Need a cab? Call 45 minutes in advance and ask if the cab will arrive on time? “InshAllah”

Call again to see when it will arrive…after 10 minutes? “Ohhhh k InshAllah”

I’ve been working 10 hours a day for the past 3 weeks. Will I leave on time today? “InshAllah” -or- I’ve only had one day off in the last 4 weeks. Will I have a weekend this time? “InshAllah”

Will I make my flight with 10 minutes til boarding closes, despite the fact I’ve been standing in the immigration line for 30 minutes for you to tell me I have no exit visa, despite this document I gave you with various stamps and signatures? “InshAllah”

Will my magazine subscription that I paid 3 times more for so it would be delivered to a country outside the EU arrive? “InshAllah”

Will I be paid this month? “InshAllah”. Ok, then will I be paid on time? “InshAllah”

Did you get my salad right this time after I sent it back 3 times already? “InshAllah”

All true.

So, in order to manage expectations, please meet the levels of InshAllah. Let’s apply this to whether or not you will for instance be able to access a building you need a gate pass for.

InshAllah level 1: We are going to do everything in power to make this happen. Paperwork is all done, everything is processed, you will enter the building.

InshAllah level 2: We have all the paperwork done, everything is processed, you are going to have to wait, maybe 2 hours in 40 degrees heat, but you will enter the building eventually.

InshAllah level 3: We received all the paperwork, we received many phone calls from lots of people, including important people – not that it matters, you are going to have to wait, maybe 2 hours, maybe more, we would really like you to access the building, but, its not going to happen.

And really, these levels can be applied to pretty much anything. InshAllah.

From Istanbul with Love

• If you have a girlfriend, press 1
• If you are engaged, press 2
• If you are married, press 3
• If you are generally sweeping me off my feet, yet interested in no relationship press 4
• If you are not able to handle temporary long distance press 5
• If you really don’t have a chance, please don’t call.
• If none of the above apply to you, please stand by your call will be answered immediately.

Why walk when you can gondola?

I’m back in Doha and have had some time to gnaw on this question for the past months absence, in addition to almost 3 months there earlier this year. To be asked this question implies some answers;

• It’s too hot
• It’s boring/there’s nothing to do

True, during my first weekend in Doha, I did what any ‘westerner’ does in a Gulf country: go to the mall. But this gets rather old….fast.

Good morning Doha

Yes, the mall might have its own gondola (yes really) and ice rink – not a surprise there so much and sensible considering the heat, but my answer to the ‘what do you think of’ question is’ has remained the same through all this time.  It’s not sustainable. After all, how much shopping can satiate one’s consumer appetite? The desert can be interesting but how much camel riding, sand dune- ing, quad biking can you do until the adrenalin runs a little on empty?

Qatar’s population is slightly over 1.4 million, with an estimated 800,000 ex-pats (largely migrant-workers from the Philippines, Nepal, Bangladesh). There are two Doha’s really. There’s the fresh steel faced, window glazed skyscrapers

Hello steel & glass

and then there are the dusty streets, neon lit stores, a far cry from plush residences and malls. There are efforts to reinvent, reinvigorate and integrate. The downtown Souk Waqef (outdoor and projects to build a hybrid residential-cultural-markety type area in the middle of Doha, that will take into consideration city design to create wind tunnels, maximize shade, for a place that is notorious for 50 degree Celsius plus weather). As a colleague once told me, no one moves to Doha for the weather. The weather is a restriction and impediment. I haven’t (yet) experienced a Gulf summer but it is basically ferry from one air conditioned building to the next. Efforts for outdoor bike-lanes will only go so far in the ‘winter’ months. Now, add to this mix a burgeoning consumer culture, an almost invisible recycling culture, a society heavily heavily dependent on cars and you begin to see what I mean. A trip to the edge of Qatar where a spanse of water divided Qatar from Saudi Arabia was marked by garbage. Indeed even the tour guides would toss drink cans down sand dunes and hills for the magic garbage fairy to pick it up.  These seemingly small acts can add up to become larger problems. This isn’t sustainable and. Not for the environment and not for regional or global competitiveness. The solution will be to progress without sacrifice and without leaving the majority of the population behind.

