This morning we visited Bilim ilaç, a pharmaceutical company based on the Asian side of Istanbul. (Note: I thought we were staying on the Asian side, but we are staying in Europe.) As you probably already know, I love love love factory tours. The initial presentation was interesting and the General Manager met with us to discuss Bilim's many awards and its company values. They really focus on employee satisfaction and high quality. After the presentation and some tea and pastries, we were on our way.
The GMP manager (good manufacturing practices) was our tour guide. I was immediately excited because I knew he would be able to answer my uber nerd questions. We were first given a tour of the labs. They test stability (shelf life, etc) in one lab and analyze the overall composition in the other. Then it was time to suit up into our clean room suits (hair nets, tyvek suits and booties). I was surprised to see a lack of safety glasses in the factory, but didn't get a chance to ask why. We got to see where powders became pills, capsules were opened to be filled, and several of the packaging steps. I was like a toddler in an aquarium, pressing my face up against the glass looking at anything and everything. I'm a little amazed I didn't get in trouble for getting too close at times. I did get to ask some geeky questions that I'm sure none of you care about, so I will spare you. What is really really cool is that they have a completely automated warehouse. The computer program knows where's everything is and stores/picks using robotics and bar code scanners. Since there are only machines, there is no workplace accidents. After our tour, we were treated to lunch in the cafeteria. The employees are all given lunch everyday, as one of their perks.
Fun facts:
Bilim ilaç was founded in 1953 and is a family business
It is the fastest growing pharmaceutical company. but only the 3rd largest right now in Turkey
7.1% of all prescriptions written in Turkey are filled with Bilim ilaç products
After the site visit, we returned to the old city piece of Istanbul and visited the Grand Bazaar. It was way more of a labyrinth than the spice bazaar but clearly a major tourist destination. I managed to pick up a few gifts and then we were late to meet our group because we got horribly lost.
This evening, we went to the Akbank art and cultural center near Taksim square for a NU alumni reception. It was really interesting to talk to some fellow Huskies. Our professor presented a short PowerPoint about NU's growth in the last few decades. We're a much bigger deal than we were in the 80s. I spoke to some of my fellow engineering alums and I am happy to report that 2/5 were female.
This evening, Jenny and I split a pizza and now are playing in the lobby on our respective devices. Tomorrow is more sight seeing!!
Note: having trouble getting my iPhone and iPad to share pictures. I'm working on it!
Friday, May 10, 2013
Thursday, May 9, 2013
Turcas, Kebabi and Akbank
I think I overdid it on Turkish tea yesterday because I found myself wide awake at 2am.
I managed to drag myself out of bed in time for a long shower and a non-rushed breakfast. We were then on our way to Turcas Petro. We were greeted by the CFO and a table full of pastries. A few minutes later, the CEO arrived. Batu Aksay is the CEO and it is shocking how young he is, he's in his late 30's if we are doing the math right. Batu presented to us about Turkey's energy market and Turcas Petro's role. He has an electrical and computer engineering degree, but was really impressive from a business strategy standpoint. Turkey is in a very advantageous "geopolitical" position due to their proximity to the Middle Eastern oil producing countries and to the rest of continental Europe. It was really interesting. Turcas is currently a minority member of a joint venture with Shell. The JV was mutually advantageous to both parties, Shell gas can be sold at a premium in Turkey since brand names are valued highly and Turcas had great gas station locations. Turcas is actually Batu's family business, but he replaced a non-family CEO two years ago, so they seem open to non-family management.
A few fun facts:
-In Turkey there are 138 cars per 1000 people. The number is higher in Istanbul, which is obvious after being here for two days. In the US we have 818 per 1000 people.
-95% of oil consumed in Turkey is imported, so they are also focusing on decreasing their dependence on foreign oil. (I keep hearing Sarah Palin saying that in my head, and thinking "does she realize how much oil we use??") Turcas seems to have realistic goals on this, in my opinion.
-70% of all cars sold in Turkey today are diesel.
