An amazing, complex and curious city where East meets West #ibmcsc turkey

Welcomed with Turkish Tea

I awoke to the melodious Adhān, the call to prayer, early this morning in this complex city of Istanbul. #ibmcsc turkey and DOT-Digital Opportunity Trust have outdone themselves in selecting comfortable accommodations for the team. Thanks @DOTTurkey!

We all arrived at various times yesterday greeted by a DOT representative and driven through chaotic traffic to our accommodations. Imagine seeing people selling beautiful roses, newspapers and other items between lanes of stalled traffic on the Don Valley Parkway in Toronto. They really could use a #smartertransport plan in this vast city of over around 14 million people. Even our poor drivers were exasperated.

Regardless – when I arrived at the airport yesterday, I miraculously found our contact in a sea of welcomers and met fellow teammate Kylie from Australia. We had a great introduction as we crawled our way to our accommodations through the traffic marvelling at the numerous mosques with their minarets reaching to the sky.

At our first team meeting, Seda, Ceyhun and Mehmet greeted us – we recognized voices before faces from our weekly prep calls. A welcoming Turkish tea was enjoyed by all.

I’m still pinching myself at my good fortune of being selected for this assignment. I’m looking forward to getting to know the team and working with TÜSİAD and especially participating in their upcoming STEM conference.

More anon…