring true.  Other than very mixed signals from the Chairman, his handlers and our tour guides as to how much time we had, it was a great visit. 

Despite the crazed look in my eyes, I meant him no harm and was actually about to thank him for speaking to our group with our traditional speaker gift, Cornell maple syrup. 

After lunch in the Migros cafeteria (don't think cafeteria food) and receiving a gift (minature Migros shopping carts with evil eyes in them), we travelled West again to the European part of Istanbul to Denizbank's training center.  Denizbank was a connection I arranged through CoBank and is the largest private agricultural lender in Turkey.  (Ziraatbank, a government entity is the largest). 

Another great visit as Denizbank is aggressively pursuing the widespread ag. market and can even do an instantaneous loan approval for a 3,000 TL ($1,800) line of credit by text message.   They provided simultaneous translators for us (with ear pieces) so it felt like we were at the U.N.  At one point when I was moderating the questions I got myself confused when I forgot to remove the ear piece and was listening to my question being translated to Turkish while I was asking it. 

En route to Denizbank on the European side, Istanbul is just a massive city. 

Reviewing my notes during the presentation of Gokhan SUN (not pictured) head of agribusiness banking at Denizbank

Modelling our spiffy new tam o'shanters (I'm sure they don't call them that), a gift from Denizbank.  We also received  lime green (the Denizbank ag. group color) ties and scarves

Our group with our Denizbank hosts (the two women front row far left and the three women front row far right)

Denizbank was also kind enough to let use their facility for our speakers from the U.S. consulate

Patrick Harnish, State Dept.

Ibrahim Sirtioglu, USDA Foreign ag. service

As if on cue, passing a Denizbank branch en route back to the hotel 

Followed by a Migros location

Cranes along sıde the Golden Horn

At the restaurant that nıght

A random shot of the mırror ın my hotel room whıch had a metal border wıth an outlıne of Istanbul's skylıne

Good bye Istanbul Turkey

Istanbul, February 10th

Sunday was the only day with absolutely nothing scheduled though I had signed up for a performance of the "Whirling Dervishes" (yes, a real thing) that evening. 

I didn't have a real specific touring plan, and hadn't realized we would hit some of the obvious choices in our group tour Saturday.  While I wanted to keep moving and see as much as I could I knew it would be more fun with the right group and so I joined forces with my Farm Credit colleague Jenny from our Riverhead office and a few of other classmates who had similar plans. 

We started with Topkopi Palace, home of the sultans from 1453 to 1839, just around the corner from our hotel.  The term palace doesn't really conjure the right image.  It's impressive, but not for huge columns or soaring facades.  It has an expansive sprawling feel like a campus, with amazing views of the Bosphorus and the Golden Horn.  It also has a jaw-dropping collection of treasure and ancient bling -- golden chalices, huge gemstones, diamond encrusted everything, (you get the idea), along with historical artifacts from both Islam and Christianity. 

I could have spent some more time there, but we had an ambitous agenda. 

With Jenny and Evan in front of the gate to the second court

Bagdhad kiosk at Topkapi

container ship traversing the Boshphorus as seen from Topkapi

Our next stop was the Blue Mosque, still a working mosque, which dates from the 1600s.  I've remarked to a number of people that Topkapi, Aya Sofya and the Blue Mosque are lined up like the monuments on the mall in Washington, very easy to see them all at once. 

Blue mosque -- if you turned around you would be looking at Aya Sofya

Interior of the Blue Mosque

After some shopping at an off the beaten path of shops near the blue mosque (I could have spent less time there, but I did get an evil eye and a scarf for Jen), we stopped for lunch (a balik ekmek -- fish sandwich) at one of the many restaurants beneath the Galata Bridge which traverses the Golden Horn where we were accosted by restauranteurs competing for our business, which wasn't quite what we wanted.  After lunch on to the Galata Tower, with its views of the expansive city which in some cases stretches to the horizon. 

Restaurants under the Galata Bridge

Topkapi, Aya Sofya and Blue Mosque in the distance from Galata tower -- Galata Bridge lower right

Then we took public transport (where I got to try out my Turkish as I attempted in vain to find a kiosk to buy a daily pass -- kiosk was closed), to the more modern Dolmabahce Palace, built in the mid -1800s when the sultans perceived the world thought their power and influence had waned because Topkapi Palace was too modest.  They blew the doors off on this palace which had massive ballrooms and staircases with chandeliers that looked like full scale models of the earth that you might see suspended in a planetarium.  Unfortunately no photos inside though as was a common refrain in the week, my phone battery ran out as we were leaving the palace.   

Evan, Greg, Brian Hall, Jenny and Scott on the light rail

With Scott Keyes at Dolmabahce

We got adventurous after that, and took ferries from near Dolmabahce to the Asian side of the Bosphorus where our ferry dodged other ferries and a huge tanker en route (think of an airport without an air traffic controller) and then grabbed another back to the European side so I could get back for the Whirling Dervishes.  A religious dance, it was impressive that they literally spun in circles for 45 minutes, but I'm not sure I'd recommend it to others.  I have to say, however, I managed to get one of my favorite meals, a chicken doner (marinated chicken on a long narrow roll) and a cherry juice all for 4TL.  I called it early that night as I was the facilitator for our stops the next day, our last in Istanbul and Turkey.

