Saturday, January 20, 2007

It has been a while...Istanbul before Christmas


Istanbul...quite a surprise! First of all, this is one of the oldest cities in the world. It sits on both sides of the Bosphorus Sea, that separates Europe from Asia. So I was expecting a lot of people in robes, turbins and scarves. On arrival at the airport I was totally surprised to see a very modern airport, clean, easy to manage and not too crowded and most everyone dressed in modern, up to date clothes. As we drove to our hotel, the lights of the city where spectacular. There are mosques everywhere.

In the daylight I was also surprised. It could have been San Francisco. The weather was cool but clear. It is four times as large and has two or maybe three bridges that look like the the Golden Gate, only not orange! It is quite a cosmopolitan city. Big difference, at noon and dusk, prayers are broadcast city wide over loud speakers. Surprisingly no one stops (at least that I could see)... everyone just keeps going about their business. Really a very interesting place.

Seagate is going to have a customer event there next September... Should be fun.

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