Feb 16 - Istanbul to Gaziantep to Sanliurfa

Not wanting to waste any free moments in Istanbul, the group decided to squeeze in a few more of the city's unique cultural sights and experiences before we had to depart mid-morning. One group went to the Hagia Sophia. The stunning church is among the world's greatest architectural achievements. It was fascinating to see the layers of history exposed on the walls as the Hagia Sophia was converted from a Christian church to a mosque in the 15th century. The fact it was built over 1,400 years ago is a testament to the sophistication of the Byzantine culture of its time.

The second group opted to venture over to the Spice Market. Here we saw locals and travelers shopping amongst the small, old shops nestled within a rustic, indoor mall. Items for sale ranged from seeds and everyday spices to Iranian saffron and caviar. A few of the class members picked up some unique spices to bring home. I would not pass up an invitation to any of their houses for dinner upon our return!

Everyone reconvened at the hotel at 10am for our bus ride to the airport. We traveled across the Bosphorus Bridge, which spans the Bosphorus Straight that separates the Europe and Asia portions of Turkey. As we neared the airport we all received a first-hand glimpse of the incredible growth Turkey is currently experiencing. Areas that only 10 years ago were undeveloped are now full of hundreds of 20-30 story buildings, with no end in sight. We have been hearing over the past days about the current strength and health of Turkey's economy and our bus trip painted a realistic picture of the country today.

Our flight was smooth to Gaziantep (in southeast Turkey). It was very apparent from the air as we approached the city that we were no longer in Istanbul. Agricultural fields and trees were a welcome sight for us "California Aggies" after days of skyscrapers and bustling streets. The two hour ride from Gaziantep was filled with images of olive trees, oleanders, antep nuts (pistachios to us), and rich shades of black and red soil. The freeway itself was a sight, three lanes of perfectly paved road in either direction. We crossed over the Euphrates river and saw the first hydroelectric dam of our trip. A topic we will delve into much deeper tomorrow on our visit to the Ataturk Dam and visiting with the GAP project leadership.

Upon our arrival in Urfa we all noticed a distinctly different vibe than in Istanbul. Urfa has a population of approximately one half million. The population is divided up between the Arabic, Turkish, and Kurdish cultures. Although all are Muslim, each holds differing political beliefs and attitudes. In Urfa, however, they intermingle in business and society with little faction or hostilities.

We had the privilege of sharing our dinner with Mr. Joseph Babb and Mr. Hamza Uluçay who came from the U.S. Consulate, Adana. They shared their unique perspectives and insights into the region of southeastern Turkey. Mr.Babb is not only a native Californian, but a graduate of UC Davis. We were were treated to not only great conversation, but a delicious meal of the local Turkish cuisine.

Doug Phillips, Kyle Goehring, Karm Bains

Feb 15th - Istanbul

Today was our first full day in Istanbul. We started off the morning meeting our tour guide, Yucel Atik, at our hotel and taking a walking tour of the old town. This included a history lesson in front of the Hagia Sophia museum, also known as the Cathedral of Saint Sophia, which was later turned into a Mosque. Istanbul started out as a Greek colony and eventually became the capital of both the Roman Empire, and the Ottoman Empire. The Hagia Sophia was built in the 6^th century and was originally built as Roman Catholic Cathedral.  When the Ottomans conquered Turkey in 1453, they converted the cathedral into a mosque.  They painted and plastered over some of the religious symbols and mosaics to comply with Islamic traditions of not displaying human figures in a mosque. They believe displays of human figures lead to adultery. They made several other cosmetic and structural changes including the addition of minarets.  It is now a museum and is the only cathedral in the world that maintains artifacts from both Christian and Muslim religions.  It was the largest cathedral in the world for over 1000 years.

Next we walked to the Blue Mosque. We removed our shoes in respect for the Islamic tradition, and walked through the Blue Mosque, which was built by Sultan Ahmed I from 1609-1616. This was and incredible feat that surpassed even the Sultans most ambitious expectations. The mosque derives its name from the 21,073 ceramic tiles within the dome. It is the only mosque in the world that has 6 minarets and is an architectural masterpiece.  Its architect was also part of designing the Taj Mahal in India. The original design and construction included dormitories’, kitchen, and a hospital for the poor. There was also a Bazaar for shopping and is still a working mosque.

