Friday, May 15, 2009

Istanbul - Impressions from the Bus



Over the last two days we have spent a LOT of time on the bus, driving from one side of Istanbul to another (and remember, one side is across a bridge into Asia!). A few observations from the road:

- Construction is booming - literally everywhere you look there are buildings in various stages of construction

- Mosques are everywhere - from the hotel window we can see 7 mosques, and driving around you never find a spot where you can't see at least two or three minarets, and more likely at least half a dozen




- No cable - there is a clear opportunity for cable TV (as Pablo keeps pointing out to us!) -especially on the Asia side - as satellite dishes pepper roof tops like mussels on the rocks at the sea shore

- Traffic is unbelievable - way, way worse than Boston, and much more chaotic. Traffic jams are so prevalent, and long, that you frequently see kids out selling water bottles on highways, running between the stopped traffic

- Monotone architecture - most housing is in 3-4 story apartment buildings and most neighborhoods have dozens of identical buildings, lacking the individual character we are used to in the US.

Very interesting, beautiful country that seems to be coming into its own.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Trip sounds great! How's the double-occupancy treating you? -- EMBA 22