In 1998 I went to Tokyo, the capital of Japan, being entrusted with a duty. My excitement, regarding to see the city in which there is the most famous fish market of the world, shortened the long flight. After I got off the plane, when filling the form, I wrote my date of birth as November 1, as I use in daily life, instead of October 31, as written in my passport. It created a great problem but the Military Attaché of Tokyo – the Naval Forces Staff Colonel Nedim Anbar who was waiting for me at the apron with his diplomatic passport, immediately intervened in and solved the problem.
Everyone, who goes to Tokyo, firstly looks for pearl shops. But our program, with Colonel Nedim, consisted of going to fish market early in the morning, having Ebi soup with shrimps at the breakfast, eating tempura at lunch, sashimi in mid-afternoon snack, tepenyaki in the dinner and sushi as snacks. I can still get the smell of the clean sea which was surrounding Tokyo fish market despite the crowd, in which clean and lamb-like tuna were being sold.
As he was receiving double salaries, he was the second highest salary earner of Turkey but I do not think that he saved money at all because in order to promote Turkish cuisine, he used to organize receptions and host attachés of all other countries in his house, covering all costs by himself. Be sure that I could not spend even a single Japanese Yen out of my travel allowance. He did not let me spend at all. Read the rest of this entry »
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As we belong to a nation which always overcomes all difficulties, we frequently become subject to good imageries. Turkish people are successful in what is difficult. Is it impossible? Certainly it is not impossible, if necessary. One day a father tells his son the story of a crocodile and a turtle. He says: “A crocodile wants to eat the turtle, so it chases after the turtle. Just at the time that the turtle will be caught, it jumps aside and climbs up a tree”. In this part of the story the son asks in amazement: “Dad, can a turtle climb up a tree at all?” The father replies: “It had to climb, son. It had to. In order to save its life, it had to climb up”.
I think you heard about the African explorer David Livingstone. One day, a letter is sent to this famous traveler from one of the associations in South Africa: “Did you find a good route which will make others reach where you are? If there is such a route, you are kindly requested to inform us about this route, so that we can send travelers, who want to be with you, to where you are.”
The answer of Livingstone to this letter is as follows: “I do not want the ones who want to come here, if there is a good route. I need the ones who want to come even there is no road”.
The above mentioned two stories, regarding people who never give up when they face with problems, are the ones from which lessons should be taken. Niyazi Akdas is a very precious businessman who could transmit his works to many countries of the world even in the times that there were no roads. After being graduated from Metallurgy Department of Faculty of Engineering of METU, he took his master degree in University of California and then he worked as a chief research engineer in the same university. He is the Deputy Chairman of the Executive Board of European Organization for Quality, Founding Partner and General Manager of Akdas Casting Industry and Trade Co. and Chairman of Ercelik Co. He carries out active duties in many important companies, holdings and civil society organizations. Eighty percent of the products manufactured in the factory of Mr. Niyazi, who is the President of the First Industrial Zone, are being exported to Sweden, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and the USA. This success continued for many years by operating the factory with a capacity of hundred percent in three shifts. Read the rest of this entry »
I believe that my palate always has an opinion. When eating, my palate starts to talk and in case of a tasteless dish, it immediately whispers this fact to my ear! Because of this reason I believe that I have a very hard work for many years. First, my palate set a higher standard and hence is in search for the most qualified of everything. As I am living in Ankara, I always longed for the ageless tastes of Istanbul in this city. For example; starch pudding with rose water, chicken breast with white pudding, white pudding with caramel base and etc. Unfortunately I could not find the tastes that I am looking for, in any place. That is why; I used to cook by myself. It is quite hard to come up to the right thickness. If you are to cook chicken breast with white pudding, then you have to find a special village chicken to use its breast. It costs double, as compared to the price of the farm chicken. In order to remove the smell of the chicken, you have to keep it in rose water. It is a must to preserve the chicken’s live temperature. It is an art to tease the breast apart. You have to spend 3 hours for a good result. I was never too lazy to find the taste I wanted.
BIRTAT and ZEYNEL
The famous businessman Nizamettin Iren, who introduced Zeynel to Ankara with its menu consisting of chicken soup, chicken on rice, sour cherry ice-cream with no preservatives and the real chicken breast with white pudding, also added the brand Cilli to this quality. He made us come together with the tastes we missed a lot, in a place in Tunus Street. Read the rest of this entry »
Noyan Rona, a very special man who I always wanted to introduce you, came to Trilye lately. After being graduated from Department of Chinese in Faculty of Language History and Geography, he departed from Ankara and went to China. Since that time, whenever we go to Shanghai, he welcomes us at the door and gives special attention to us during our visit. Of course he gives special attention not only to us, but also to all Turkish businessmen who want to make investment in China.