Izmir to Istanbul, Saturday February 9th

So after a busy week of tours and cultural stops, our main duty for Saturday was getting to Istanbul with a group tour set up for Saturday afternoon, followed by a free evening and a free day on Sunday.  Our flight was a bit late leaving Izmir, but we got to Istanbul mid afternoon and got stuck in some of its reknowned traffic on our way into the city. 

The road from the airport took us along side the Sea of Marmara to where it joins the Bosphorus.  The first photo is that of some of the large ships waiting to go through the Bosphorus to the Black Sea as the waterway is one way depending on the time of the day. 

Our hotel the Yasmak Sultan http://hotelyasmaksultan.com/ is A on the map below (B and C were our stops for Monday) very near Sultanahmet, which has many of the cultural and historical sights we would visit.  Many of the sights we would see on Saturday and Sunday were within a mile of the Yasmak Sultan, a nice boutique hotel with a great rooftop bar and restaurant. 

As can be seen above, Sultanahment is surrounded on three sides by water, the Sea of Marmara, the Bosphorus on the East, and the Golden Horn to the North. 

Our first stop on our afternoon walking tour was Aye Sofya (Hagia Sophia), with its massive dome, dating from about 537 AD.  Starting out as a christian church, then becoming a mosque before becoming a museum following the founding of the Turkish republic (in 1923) in the '30's.  http://www.ayasofyamuzesi.gov.tr/en/

Here is the interior

One of the many murals, this one from the early 14th century.

Our next stop was the Basilica Cistern, a columned cavern that stored water for many of the times the city was under seige. 

After the cistern, we visited the Grand and Spice Bazaars, both within a mile of the previous stops and the hotel.  I have to say while the bazaars have their own rich history (I believe the Spice Bazaar is from the 1600s), I found them interesting but a bit touristy -- crowded, crazy labryinth-like indoor malls.     

The very similar looking Spice bazaar, basically the same as the Grand Bazaar except more of a foodie feel to it with part of it outdoors. 

We capped off the evening with a dinner nearby the hotel.  I had wanted to venture North of the Golden Horn into the more modern Beyoglu section of the city for some night life (some of the crew made it to feast which included belly dancing), but it was a cold rainy night and staying close by seemed like the better call.  We ate a nice restaurant called Pasazade recommended by my guide book Lonely Planet (overall was pretty good) right near the hotel.  Can't remember what I ate -- I'm thinking a lamb stew, but it was reasonable.  Grabbed a nightcap at nearby Scottish sports bar (when in Rome, or Istanbul as it were), but wanted to be well rested for the busy day of touring ahead. 

Kirazli to Izmir -- February 8th

So Friday morning we all gathered back at the tea house and said good-bye to our hosts.  Turkish men typically greet and say good-bye to each other with a kiss on the cheek, which Faruk had done when he'd said good night the previous evening and bid farwell to Scott, Brian and me the same way.  At one point during the evening Faruk paused and looked at the three of us and asked rhetorically, "Tonight, we have good time didn't we?"  We certainly did. 

We had a bit of a drive that morning heading north along the Aegean coast to the small town of Seferihisar, mostly in the rain though it let up long enough for me to snap a couple photos. 

We had one of our more comical moments that morning.  As Larry had predicted there was tight turn in the small town of Seferihisar that our bus couldn't navigate and we had to walk about a half mile to the Baltali goat farm.  We passed a burial en route and were passed in turn by a white Mercedes with a woman in the back seat with blond hair, who turned out to be our host, Funda Ozer Baltali. 

This was not your average goat farm, in as much it was a large modern facility with several hundred goats and a processing plant on site not to mention it was owned by a woman.  We actually didn't go inside the barns for biosecurity reasons but had a lively discussion followed by tea and refreshmants before a quick look inside the processing plant.  We had to walk back to the bus from the farm even though our host explained to our bus driver a different route to the farm, but the bus driver would have none of it.  At another point in the trip our tempermental bus driver shut off use of the bathroom because he claimed we'd clogged it with excessive disposal of toilet paper.  [At the risk of TMI, throughout the country, the plumbing is fragile so in many places toilet paper goes into a waste can instead of the toilet, and evidently the same goes for the bus toilets as well.] 

The corner the bus couldn't make

We had about a half hour drive to the city of Izmir, the third largest in Turkey and home of Ege University, which boasts rhe largest ag. faculty in Turkey, where we would spend the afternoon.  We had a great lunch in the faculty dining room and then two presentations on Ege and ag. education and the second on the Central Anatolia Project (CAP). 

The CAP was a subject we wanted to learn about (though we didn't travel to that region) as it's basically a giant irrigation project to boost agricultural productivity in the arid regions of the Central and Southeast Turkey.  We saw a state-produced promotional video on the project, touting its merits, though the environmental underpinnings of the project, given the crops (like cotton) they intend to produce in that region are questionable.  Clearly the Ege faculty didn't want to say a lot on the topic.   In general we got mixed reviews from industry people about the role of ag. universities in Turkey.  

We were going to check out some university greenhouses, but the weather was terrible and it was difficult to navigate the campus in our bus late on a Friday afternoon, so it was off to the Aksan hotel, which was in a bit of sketchy part of town.  At the very bottom is a view from the rooftop of the hotel in Izmir.     

Food magically appeared from these windows at the Ege University faculty dining room

Ege's ag. quad

Rolling out the red carpet for Greg Comeau

Dr. Hilda Ilbi, Vice Dean of the agriculture faculty with Timucin, our translator 

Back in class