After Turcas, we had lunch at Kebabi. Meals arranged by the tour company seem to just be a never ending parade of awesome food. We got a chance to roam the Kanyon mall. It was really interesting architecturally, but frustrating for efficient shopping patterns. Ultimately, it was a fancy mall and had fancy mall stores.
We headed to Akbank, which is Turkey's largest bank. This presentation was significantly less interesting to me and the speaker spoke in one of those soft voices that lulls you to sleep. I was cracking up in my head between attempts to stay awake at the photographer that was taking a steady stream of photographs for over a half hour. We were sitting in place and the speaker was standing in place. Wasn't exactly worth the disk space in my opinion. Jenny enjoyed the Akbank speaker much more than I did, but here are a few facts:
-Turkey is currently the 18th largest economy in the world. (I assume they only count countries but wouldn't Wal-mart be in the top 10?)
-50% of all Turks are 29 years old or younger
-one third of Akbank customers don't use ATMs....ever (they can use mobile apps)
-Akbank does not treat all its customers equally and if you are a lowly normal person who walks in, you could expect to wait 30 minutes.
-credit card interest rates here are between 20 and 25%
-Turkey has stricter bankruptcy laws than us and don't allow for chapter 11
After Akbank we got to change for dinner in Kumkapi district. This is the seafood area of the old town and was really interesting. We walked down one street that almost seemed like a giant St. Anthony's feast but subtract the Saint and add fish. It was lined with open air restaurants, some were equipped with Turkish traditional musicians. They were like middle eastern Mariachis. We had another amazing food parade of traditional Turkish dishes. It was harder to eat at dinner because we were just so full and tired. I tried everything but the fava beans, including the sardines. I don't like stuffed grape leaves, I just tried them for the first time tonight for the sake of adventure but they have never appealed to me. After dinner we saw the "ice cream show" where this guy dressed like Abu from Aladdin swings around this giant marshmallow thing that is actually ice cream made from goat's milk. It was really good.
It is now almost 11:30 and I am falling asleep in the lobby trying to be witty for all of you. Hopefully our hotel in Athens has wireless in our rooms and I can blog in my pajamas. Although now that Jenny and I have been to a Turkish bath together, maybe I can blog in my underwear. Will try to post pictures here tomorrow.
Note on my Facebook picture: I keep joking about wanting to take a picture with a statue of Atatürk. I also keep referring to him as "Turkish Jesus" even though he isn't a religious figure, he is EVERYWHERE. Hopefully I can pull off a selfie with Atatürk in sculpture form.
Night night!
I managed to drag myself out of bed in time for a long shower and a non-rushed breakfast. We were then on our way to Turcas Petro. We were greeted by the CFO and a table full of pastries. A few minutes later, the CEO arrived. Batu Aksay is the CEO and it is shocking how young he is, he's in his late 30's if we are doing the math right. Batu presented to us about Turkey's energy market and Turcas Petro's role. He has an electrical and computer engineering degree, but was really impressive from a business strategy standpoint. Turkey is in a very advantageous "geopolitical" position due to their proximity to the Middle Eastern oil producing countries and to the rest of continental Europe. It was really interesting. Turcas is currently a minority member of a joint venture with Shell. The JV was mutually advantageous to both parties, Shell gas can be sold at a premium in Turkey since brand names are valued highly and Turcas had great gas station locations. Turcas is actually Batu's family business, but he replaced a non-family CEO two years ago, so they seem open to non-family management.
A few fun facts:
-In Turkey there are 138 cars per 1000 people. The number is higher in Istanbul, which is obvious after being here for two days. In the US we have 818 per 1000 people.
-95% of oil consumed in Turkey is imported, so they are also focusing on decreasing their dependence on foreign oil. (I keep hearing Sarah Palin saying that in my head, and thinking "does she realize how much oil we use??") Turcas seems to have realistic goals on this, in my opinion.
-70% of all cars sold in Turkey today are diesel.