Noyan Rona who was the representative of the first Turkish Bank in China, Garanti Bank, which was founded 10 years ago, went to People’s Republic of China with state scholarship in 1983. His first cause to go to China was for a master degree. Gone for good! After getting his master’s degree, he began to work for Ministry of Foreign Affairs and worked for many years in Turkish Embassy in Peking. Then he was present at the opening of Consulate General of Shanghai and worked as a consulate there.
YEARS WITH YOGHURT AND BREAD
I am very surprised when hearing the comments of people that visited Peking 25 years ago because Peking is a city which I frequently visit in the recent years and is such an incomparable city for me, which I watch in admiration in every visit of mine. Once Peking was like a cold steppe without greenery. It was like a town consisting of many small villages, full of old buildings and having no proper hotels. As the biggest problem was about the meals, Mr. Noyan could eat nothing but only yoghurt and bread for many months. His fate brought him to these days in the country about which he said “I will get master’s degree and return home”. Read the rest of this entry »
I always felt excited when I saw the reservation of Konuralp family which I met in the days that Trilye was newly opened. Our deep conversations about new places, music and delicious meals were very long and pleasurable. Their never changing menu always consisted of charcoal grilled white grouper on skewers and Kavaklidere Selection. Their son Sadi was a very precious academician with who I worked together for some time during his military service.
Asim Cem Konuralp, the head of the family, was a senior chemistry engineer and a precious businessman who owned Ozon bleach factory. He had a very important hobby: record collection. He used to have a collection that was one of the special collections in the world.
I am a very emotional man so I cannot save myself from the effects of a bad event for a long time, but despite everything, I say that I am very lucky to meet Konuralp family. Konuralp, who was music critic in a national paper for many years, had cancer. The treatments gave positive results and he began to get well. One night, together we celebrated the birthday of his son Sadi in Trilye. After 45 days from his birthday, they made a reservation for two and came to Trilye on a Saturday evening. By observing their behaviors, I felt something bad was going on but did not want to put it in words. The father was calm but because of the pain he faced, his treatment was halted. He seemed very upset. Mrs. Nuran, the mother, was wearing sunglasses in order to hide her purple-ringed eyes which were caused by crying. She did not want us to feel what was going on. Then they invited me to their table and gave me the photograph which was taken in the birthday eve. While looking at the surprise in my eyes, they said “Mr. Sureyya, one of the people in this photograph is not with us anymore” and I remember very well that I could not help being upset. Read the rest of this entry »
It is a very important grant to spend the weekend with your family by getting permission in the military schools. The students, whose parents or married brothers or sisters are living in the same city with the school, are very lucky. After the necessary researches carried out by the Central Command Headquarters, the student, who gets the permission to go home at the weekends, spends the Fridays and Saturdays in the house freely, comfortably, without standing sentry. 35 years ago in the public enterprises, the employees used to work on Saturdays till noon. Later on when Saturdays were added to off days, going home at the weekends became more attractive. Every student began to search for a solution to go out at the weekends. One day they told me that I had a visitor waiting for me at the main entrance of Kuleli Military High School. I ran towards the entrance and found out in surprise that my brother Kemal got married and came to the main entrance with his wife Mrs. Sukran and also I saw that as if they got married on purpose in order to make me go out at the weekends, they brought necessary documents for the weekend permission.
This wonderful occasion made me very happy and hence enabled me to study more, beginning from 1974. Watching the fishermen in front of this school having a magnificent Bosphorus view which was once demanded to be a hotel by the Minister of Tourism Ertugrul Gunay; watching the ships passing by and making a bet on which car produced in Turkey (Murat, Anadol, Renault) would pass more in a certain period of time; were the things that we enjoyed a lot. After the last lecture on Fridays, we used to take our permission documents and get on Cengelkoy – Uskudar bus. Then we used to get on a ship from Uskudar and while we were drinking the delicious and bright red teas with porcelain tea saucers, we used to edge in with Besiktas ferry port. Then after going to Taksim by dolmush (shared taxi), we used to wait for Kurtulus bus at the bus-stop. We were always very eager to sit in front of the television and start watching the famous two serials of the term, named “The Fugitive” and “Bewitched”. Read the rest of this entry »
Recently we participated in an award ceremony organized by TUSIAV (Foundation of Turkish Industrialists and Businessmen) in Swiss Hotel. Zafer Caglayan, the Minister of Industry and Trade and former President of Ankara Chamber of Industry, made a speech after getting his award. He said that when he was the President of Ankara Chamber of Industry, he was exposed to sarcastic talks and questions such as, what it was like to be the President of a Chamber of Industry of a city which had no industry. The president, who once was annoyed about the subject, was very happy at the ceremony now. Besides it is very obvious what industrialists of Ankara are doing all over the world, the former president is also the Minister of Industry now.
