Our managing partner in Turkey told me he might need me for a project last month. Then, on a day's notice, I had to book my flight, pack, and head out over the weekend. The following two weeks (including our Independence Holiday weekend) were rather rough, work-wise. Not quite like my initial trip. Very hectic. Still, I have managed to make some interesting observations to share:
Economic
- Turkey, according to a recent NYT article, is the second fastest growing market in the world, after China, and though I haven't noticed too much more bustle than last time I was here in late 2008 (perhaps that is a good thing, as the rest of the world is likely much slower than 2008), certainly our office is busier and people aren't worried as much about currency fluctuations
- There is no more YTL (new Turkish Lira)...now it is just the Turkish Lira again; I had taken back some YTLs with me to America, but unfortunately, have not been able to spend them upon my return here
- The exchange rate has been between TL 1.5-1.6 per USD, about where I left it (when it was the YTL), but unfortunately, there has been the typical and considerable inflation...so things are more expensive for me too; for example, I know a Tavukburger from Popeye's used to be 2 YTL, but now it is 2.25 TL, so at least 10% inflation per year; a Metro transfer used to be 0.4 or 0.5 YTL, but now it is 0.75; some Bursa towels I bought last time from Olivium are now 20% more than they were last time; at least the AKBIL is only 6 TL, same as last time (I know, I know, I should have brought mine with me, but like I said, one day's notice!)
- Despite the economic growth, I have noticed quite a few vacancies at the three big malls in this area - Cevahir, Profilo, and Astoria; I don't know if it is because rents are too high, or more likely, there should not be three huge malls 10 minutes walking distance from each outher!
- There is a lot of personnel turnover; other than the partner, everyone at the office is new, and I haven't recognized anyone at any of the restaurants or stores I used to go to either (other than the barber shop below my old place); now such dynamism is a good indicator in many ways - comparatively, I am sure people in Detroit feel stuck to their jobs given the uncertainty - and while a bit more stability would be nice, I am glad the teens I saw working the fast food joints last week have found greener pastures and have moved on
- One of the things I like about Turkey is the food, but of three times I had cravings for something specific, I was disappointed each time - Johnny Rockets was closed at Cevahir after I hiked down there on July 4th for a burger; the kuru fasuliye places near the Suleymaniye seemed to be dead or closed at 11pm when I went up there (usually they are the type of place open much later, but I guess 4 years of construction has caught up to them); and the Mexican place in Astoria also closed! Alhamdulillah, at least there are plenty of other options...
- Some things don't change...I bought a purple shag rug last time off some guy selling them out of his car near Cevahir - on my disappointed walk back, I saw the rugs again!
Social
- Despite the AK Party's continued success, Erdogan's growing position of leadership and respect in the Muslim world (so ironic that the Arabs are now looking to Turkey after what happened 100 years ago, this is deserving of its own blog post), and increasing political voice of conservatives, it seems to me that maybe Turkey (or Istanbul at least) has become just a little bit less religious; I have noticed fewer people in the masjid (aside from Jumuah), fewer hijabs (though ironically, more beards), more tatoos (that may just be the weather)...I don't know
- I don't remember if I noticed this last time (picture quality at the old apartment was awful), but Turkey censors cigarettes and smoking on TV...which is rather strange to see, especially when swear words typically censored in the US are quite audible!
- One of my colleagues gave me an interesting insight into why the Hagia Sophia has been under constant renovation for the past few decades - apparently, Turkey would be under Western pressure to let it re-open as a church, but by positioning it as a museum, and moreover, a museum under construction/renovation, Turkey is simply avoiding dealing with the problem
- A decent amount of PDA among the diversity of Istanbul - typically at acceptable levels for a Muslim society, but interesting to observe nonetheless
Personal
- My total time in Turkey is now up to more than 4 months (twice as much as India so far), and I have seen its beauty in all four seasons now, alhamdulillah
- I have some very strange thoughts cross my mind during this trip, probably because between work and sleep, there hasn't been too much in between (more isolation, no blogging or Skyping); some examples: thinking about the business opportunity of oud cigarettes, making the case for a massive internal survey at my firm, and wondering if anyone has ever put a slinky on an escalator...
- I ended up renting a place (to be reimbursed this time) for the final two weeks of my stay (http://www.sahibinden.com/ilan/emlak-konut-gunluk-kiralik-daire-sifir-tadilat-gormus-kusursuz-daire-1/detay) - it is nice enough, and only 8 minutes door to door to the office, but alas, no AC or fan, so it is a bit hot; at least the clothes dry quickly when I hang them!
Miscellaneous
- A lot off the buildings and towers under construction when I was last here have been completed, and some new ones are in the works (e.g., Trump Towers)
- Astoria, the mall/tower where our office is, used to be pretty vacant (was still brand new), but now it has much higher occupancy (I don't know how full it is), and you can tell at lunch time
- On the tourism front, the Suleymaniye, which has been under construction since 2007, is now even more closed than it was in 2008 - I had to pray in a tent outside when I visited this time!
- I also checked out Kariye last weekend - it is off the beaten path in a quiet part of town (Edirnekapi); a decent amount of western tourists, but for the first time in Istanbul, I felt I was in a place as quiet as Damascus; the iconography in the building was quite impressive, in even better shape than the Hagia Sophia I think; it was also strange to see the minbar niche not central to the building
- I walked all the way down Istiklal Cd. to the water for the first time, and I finally saw Galata Tower up close; I was about to climb up, but then felt that it was rather pointless to do by myself, and I was hungry anyways; it is also pretty impressive up close, more so than when it gets lost among the other buildings in the area
- The Metro network has been expanded - I have noticed at least a couple more stops on the ends of the train I usually ride from the office into the city center
- The tokens used on the metros have changed - they aren't small coins anymore, but larger, colored plastic bits
- I stayed at the Divan hotel again for the first week or so, and the rooms are as tiny as ever, or maybe even tinier...I literally had no place to stand and pray, so I had to pray on the bed this trip!
- Climate change seems to have impacted Istanbul too, not that the weather changed much; the first couple weeks here, it rained quite a bit (had to get a cheap umbrella for TL 5), which I was quite used to from my trip in the fall/winter, but I guess it is not too common in the summer; alhamduillah, this week is better
- Traffic is just as bad, if not worse; I walked back to the hotel one night at 3 am, and I had to wait to cross the road - there should not be a road with that much traffic at 3 am, and this Buyukdere Cd is not even Istanbul's main street; I think that at any given time, Buyukdere, in the two miles I see regularly, might have as many cars as Woodward has on 20 miles back home (and that doesn't even count the second layer of road that is a highway that runs on top of Buyukdere for two miles)!
- Even more dogs than last time, and they have gotten bigger! It seems like there are a bunch of stray wolves running around Istanbul; of course some are also pets, but they are just as bad if they are not leashed; I have to contend with at least 5 dogs on the way back from work to my apartment, two wild and unleashed, and one unleashed pet; needless to say, I carry my umbrella even on the sunny days; one day, one plopped himself in my garden, though thankfully, he politely moved as I wanted to pass, leaving the premises; however, when I shut the gate behind him, he barked at me and just stood there, so I ended up just jumping off the back wall to get out!
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