After Turcas, we had lunch at Kebabi. Meals arranged by the tour company seem to just be a never ending parade of awesome food. We got a chance to roam the Kanyon mall. It was really interesting architecturally, but frustrating for efficient shopping patterns. Ultimately, it was a fancy mall and had fancy mall stores.
We headed to Akbank, which is Turkey's largest bank. This presentation was significantly less interesting to me and the speaker spoke in one of those soft voices that lulls you to sleep. I was cracking up in my head between attempts to stay awake at the photographer that was taking a steady stream of photographs for over a half hour. We were sitting in place and the speaker was standing in place. Wasn't exactly worth the disk space in my opinion. Jenny enjoyed the Akbank speaker much more than I did, but here are a few facts:
-Turkey is currently the 18th largest economy in the world. (I assume they only count countries but wouldn't Wal-mart be in the top 10?)
-50% of all Turks are 29 years old or younger
-one third of Akbank customers don't use ATMs....ever (they can use mobile apps)
-Akbank does not treat all its customers equally and if you are a lowly normal person who walks in, you could expect to wait 30 minutes.
-credit card interest rates here are between 20 and 25%
-Turkey has stricter bankruptcy laws than us and don't allow for chapter 11
After Akbank we got to change for dinner in Kumkapi district. This is the seafood area of the old town and was really interesting. We walked down one street that almost seemed like a giant St. Anthony's feast but subtract the Saint and add fish. It was lined with open air restaurants, some were equipped with Turkish traditional musicians. They were like middle eastern Mariachis. We had another amazing food parade of traditional Turkish dishes. It was harder to eat at dinner because we were just so full and tired. I tried everything but the fava beans, including the sardines. I don't like stuffed grape leaves, I just tried them for the first time tonight for the sake of adventure but they have never appealed to me. After dinner we saw the "ice cream show" where this guy dressed like Abu from Aladdin swings around this giant marshmallow thing that is actually ice cream made from goat's milk. It was really good.
It is now almost 11:30 and I am falling asleep in the lobby trying to be witty for all of you. Hopefully our hotel in Athens has wireless in our rooms and I can blog in my pajamas. Although now that Jenny and I have been to a Turkish bath together, maybe I can blog in my underwear. Will try to post pictures here tomorrow.
Note on my Facebook picture: I keep joking about wanting to take a picture with a statue of Atatürk. I also keep referring to him as "Turkish Jesus" even though he isn't a religious figure, he is EVERYWHERE. Hopefully I can pull off a selfie with Atatürk in sculpture form.
Night night!
Random things I like about Istanbul
Towels for the shower are bath sheet size.
- At the bathhouse and in our hotel, we were given large towels. Not sure if this is a coincidence, but I like it.
Brown sugar as a regular option for tea. Yum
Bathroom hooks are very common so you don't have to worry about putting your belongings on the floor, which is especially important when they don't have regular toilets.
- At the bathhouse and in our hotel, we were given large towels. Not sure if this is a coincidence, but I like it.
Brown sugar as a regular option for tea. Yum
Bathroom hooks are very common so you don't have to worry about putting your belongings on the floor, which is especially important when they don't have regular toilets.
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
A tower, a spice bazaar and a bath house.
Our program isn't scheduled to start until tomorrow so we had the day to explore Istanbul.
We started with breakfast in the hotel which was very good. Luckily, I like Greek yogurt. After a quick game plan session and a room reassignment, we were on our way. We decided to walk the city armed with paper maps instead of navigating public transportation. I am starting to experience iPhone and GPS withdrawals, but I feel like this will be a healthy cleanse for me.
We are staying in Taksim square which is on the Asian side of Istanbul. We headed toward the Bosphorus and stopped at the Galata tower. We paid to take the elevator to the top and took several pictures. It was a great way to see the city from up high. After playing in that neighborhood for a bit, we crossed the Galata bridge to head to the Spice Bazaar.
