Rediscovering a galaxy through music!
Last year, I had the same experience with a symphony orchestra during The Lord of the Rings, and last month I had another one, this time during Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, one of the best installments in the Star Wars franchise. In this post, I’ll share my Star
Rediscovering a galaxy through music!
Last year, I had the same experience with a symphony orchestra during The Lord of the Rings, and last month I had another one, this time during Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, one of the best installments in the Star Wars franchise. In this post, I’ll share my Star
A Poorly Managed Transition at Costa Rica’s Honorary Consulates in Turkey
In December 2021, just a month and a half after stepping down from my role as Costa Rica’s Honorary Consul, I was warmly welcomed and honored during an official visit. The main purpose of this trip was to introduce a potential new Honorary Consul for Istanbul—someone I believed was well-suited
The Grand Kartal Hotel Disaster
It’s hard to digest the tragedy of a hotel in Turkey, repeatedly visited by ski lovers (including myself and my close circle), going up in flames and costing 78 people their lives. This disaster was a long time coming and obvious to anyone paying attention. A third of the guests
Mother Nature’s Slaps Are Getting Harsher
On 7 January, a series of wildfires broke out in Los Angeles (L.A.), nearly reducing the entire city to ashes. Since both my mother and brother were in L.A. at the time the fires started, we had a moment of panic. Fortunately, they reacted quickly and were able to get
Galatasaray Legends I Wish We’d Seen More Of
We kicked off the new year with a post on sports. Given the heavy headlines we constantly face, I’d like to continue in the same light-hearted spirit this week. In this piece, I’ll write about Galatasaray legends who, despite their major contributions to the team, left earlier than they should
An Important Sports Role Model #3: Michael Phelps
With this series, I began writing about athletes I personally admire and consider to be role models. I previously wrote about Semih Saygıner and Andre Agassi. This week, I will focus on Michael Phelps, the most decorated Olympian of all time. In my series on important athletic role models,
Frequently Asked Questions #11
Those who follow my blog know this: I collect the questions I receive and answer them in a series called “Frequently Asked Questions.” I just realized that the tenth and most recent entry in this series was written 3.5 years ago. Of course, many questions have accumulated since then. In
How Did China Achieve Overwhelming Dominance Across All Sectors?
In every project I’ve worked on or am planning, I constantly come across the reality of China. Having met with Chinese counterparts, done business with them, and visited China myself, I can say from firsthand experience how the Chinese have come to dominate more than 90% of all strategic industries
The Real Estate–Energy Equation
Last month, I gave a talk at the EurAsia Proptech Initiative MeetUp, hosted by GYODER (The Association of Real Estate Investment Companies). In the opening panel with Mete Varas, I discussed the relationship between real estate and energy, touching on topics such as “Centralized and Distributed Systems,” urban planning, types
Turkey’s Knowledge Vault, the Century-Old Plane Tree Muazzez İlmiye Çığ
Last month, we lost one of the symbolic figures of our Republic, the Sumerologist and Hittitologist Muazzez İlmiye Çığ, who had recently turned 110. I met her about 15 years ago after sponsoring a documentary produced by the successful filmmaker Serkan Koç. This friendship continued with a courtesy visit shortly