Back in the Bul
We arrived yesterday afternoon at the brand new Istanbul Airport. While I first came to Istanbul twenty-five years ago, I feel like I have had a crash course in Turkey in the past two years. When I came here several times between 1994-1998, it was while I was running Global Private Banking for Bankers Trust. We had a number of clients in Istanbul and I would spend most Friday’s and Saturday’s here because when on a Middle East swing, it was nice to have a Muslim-light place to come where business could be done on those days. Saudi, Kuwait, Qatar and the Emirates are much more religious in their business practices than Turkey. Since 1920, thanks mostly to Ataturk and the cultural wave he rode, Turkey became a dominantly Muslim country. But first and foremost, Istanbul is a trading hub. It’s positioning at the straddling of the Bosphorus makes it not only the east/west link between Europe and Asia, but also the ultimate linkage of Russia and the rest of Central Asia to the Mediterranean as trade and travel by ship from the Black Sea progresses through the Bosphorus, the Sea of Marmara and down through the Dardanelles. This is an unusually narrow straight through which so much trade and travel must flow. It is the ultimate crossroad of cultures and economies. Wealth tends to accumulate in such places to the extent geography contributes to economy.
It is also worth observing that where people gather they tend to erect great temples as showings of their virtue. It is not coincidental that Rome is the seat of Christianity, or that Mecca and Medina, on either side of Jeddah on the Red Sea are the seats of Islam. Jerusalem is much more than just the center of Judaism, but it certainly is all that as a center of the basket of early civilization. My experience tells me that the accumulators of great wealth feel the need to prove to the world that they also possess great virtue and do both under the grace of a God. That may be a bit cynical, but I doubt it is untrue and the rest of us benefit in that these centers of wealth and virtue are littered with great works of art in the form of cathedrals, mosques and temples. We spend time admiring this splendor, wondering how such grandeur came to be. It is all about accumulated plunder and the forgiveness it seeks.
After all of my chasing wealth visits to Istanbul, I returned two years ago to show this gem to my wife Kim, who had heard of its wonders from her globetrotting older sister. We were heading to a motorcycle ride through Greece and Turkish Air had a great deal that allowed us to make this short pre-trip visit at a moment that proved quite prophetic. First there was the visa ban on American visitors that was underway when we went. Kim had just barely gotten out ahead of it and we had our online visas and were advised by Turkish Airlines that we were good to go. We chose the Four Seasons Sultanahmet due to its location and history as a prison (ref. Midnight Express). We were one of two couples staying there as the visa ban had its effect. Everyone was surprised to see Americans in town, and assumed we might be German or British.
During that visit I was asked to go see a physics professor in search of diligence on a company that was asking me to join as CEO. I took the ride up to the University in northern Istanbul, set on a hill overlooking the Black Sea. The University looked like Stanford, which was less surprising when I learned that the professor was actually the president of the largest private university in Turkey (Koc University) and a tenured 35-year professor of none other than… Stanford University. He spent an hour convincing me of the world-changing nature of the science and the need for me to take the job. It worked and after my motorcycle ride through Greece and a consultation at the Delphic Oracle, I signed on. In the two years since I’ve been back to Istanbul several times to discuss with the largest private companies in Turkey at the highest levels. It seems this same professor was quite persuasive with those companies in getting them interested in our technology.
All or this business dialogue has given me reasons to see more than a few parts of the city. I feel like I know the city reasonably well now, but it’s such a big and sprawling city (16-20 million) with so many different areas, cultures and neighborhoods, that it has stayed very interesting in many ways. The food is as diverse as anywhere you will find as Lebanese and Greek flavors dominate, but food of any kind can be found here. There are modern shops and street push carts selling honeydew melons just as they have for thousands of years. The old city blends with the modern infrastructure in a natural way. The movement of ships and ferries around the Bosphorus, Sea of Marmara and Golden Horn make this harbor as active as any other than perhaps Hong Kong. I look out on New York Harbor every day and while it is an active harbor, it’s nothing like the churning of the waters of Istanbul.
As we went around the city today in a comfortable Sprinter van, our guide, Sammi, gave us clear lessons on modern life in Istanbul. He doesn’t trust the tap water, he doesn’t care for the policies or Erdogan, but he admires the infrastructure improvements Erdogan has pushed through, and he loves any type of kebab or mezza. Tomorrow we will get a more traditional dose of the touristic view of Istanbul with visits to Topkapi Palace, Hagia Sofia and the Blue Mosque under renovation.
I don’t know how many more times I will come through Istanbul in this life, but I know I will always marvel at this wondrous center of culture, trade and antiquity. My imagination runs wild in this place where so many things come together to show off all the good and interesting aspects of mankind. I think I can find interest and never be bored with this city because my mind can easily feel I am in almost any era of the last 2,000 years, without regard for the geopolitical woes of the moment and focused on the senses and cultural diversity that make for fascinating days and romantic nights everywhere I go and at everything I see. I feel less of the decadence of wealth here (though I know it exists in many of the nooks and crannies) and feel more of the virtue of magnificence in the age-old ornate structures.
I travel to find new feelings and renew old feelings. I heard a photojournalist talk disparagingly about Kabul, saying she was back in the Kabubble. I guess that meant a certain detachment that allows her to survive in a difficult place. I have forgotten how much I like the feelings of timelessness I get in Istanbul. So I guess I’m just thrilled to be back in the Bul.