An Evening by the Bosphorus

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Following a delightful day on Wednesday, I was happy to get a little chance to sleep in today before heading to breakfast. A buffet is served in two restaurants at the hotel, and we ate our meal outside, enjoying the sun glittering on the Bosphorus and the birds hopping on tables to sample the creamer. The Directors' Meeting began at noon and was held at the offices of our local law firm - the traffic in Istanbul is horrendous and makes driving in New Jersey look relaxing by comparison. It took us about thirty minutes to get to the firm's offices, which are located in an older part of Istanbul. Our hosts told us that the street they are on used to be the commercial center of the Ottoman Empire, so it was neat to be right in the middle of so much history. As we sat and talked during the meeting, we could look out the window and see the juxtoposition of the old with the new - a magnificent old mosque in the background blocked only by a little apartment building and its satellite dish!

The Board Meeting went as they usually do, and then it was back to the hotel to meet with our marketing consultant and our hotel planner. Finally I had a nice break in my room, wrapped in my robe with the sliding door open to admit the lovely breeze as I looked out onto the Bosphorus. Quite a peaceful way to enjoy more Smallville!

We did have some excitement here at the hotel today though - for some reason, early this morning, a Turkish naval destroyer moved into the Bosphorus right in front of our hotel, flanked by a smaller torpedo ship. Coast guard yachts and helicopters were zipping by here regularly - speculation by our local firm was that they were here to protect UEFA, the European soccer federation, who are having a meeting here. I'm not so sure, considering none of the UEFA guys seem to have individual security. I saw them sitting at breakfast and one of them working later in the hallway. So I wonder what all the other fuss was about. Apparently the UEFA guys are quite well-known among our European football fans, but I could pass them in the hall without blinking. The NBA is also wandering around here somewhere, preparing for next week's game with Minnesota here in Istanbul. I haven't seen an peculiarly tall men yet though, so I'll have to keep an eye out!

Tonight's dinner was fortunately here at the hotel. A number of our delegates made it just in time because it had taken them two hours to get from the airport to the hotel. Since it's Ramadan, the traffic becomes even more unbearable first thing in the evening as everyone rushes home to eat. We were eating in the shadow of the palace, next to the Bosphorus, and it couldn't have been a more beautiful evening. The temperature was perfect, and as we mingled and welcomed old and new friends to the conference, the moon slowly rose behind the Bosphorus Bridge.

Dinner was a buffet and was quite delicious, and I was extremely happy to find that there were a number of items that even I could eat. My lunch had consisted of some lettuce and mozzarella cubes, along with a dessert of pears, so I was a little bit hungry. It was nice to catch up with old friends at dinner, and make some new ones, as we ease into the conference. Tomorrow promises to be a whirlwind day, with meetings, followed by lunch and tours in three Istanbul highlights, followed by dinner, so I have a lot to look forward to!

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