April 07, 2006

From The Center of Two Continents–Part-1
Istanbul- where I never feel foreign

The last time I was in Istanbul was in March. I've been to Turkey more than a dozen times, but each visit is an emotional one, especially when I reach this city.
I always say that I am not a very religious person, but visiting Istanbul always stirs in me some religious feelings. It's the city where you can hear church bells blend with the Muslim call to prayer.
Istanbul's rich cultural history has also combined with modern influences to produce an array of national delicacies that make this country a delight for food-lovers like myself.
But that's not the only reason Istanbul is important to me. I have many lovely friends living here, such as Noman Aydogan Unal. He is not just a friend; I think of him as a brother, as someone I value even more than a brother. So he was naturally high on my list of priority people to visit in Istanbul. In contrast to my western friends, I never need to arrange a meeting with him beforehand -- "Aslamau Aleykum" has always been enough to open his door.
But due to my late arrival and other engagements, I made an arrangement to visit him the next day on 20th March. It was 8 p.m. when I flew into Istanbul, and I went directly to Zeytinburnu district, where my other lovely friend Halmehmet was waiting to put me up as a guest in his residence, not only for this night, but as long as I was to stay in Istanbul.
Though our acquaintance began only last year, Halmehmet is a good friend, and I would say this trip made our friendship even stronger. I was impressed by his hospitality and his kindness, as well as his good humor. What touched me even more was the respect he showed to me as a guest, when I realized that he had postponed a trip to Afghanistan in order to play host. We talked late into the night, mainly about the situation of the Turkmen communities in Turkey and in particular about Afghan Turkmen. I was impressed by his knowledge and analysis.
Next day I was in my former office in the building of Ihlas Media, or ‘IHA” I met nearly all my former colleagues -- Omer Caglar, Ibrahim Pazan, Ismail Balli, Ilyas Kilicarslan, Alper Osmangenc, Mehmet Gel among others. They gave me a warm welcome, and I had to drink at least one cup of Turkish tea in each office I visited, and I was invited to stay to dinner.
It’s been three years since I last worked there, but I was pleased to see I could still enjoy the respect and friendship of former colleagues, including bosses such as Omer Caglar and Ibrahim Pazan. This remains the most memorable of all the places I have worked in over the past decade.
My time there [1999-2002] not only helped me develop professionally, it also helped confirm me in my career choice, and helped banish all thoughts that I had previously entertained of giving up journalisism.
It wasn't just rewarding professionally. Many of the people I worked with became much more than bosses or colleagues, and to this day we still call each other brother.
I believe this close contact is one of the main drivers behind this organization's progress in the last few years. Today it's the third largest agency in the world for broadcast news. The second thing that makes this organization unique is the commitment of employees. In my years there I never counted the hours I spent in the office, just like the hundreds of other employees I believed that we are IHA and IHA is us, and that we were there to deliver a 24-hour service. This is something unthinkable in many organizations. When I think that not only junior employees but bosses were also working with the same enthusiasm, it's not hard to imagine that IHA has a brilliant future.
I was planning to spend 2 hours in the office, but when I checked my watch after dinner, I found I had already been there 5 hours. I had to run if I was to meet my other good friend Numan Aydogan Unal, who was expecting me hours ago. It's always been hard to be on time in Istanbul, partly thanks to the city's notorious traffic, but the newly launched metro system meant I had less of an excuse this time.
As I said at the beginning of my diary, Numan Aydogan Unal, or ‘Numan Abi,’ is someone who's very dear to me. Whenever I go to see him I just cancel all of my other engagements and plans. He might be in his 70s, but he is younger than many young people, as amply shown by his enthusiasm, inspiration, hard work and active social life. It would have been a big loss in my life if I hadn’t been introduced to him eight years ago.
Numan Abi wanted to host me this night. I gladly accepted, if not planning to leave early the next day for a trip to Ankara. .
Dear reader, I will bother you one more time with my adventures in Turkey, tomorrow I will take you to some other special parts of the country and will introduce you to some more special people. See you then.