Istanbul: January 2013

So I am posting because my experience today was too good not to share!

Today we took an hour bus ride outside the city to visit ISTANBUL PARK, which was voted one of the best race tracks in the world.

We had the opportunity to meet with Vural Ak - one of the most prominent business men in Turkey and owner of the park (renting it from the government for the next 10 years). Mr. Ak showed us his collection of antique cars and modern race cars - nissans, BMWs, lamborghinis, maseratis, etc.

Despite what I'm sure is a very busy schedule for a multimillion dollar business man, Mr. Ak was kind enough to sit down with the eight of us and discuss our impressions of Turkey as well as how he established his business. Today his company, Intercity, is the largest car rental company in Turkey.

After some tea, Mr. Ak took us for a ride in his favorite car to drive - a Nissan GT-R 650 hp race car.
I was lucky enough to be in the first group and got to ride around the track before it rained.

Top speed: 250 km/hr

Total distance: 5km

It was crazy. Every turn we approached I thought that there was no way we could slow down in time, yet I am alive to tell the tale.

Before leaving Mr. Ak invited us to join us on his yacht in June when the weather is nice (jet ride to the marina included) - He was such an incredible host and I'm dubious if anything else in Turkey is going to top today!

Antique Cars

Car that James Bond Drives

The Track

Car that we rode in!

We are so lucky to have such a well connected professor taking us around Turkey!

I would like to preface this blog, or attempt at a blog, with the following statement:

"I can in no way promise that there will be more than one post"

Now that I have set the expectation low that this blog will continue throughout my time in Istanbul, I should perhaps share some of my experiences thus far.
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As of yesterday I have been in Istanbul for two weeks - two weeks packed with touring around the city with 6 other Wash U students and an incredible professor who seems to know every third person in a city of 13 million.

Because I am hoping to condense two weeks into a single post given my delayed start to the study-abroad-blogging-train, I will share some general impressions and then just post some pictures. If you know me then you know that I am an engineer not a writer so keep an open mind.

Here it goes,

1. People drink A LOT of tea (çay). In two weeks I think I have made the official switch from coffee to tea. Then again, maybe that is because turkish coffee consists of an expresso shot with the grounds left in the cup.

2. I love a city near the water and will never again be satified in a city where you can't travel from Asia and Europe in a $1.00 15 minute ferry ride.

3. There are cats and dogs everywhere, but they are well trained. I swear I saw a dog look both ways before he crossed the street, which is probably good given that the traffic and driving are crazy. Pedestrians do NOT have the right of way.

4. Turkish is really hard...And the letters sound different...And they don't understand when I try to say simple words...

5. Turkey has some delicious food! Kabob, Doner, Borek!

6. Backgammon (known here as tavla) is popular. Therefore, finding a coffee shop and playing a hour of tavela has become a typical afternoon pastime.

Enjoy the pictures - Hopefully I will elaborate more on my experiences in upcoming posts!