Reflections

Here are a few pictures from our departure weekend in Istanbul:
https://picasaweb.google.com/109166257637042672798/DepartureWeekendIstanbul?authkey=Gv1sRgCIK6kZGT1-DCVQ

I have been home now for a couple of weeks and I have finally found a few moments to wrap up this blog.  I spent the last few days in Turkey enjoying Istanbul however I was eager to get back home to friends and family. I found "re-entry" and time lag to be a bit of a challenge and I just now feel like I have begun to catch up on regular life.

It was an incredible opportunity to be able to live and work in southern Turkey for a month and it was filled with many positive experiences.  Our Turkish hosts were incredibly warm, the work was interesting and refreshing - and what started a group of "colleagues" ended as a group of "close friends."  While I would not quite call it life-changing, it was extremely enriching personally and professionally and an experience that leaves many fond memories.  I was exhausted when I returned home - but in a good way having been fortunate enough to fully focus on something truly unique and rewarding.

-mike

Finishing up our project

Our team had a very busy week finishing up our presentation materials as well as our report.  We were pleased with the results and the feedback from the client was positive - we are hoping some of our suggestions make sense for the client and they will have a chance to implement the ideas in a way that makes sense for their organization and community.  I think the quality of the project work was a good example of what can happen when a team stays focused on a common objective and is able to set aside distractions - and is certainly a result of contributions from the entire team.  Our other sub team also produced a thoughtful presentation and report on Tourism which had some great ideas including the "Return to Antioch" tag line.

As part of our report delivery, we presented at a "press event" on Wednesday night an overview of our work - it is always a little more interesting presenting when the "cameras are rolling."  :-)  

Mike presenting at the press evening Wednesday night - Ozlam, our  DOT partner helping  get the message across.

Franklin presenting at the press evening Wednesday night

Thursday was our big day to present...we had the senior leaders in attendance and took them through our work for a couple of hours.

Oğuzhan (our most excellent project assistant/translator & all around good guy, Guilhereme & Anish)

Elizabeth presenting on Thursday

All our work had to be presented & delivered in Turkish

Hui Sim

Cheering on Winnipeg's new team from Antakya

Presenting Thursday - picture of Attaturk (founder of the country), his picture is in every room in Turkey

Sharmila, Kevin, Hui Sim - all smiles after our formal work was complete

Kevin

Burcak (IBM Turkey), Mehmet (one of our clients), Mike & Elizabeth

This week also had several social/protocol sessions with the client - always involving food, lots of and lots of food!

Luncheon with the local Chamber of Commerece

Franklin & Guilherme

A few final words with the Mayor before we depart

Breakfast with the Mayor

I continue to reflect on the hospitality of our hosts - and all the people we have met in Antakya - which was very genuine.  The openness and willingness of our clients to collaborate on the project made it a richer experience that I am sure we all benefited from.

We are now back in Istanbul - we have Saturday to decompress before beginning our respective journeys back to our homes - all exhausted but better for the experience.  This will also provide some opportunities to reflect on the past 30 days and perhaps prepare one more Blog entry  ;-)

Bridge over the Bosphorus (connecting Europe & Asia in Istanbul)

Jiby, Franklin, Anish, Hui Sim

#IBMCSC TURKEY7

More pictures from this past week and weekend....

....here are the links to more pictures in Picasa

From last week:
https://picasaweb.google.com/109166257637042672798/AntakyaWeek3?authkey=Gv1sRgCICJ8saB9ZG6-wE

From Saturday's tour of Hatay - see Blog entry below for descriptions of locations:
https://picasaweb.google.com/109166257637042672798/HatayRegionWeekend3?authkey=Gv1sRgCNzlp6Hi3LXEKQ

Last Weekend in Hatay

Knowing that we would be working on Sunday to finish up our report for our project, we headed out for a tour of the areas around Antakya on Saturday to see some of the local sights.  The history and variety of the sights is impressive.  We crammed as much as we could into a day.

We started at a Templar Knight castle built around 1100 AD - it is perched on a low mountain and while it is "in ruins", it was still impressive in scale as we climbed around it.

We then went to a area used by the locals in the summer called Harbiye, it is section of forest on a mountainside with a number of waterfalls.  It made for a relaxing walk and we were treated to some homemade bread at the end of our walk which was exceptionally good.

Also in Harbiye, we visited a silk factory and saw the end-to-end process from silk work to scarf.  Much silk scarf shopping was done at this location by all.

We then ventured to Saint Simone's Monastery - it is on the hills to the south of Antakya and in stark contrast has giant wind turbines surrounding it.  From here you can see straight the coast and the Mediterranean.

Our next stop was the Titus Tunnel in Samendag.  This tunnel was built around 50 AD and was a channel to re-route water from the mountain so as to avoid silt plugging the harbour.  From here we could also see the mountains that separate Turkey & Syria.  This was our last stop and we enjoyed a fresh fish dinner at a seaside restaurant.

On a more somber note....we found out about the earthquake on Sunday that occurred in Eastern Turkey.  We were not affected at all and our thoughts go to those Turkish people impacted by the tragedy.

The work....

You might be getting the impression from my Blog that there has been more play then work.  While we have had a chance to explore during the weekends, the work weeks have been marked by long days and focused efforts.  Our team is divided into two groups, each working on a different project.  The other team is working on a Tourism strategy for Antakya, which has great historical sites, significant religious sites, and natural beauty - but thinks it can improve its tourism potential.  Our team is working on an e-Government strategy for the municipality in terms of providing better service delivery to its citizens.  The work is interesting and the client has been very collaborative with us in our activities.  Building rapport with the client has been fun as Turk's have a great sense of humor and when in doubt all you have to do is ask what someone's favorite soccer team is to get them talking!  We had challenged our client to a "friendly" soccer match - I am not sure we will be able to fit it in which is probably better for our team who only has a couple of people (the Brazilians of course!) who actually know how to play soccer  :-)

This is our final week - we have a reception with dignitaries where we give an overview of our project on Wednesday night, then Thursday we have a couple of hours to present our report to the client.

#IBMCSC TURKEY7

Who is teaching who?

Our team visited a school in Iskenderun (on the Mediterranean Sea, about an hour or so drive away from Antakya) this afternoon.  The kids were older, around 11 & 12, then the last school we visited.  We participated in an "english class" so to speak and also spent some time with a smaller group of kids in a program they have that is focused on developing leadership skills.  The kids were remarkable in their confidence and they weren't shy at all in terms of trying to practice their english.  The "lesson" being taught today was around "vision" and the value of questioning "why & why not" when  developing a vision - pretty heady stuff for younger kids - as usual, when you are around younger kids eager to learn you can't help but to learn a few things as well!  P.S.  I had brought along some Canada pencils for the kids - they were a big hit!

#IBMCSC TURKEY7

Weekend in Cappadoccia

Our team traveled to Cappadoccia (about a 6 hour drive from Antakya) this weekend - we left Friday afternoon, returned this evening.  A very neat place.  We stayed in a "Cave hotel" in the village of Goreme and awoke the fist morning to see hot air balloons rising in the morning sky from our terrace.  We also managed to get a ride in a balloon later that morning - as well as touring the area which has very distinctive geological features as well as a lot of history.  Saturday evening we attended a Turkish Cultural Dinner.  A very full weekend.

Here are a few pictures:

Town of Gerome where we spent the weekend in the area of Capidoccia

Whirling Dervish

View from our balloon ride

Another view from the balloon

And a few more posted on Picasa:
https://picasaweb.google.com/109166257637042672798/Cappadoccia?authkey=Gv1sRgCI6y6MKSheiEHA