After the Blue Mosque we walked to downtown and met with the World Wildlife Fund of Turkey.  The main object of the WWF in Turkey is to conserve the natural resources including habitat and species. Only 8% of Turkey’s farmland is irrigated by newer methods of sprinkler and drip irrigation. The remaining 92% practices surface irrigation that is traditional but highly inefficient.  The WWF is trying to provide education and monetary subsidies to small, local farmers. Their intent is to introduce the benefits of modern irrigation systems to the farmers not only to conserve water but also to increase the efficiency of land use. The WWF predicts that when global warming occurs, Turkish farmers will need to have reduced their water consumption with modern technological practices and alternative crop choices.  The WWF also uses financial resources to provide funding for the Turkish Universities to fund agricultural resource projects.  The WWF is aimed at providing policies for sustainable agriculture while protecting their natural resources.

Our next stop was the U.S. Consulate in Istanbul for an embassy briefing.  The meeting was organized by the Senior Agricultural Specialist, Ibriham, who greeted us.  Ben Hood, an economic advisor for the Department of State, presented a historical perspective to the issues Turkey faces today.   The Commercial Services Department of the U.S. Department of Commerce, explained their role in expanding U.S. exports into Turkey.  The American Consulate General Review of the Agricultural Sector was presented by Rachel Nelson, an Agricultural Attaché. She traveled from the U.S. Embassy in the capitol city of Ankara, with the sole purpose of meeting with our group. Thank you Rachel!  American exports to Turkey reached a record high in 2010 of $2.2 billion. Some key facts regarding Turkey’s agriculture are; the average size of a farm is less then 15 acres, landowners are forbidden from selling land units of less then 20 acres, and agriculture employs 29% of the work force in Turkey.

Our evening was spent at the Grande Bazaar.  This is the oldest and largest bazaarin the world, with more then 4,600 shops. This allowed us to get in a little shopping for family gifts.

Tomorrow we are off to Urfa to learn about the GAP project. Each marker on the map below represents a dam project that is either under construction or planned.

Melissa Duflock, Jim Peterson, and Chris Amble

East Meets West

After a long flight on Air France via Paris, the balance of Class 40, Dr. Thomas, Dr. King and Dr. Perry arrived into Istanbul at 5:00 PM Monday after leaving LAX on Sunday at 4:00 PM. Our flight from Paris was delayed due to computer problems on board the air craft, but we made it in one piece! On approach into Instanbul Airport, we flew over several Russian oil tankers and large vessels waiting for a pilot ship to navigate them through the waters on their way to world markets. We were told that 70,000 vessels use this waterway each year, a critical transportation channel.  Turkey separates Europe from Asia, 95 % of its land mass is in Asia.  We learned from our tour guide, Eugel that Istanbul is one of the largest growing cities in Europe, in 1940 Instanbul’s population was 2 million and today it is 16 million.

On the way to the Old City, the tour bus traveled on the Kennedy Road, built in 1963 and named after the late President Kennedy. The Greeks built Istanbul in 681 BC and it was known back then as the Greek City. Turkey is the second largest country in Europe.

Energy level is high and all classmates are looking forward to our days ahead, as we are exposed to Turkish culture, politics and geography.  During our travels in this country bordering two different Empires, we will be reflecting upon our past leadership experience to prepare us for the journey ahead.

For those of you who are trying to reach us, we are 10 hours of ahead of you in CA.

Merhaba from Istanbul!

Mike P., Doug, Erik, Scott, Jim P., Mica, Kandi and Missy have been in Istanbul for the past two days, exploring and awaiting our fellow classmates.  We spent out first full day as true tourists visiting an ancient cistern, the Cistern, Hagia Sophia, the Topkapi Palace and the Archeological Museum.  We also worked hard to experience as much of the food as we possibly could – eggplant, lamb, baklava and apple tea.  Our experience was tremendously fulfilling.

For day two, we were all feeling like pros and braved the transit system to the Global Bazaar.  We used our few Turkish words and bartered as best we could.  At the bazaar, we mingled with fellow tourists and saw a diversity of Turkish individuals with women clad in anything from burkas to high-fashion European designs.  What a delight for the eyes!  Our evening ended with a trip to the Galata bridge where we watched the fishermen bring in their catch.  This brings us to tonight and the arrival of our classmates.  It’s wonderful to have Class 40 together – ready for our shared experience!

-Mike P., Doug, Erik, Scott, Jim P., Mica, Kandi and Missy

The other side of Gaziantep...

I had a wonderful tour of the lowest income part of Gaziantep, where the people crack nuts by hand in their homes as part of the nut industry here.

All the walnut importers I met with tell how they have a factory out of town and for all their hospitality, they do not offer a tour of their walnut cracking facilities although one person waited until the evening after the businesses were closed and then took me to a warehouse but then told me he forgot the key and we could not go inside. We did not even get out of the car before he drove off. Most of the nut importers want to appear as though they have a dedicated factory somewhere for their walnut business but they seem reluctant to admit to the California exporters that they are personally using this labor pool and the people's homes for the hand cracking operations here.