Onder Bulbuloglu is Deputy President of Ankara Chamber of Industry. He is a person who devoted himself to his goals after being graduated from Department of Mechanical Engineering of ITU (Istanbul Technical University). He is a respectful, gentleman, polite, chic businessman from Ankara who has strong social aspects. Like every successful businessman, he also set his targets many years ago, but achieved his goals in a very short time and he had to revise the periods he set forth, in order to reach these targets. Read the rest of this entry »
We were having a conversation when eating fish with Ridvan Budak, the former Member of Parliament from CHP and general president of DISK. Then we began to talk about national matters. Mr. Ridvan said “Sureyya, once I used to gather ten thousands of people at Taksim square, with only one word of mine” and he continued, “In those days we shouted slogans, criticizing employers. But now the conditions changed. We need the said employers so much that when I see an industrialist employing even fifteen personnel, I will want to kiss his hand”. For the sake of the development of a country, there is no other way but to quit calculating personal rants and to support capital markets.
Rahmi Koc, the richest businessman of Turkish capital market, is a man who devoted himself and his family to make Turkey climb a few steps up in the world league. Rahmi Koc, the Honorary President of Koc Group and the pride of Turkey, was in Trilye last week. He was very impressed on seeing that we, as man and wife, are working together and hence setting high quality standards.
SUPPORT FOR OLD ANKARA
I know a lot of businessmen who were born in provincial areas and then moved to Istanbul. If they used the smallest portion of the wealth they have, for the cities or towns that they lived once, and then the government would not need to support those cities at all. Perhaps they are also right, in their points of view. People in Turkey have a great fear for the future and such a social fear makes people a little bit scary about making investments. But Rahmi Koc is a real lover of old Ankara. That is why he is making investments such as museums and restaurants, which are the supports that are needed most by the city. Read the rest of this entry »
Military Academy started the education and training in 1920 in Harbiye district of Istanbul and then moved to Abidinpasa Mansion in Ankara. One day Atatürk gave instructions to his officials by saying “Construct a modern, matchless and incomparable Military Academy that will suit the cadets”. Atatürk, who came to examine the building named as “central site” in September 25, 1936, got frozen and became very angry on seeing the scene. He turned his face to the authorities who constructed the building and harshly said “Gentlemen, I did not tell you to construct a prison. I told you to construct a military academy”.
I started my education life, which would last for four years, in the above mentioned building in 1976. Me and my friends named Orhan Cubuklu, Soner Oncu, Eray Beceren, the deceased M. Orhan Yasar; who were born and grown up in a coastal city, used to read the poem which was written by Sabahattin Ali in Sinop prison: If you want to see the sea, Turn your face up, The sky is like the sea, Never mind my heart never mind, My heart never mind. Indeed, the central site of the Military Academy was just like a prison. We were like prisoners, walking in the garden of prison. We had only one scene and that was the blue sky above! Read the rest of this entry »
There are things that make you love a city, make you addicted to that city. This can be a woman who you are in love with, a drink special to that city or can be a theatre which attaches you. Our capital, which is located in the center of Turkey and is many kilometers far from the sea, is an addiction for us. What is the cause of this Ankara love of D. Mike Farell, who was born in one the most famous cities of the world? I think the things that he loves. Farell family is one of the happiest couples that I know in Ankara. He attended the same school with George Bush. He says “Bush bro was one grade older than me at school”. Mike, who came and moved to Ankara many years ago, is a jurist graduated from two famous universities in the USA. After being graduated from Philips Academy Andover and Tulane University School of Law, he continued his job but never got far from cookery which had been a hobby for him since he was twelve years old.
FAT TUESDAY CELEBRATION
The Americans celebrate a special day, forty days before Easter. Some preparations are carried out before this special day which is called as “Darsi Mari” or “Fat Tuesday”. A special meal named as GUMBO (which is read as “Gambo”) is prepared. This meal is very hard to find in the special menus of restaurants but it is in the hearts of every one from New Orleans. For two years Mike told me that when he prepared this meal, he would also invite me to see the cooking procedure. Last week Mike’s wife, Mrs. Muveddet, who is working for United Nations, called me to say that Mike was preparing Gumbo and hence was waiting for me. It takes quite long to prepare and cook this dish. The next day, known faces of Ankara, Ambassador Kaya Toperi; Parliamentarian Ahmet Tan; the owner of Suruculer Holding, Ahmet Surucu; Fatos and Nafiz Girginok and other guests arrived in various costumes of different countries. At the entrance, you are given necklaces with colorful beads and requested to keep them. The event was very interesting, in which mythological characters, kings and queens were represented with colorful masks and various costumes. Mike and his wife served Gumbo with boiled rice, about which everybody was excited to eat. Read the rest of this entry »