We arrived on the other side of the river around lunch time and found that we were again met with several initiations to eat. Us girls are getting much better at saying no. One guy even tried to block us from walking past, but I didn't have to push him, thankfully. Personal space is definitely different in Turkey. I'm almost getting used to having strangers in my personal bubble. Almost. We ate at what I would describe as a sidewalk cafe. I had an awesome lamb wrap. Jenny and Alyssa both had grilled chicken and Ayran drinks. It's like a yogurt smoothie. After eating, we explored the Spice Bazaar and purchased a few gifts for our families.
In the bazaar, we got to experience the wonder of Turkish public toilets. Each visit costs 1 Turkish Lire, less than 50 cents. We visited several of these "WC" places today. In the women's bathrooms, there are a mix of western toilets and toilets that are really just holes in the floor that flush. As a semi-experienced former Girl Scout and as a former Boston college student, I was pleased with how my squatting skills have come in handy in my adulthood. Most of these restrooms are pretty gross, not going to lie.
After the bazaar, we wandered to a park on the south end of the European side of Istanbul. The park had a lovely tiered cafe overlooking the Bosphorus. where we had tea and got to rest for a few minutes.
After a walk in the park, we trekked through the city to find the bathhouse we had scouted out the evening before online. I'm blanking on the name right now, but its almost 12:30am here. The bathhouse was an experience. For about 85 lire, we got a traditional bath and a clay face mask. The traditional bath involves lying on a large marble platform in a semi-steam room. When it is your turn, a Turkish woman will call you over to the edge for your bath. I should mention, that we are all lying around on small tablecloths wearing disposable bikini bottoms.....and that's it. The bathhouse is segregated by gender so you sort of pretend to not be embarrassed until you've seen so much nipple, that you forget it's unusual. The actual bath was interesting. You get a full body exfoliation, and then a bit of a massage. After, you are led to a sink and your new Turkish grandmother is washing your hair and rinsing you off with a bowl. You finish by soaking in the hot tubs, without supervision. The clay mask came after and it was amazing. My skin feels very soft and clean.
After the Çemerlitas bathhouse, we took a train across the river and ate dinner near the Galata tower. I had some amazing spaghetti bolognese. We cabbed it back to the hotel, and here we are. I got to Skype with Mom and Jeff for a minute, in case anyone is worried I have a ghost writer and have been kidnapped. Nope, I'm alive and well!!
Tomorrow the program starts, I expect less adventure but am excited nonetheless. Good night!!
Photos: Jenny & I at Galata Tower, the bathhouse from the train station, A selfie from the cafe in the park
We started with breakfast in the hotel which was very good. Luckily, I like Greek yogurt. After a quick game plan session and a room reassignment, we were on our way. We decided to walk the city armed with paper maps instead of navigating public transportation. I am starting to experience iPhone and GPS withdrawals, but I feel like this will be a healthy cleanse for me.
We are staying in Taksim square which is on the Asian side of Istanbul. We headed toward the Bosphorus and stopped at the Galata tower. We paid to take the elevator to the top and took several pictures. It was a great way to see the city from up high. After playing in that neighborhood for a bit, we crossed the Galata bridge to head to the Spice Bazaar.
We arrived on the other side of the river around lunch time and found that we were again met with several initiations to eat. Us girls are getting much better at saying no. One guy even tried to block us from walking past, but I didn't have to push him, thankfully. Personal space is definitely different in Turkey. I'm almost getting used to having strangers in my personal bubble. Almost. We ate at what I would describe as a sidewalk cafe. I had an awesome lamb wrap. Jenny and Alyssa both had grilled chicken and Ayran drinks. It's like a yogurt smoothie. After eating, we explored the Spice Bazaar and purchased a few gifts for our families.
In the bazaar, we got to experience the wonder of Turkish public toilets. Each visit costs 1 Turkish Lire, less than 50 cents. We visited several of these "WC" places today. In the women's bathrooms, there are a mix of western toilets and toilets that are really just holes in the floor that flush. As a semi-experienced former Girl Scout and as a former Boston college student, I was pleased with how my squatting skills have come in handy in my adulthood. Most of these restrooms are pretty gross, not going to lie.