The reality is that millions of pounds of inshell California walnuts are brought into Gaziantep each year and the vast majority are taken to houses in the morning, cracked by hand during the day by lower income families and then the kernels are collected that evening by the labor contractor/foreman. While this forman pictured below wears a jacket from the largest nut importer in the country, they are all independant contracters and shell nuts for any of the importers that need it. Given the treatment I saw, he is quite a popular person that is well liked by the community.


Behind him, there is a "warehouse" that has product stacked to the ceiling in one corner, empty cases in another, with some room to package the kernels that are brought in each evening. They had not yet started receiving the kernels being cracked that day when I was there.


This is providing thousands of jobs needed by the families who find that the local minimum wage does not necessarily mean a liveable wage. While I only saw the ladies in the house crack nuts, I am fairly certain the children help to some degree. The left over walnut shells are kept by the families who burn them in a little custom furnace in the middle of their living room which provides heat for the house, hot water and cooking all in one little unit. I have been told some pistachios are hand cracked as well and would guess they probably have other labor intensive tasks that are done here. Below, you can see the combination stove in the house. There is another one in the adjacent room.


When I first heard that nuts were cracked in people's houses in the slums, I had an image of very unsanitary conditions. While not up to the food safety standards in America, I did find their homes to be very clean and we had to remove our shoes before we could enter their homes. From what I can gather on local wage rates and how fast they crack, it appears as though the women may be able to make almost as much as the men in the factories without leaving the home if they have enough product to keep them busy.

All in all, I saw something I had heard about and had some impressions and images of what to expect but what I found was people who were glad to have work and although poor, they took pride in their homes. and all of them seemed quite happy.

 - Mike Poindexter

Another day in Gaziantep

Yesterday, I got to spend a bit more time seeing Gaziantep. The new parts of the city are generally filled with 5-6 story housing. Eveybody appears to have their own satellite dish, as the cable infrastructure just isn't here. It is similar how in some lesser developed countries they have greater cell phone penetration than the US because their traditional phone systems were inadequate. It is also interesting to note that every one of the apartments has external water heaters with solar heating on them to reduce energy costs.

I actually saw several men walking around with stacks of bread they were selling. I have had several deja vu moments seeing things that looked so much like the preparation studies we did.

I did get a chance to go through the old town bazaar but didn't spend much time there. I look forward to going back and taking some more time to find some gifts for friends and family.

Speaking of family, I missed my wife's second 39th birthday. I think my mother had 7 or 8 39th birthdays but I still felt bad missing this one. A friend of mine from school that moved away told me whenever he missed the central valley, he walked into the produce section of the supermarket and he didn't feel like he was all that far away.

Lo and behold, in the bazaar in Gaziantep, I should see a bag of walnuts for sale with my name on it. It really is a small world.

Today, I will be seeing a little more of Gaziantep and will have a bit of free time to explore the city a little more. This is a cool place with a lot of history and I look forward to our leadership sessions here.

Early scouting

I left a week ahead of the rest of our class to see customers in Turkey and am staying in Gaziantep right now, the same city our group will be in next week. First impressions: Turkey is a very nice place. The weather is very similar to home and the air is clean. This city has a feel of both 3rd world and developed nation, depending on what parts of town you are in. The people are very friendly and gracious and I feel very welcome here. The food is incredible.

I spend most of Monday touring some of the pistachio processing industry. While Turkey has a rather large crop, it does not resemble our pistachio industry. There is still a high amount of labor involved in the processing and none of the players in the industry has gone to the scale we have in California.

Above is how the pistachios are purchased from the local farmers, who bring their product in and unload them in the street in front of the desired company at the nut bazaar, which is more or less a wholesale business to business version of the retail bazaars one sees in other parts of the cities here. Of note is that the product must be unloaded and reloaded by hand.

Here are the pistachios being roasted. Machines are manually loaded and all the roasting is supervised with one worker per roasting drum. What looks like smoke is actually the steam coming from the pistachios as they are removed from the roaster.



Here is yet another example of the labor intensive process here. All the nuts are sorted by hand similar to this. They do not use electronic optical laser sorting machines and these photos were actually taken at the largest pistachio processor in the country. While their processing might not look like ours at home, the end results are no less impressive. They have a fantastic flavor profile and sell for even more than California pistachios. For the Turks, it really does seem to be all about the end result and as can be best summed up by one of my colleagues here, "In Turkey, we live to eat!" From what I sampled in the restaurants so far, they are doing well.

- Mike Poindexter