Alice with Zeki Ayag and Women in Industrial Engineering Academia 2012 Workshop Poster

Basar Basaran with Randy at Istanbul's only brewpub

The beer we drank - a German style kolsch and very good in a cute bottle.

Baris and Basar Basran - yes, both are tall but Baris is NBA material

Some of the meze we had at Vira Vira Balik restaurant including octopus (on left)

The captain at Vira Vira opening our sea bass caught in the Bosphorus that morning

Monday brought rain to Istanbul so we had an excellent breakfast at Cinar Hotel (where we are staying) on the terrace overlooking the Marmara Sea then took a nap (yes, I am still jet lagged!).  We got up in the early afternoon and went to Kadir Has University, which is hosting the workshop I organized.  We first visited their small historic museum with ancient relics from Anatolia.  Then, we met with Dr. Zeki Ayag, the host at Kadir Has University and industrial engineering department chair.  The arrangements he has made are incredible and the workshop should run so smoothly I won't have to do anything.  We were surprised with a giant poster about the workshop on the busy road that leads to the university.  (See photo above.)  Our special friend Basar Basaran came to get us from the university.  Basar lived with us in Auburn for one month two years ago and has just graduated from industrial engineering at Bogazici University.  He drove us up along the northern part of the Bosphorus, which is beautiful, then we stopped at Istanbul's only craft beer pub.  We drank their homemade beer, which was very good (see bottle above).  Next, we met his younger brother Baris and had the most spectacular seafood dinner in Arnavutkoy.  Fresh fish just kept coming prepared in a delicious and healthy way.  We ate octopus for the first time and it was pretty good.  We also had fish kofte for the first time.  The men drank raki and I had Turkish red wine.  We finished with a brief visit to his apartment to take in the view of the Asian side with lights across the Bosphorus.