After the bazaar, we wandered to a park on the south end of the European side of Istanbul. The park had a lovely tiered cafe overlooking the Bosphorus. where we had tea and got to rest for a few minutes.
After a walk in the park, we trekked through the city to find the bathhouse we had scouted out the evening before online. I'm blanking on the name right now, but its almost 12:30am here. The bathhouse was an experience. For about 85 lire, we got a traditional bath and a clay face mask. The traditional bath involves lying on a large marble platform in a semi-steam room. When it is your turn, a Turkish woman will call you over to the edge for your bath. I should mention, that we are all lying around on small tablecloths wearing disposable bikini bottoms.....and that's it. The bathhouse is segregated by gender so you sort of pretend to not be embarrassed until you've seen so much nipple, that you forget it's unusual. The actual bath was interesting. You get a full body exfoliation, and then a bit of a massage. After, you are led to a sink and your new Turkish grandmother is washing your hair and rinsing you off with a bowl. You finish by soaking in the hot tubs, without supervision. The clay mask came after and it was amazing. My skin feels very soft and clean.
After the Çemerlitas bathhouse, we took a train across the river and ate dinner near the Galata tower. I had some amazing spaghetti bolognese. We cabbed it back to the hotel, and here we are. I got to Skype with Mom and Jeff for a minute, in case anyone is worried I have a ghost writer and have been kidnapped. Nope, I'm alive and well!!
Tomorrow the program starts, I expect less adventure but am excited nonetheless. Good night!!
Photos: Jenny & I at Galata Tower, the bathhouse from the train station, A selfie from the cafe in the park
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Arrival in Istanbul
We made it!! The flight into Istanbul was late by an hour, but we got a good nap in. So far the hotel seems nice and is in a tourist friendly little neighborhood. We seem to only get wifi in the lobby for now, but we are making it work.
It's currently 8:25pm here and we are in dire need of dinner.
The food on Lufthansa is good, but it is still airplane food.
We got to rock out to Coolio's "Gangsta's Paradise" in the cab (taksi) here. The three of us giggled uncontrollably, and subsequently puzzled the cab driver.
More reflections to come later...
It's currently 8:25pm here and we are in dire need of dinner.
The food on Lufthansa is good, but it is still airplane food.
We got to rock out to Coolio's "Gangsta's Paradise" in the cab (taksi) here. The three of us giggled uncontrollably, and subsequently puzzled the cab driver.
More reflections to come later...
Update: en route!
Taking advantage of the 30 min of free wifi at the Frankfurt airport. I have made it to Europe.
Nothing exciting to report yet.
Random fact:
In the US security doesn't consider an iPad a computer, but here they do.
Nothing exciting to report yet.
Random fact:
In the US security doesn't consider an iPad a computer, but here they do.
Friday, May 3, 2013
Frequently Asked Questions:
When do you leave?
Also, I promise to be really safe and not get into strange cars. I will not wander off alone. I promise. Do not worry. :)
- I am leaving Monday May 6th at 10pm out of Logan. I'm sitting with Jenny on the plane. We're stopping in Frankfurt for a few hours, but will be in Istanbul Tuesday afternoon.
- As part of the Northeastern MBA program, they offer international trips every year called "International Field Studies". This is the first year they're going to Turkey & Greece. For some of the full time kids, it's a required class, but a lot of evening MBA-ers are on my trip. It counts as a full class. We will be visiting various businesses and doing some touristy things too.
- Yes. I'm required to write a reflection paper and keep a diary to hand in.
- We will be in Istanbul until Saturday night and flying to Greece on Sunday. The program doesn't officially start until Weds, but we are arriving a day early to fight jet lag.
- The program in Athens ends on May 16th, but Jenny and I are staying on until Saturday afternoon to play in Athens a little more.
Also, I promise to be really safe and not get into strange cars. I will not wander off alone. I promise. Do not worry. :)
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