Rollin' along in my auto-mo-bile

Jazzy

At the end of the day, in my circles at least, people move to Doha because they believe in something that is bigger than themselves. When you enter that news room, or walk past the galleries, you feel that collective intelligence and that collective consciousness. To be surrounded by people from 51 different countries, and a team who are on that journey with you, Doha living doesn’t look so bad.

More snaps of Doha days here as well as some cool Doha-living people on that journey to follow:

Kamahl – AJE presenter; Steff – AJE meterologist; Bilal – AJE web correspondent + stand up comedian. As always, more to come

The FT is by far my most favourite newspaper and one of the many reasons why it is, is because, the Weekend FT especially

Financial Times side entrance.

makes me feel at home. How? I’ve been ‘on the road’ for the past 6 months and lived in between hotels and apartment-hotels, with small hiatuses with friends in between. Not really having a place to call my own and living out of 2 suitcases, the FT, whenever I could get it, always bound me to a routine and sense of place. That place is not necessarily London, though more often than late every-time I go there I fall more in love with, and become more attached to it.

Even before this last bout of nomadic-ness, there was something about the familiarity and routine of the sections and columns appearing without fail. Truly, that newspaper and the familiarity it invokes has been one of the constants in a very inconstant world for me of late and of the past 6 country-hopping years. In Doha, with a work week beginning on Sunday and ending on Thursday, in spite of a lifestyle that at one point involved working for 4 weeks straight with only one day off, and each of those work days ranging between 12-16 hours, the FT harkened back something familiar, the newspaper as faithful friend and the regular columnists appearing without fail. Even the paper delivery guys in Doha picked up on my one person FT fan clubbing and would include me on the distribution rounds, and I’m told they still stop by the office to leave a copy of the paper for me. It has had the happy effect that some of my colleagues have now started to peruse those previously unfamiliar pages.

The reading order for me usually follows something like this: flipping to the back of the Life & Arts  section for Tyler Brules ultra nomad life updates, a read through the rest of the section, The Secret Agent, Mrs Moneypenny, the News section and then browsing through until the entire paper was read. Incidentally, queries to the identity of the The Secret Agent, kept him, a secret.

I walked into the building attempting to contain my giddiness, because for me, this was a dream factory. Put simply, this was the hub where all those ideas, reporting, reviews, insights came together and to me, that was magic. There was something special for me to be in the newsroom of a newspaper. Again, it harkened back to the idea of collective intelligence, collective consciousness in the room. But there were some other little surprises too:

• a little red dress hung up next to a desk, auspiciously for some last minute event which might require a quick change
• stars towards the bottom left of the paper indicating which edition it is
• an office in Hong Kong, which together with London and New York, allows the FT to activate an effective 24 hour news presence
• Many journalists, writers, keeping stacks of papers by their desks, so they could clip their articles for their portfolios. Bede did suggest I subscribe to FT online, to ensure I’d always stay connected, but there is something about holding that signature faded pink paper on a Saturday or Sunday morning, preferably with sun shining and cappuccino or other fruity concoctions close at hand and being off screen, disconnecting the world of ‘right-now,’ of airport lounges and gates, checking in and out of hotels…. So how could I chuckle at reporters clipping their pieces out when I’m a little vintage myself?
• the ‘library’ which at one point was going to be closed or relocated until a vigorous effort from the staff kept it put. Here I was standing in nerd heaven. Or nerd FT groupie heaven.
  

  Papers in pause. Apparently no one knows why they are there. Iittala, we need some help in decorations please

A parting thought. Remember the importance of having a reservoir of intellectual defense

For instance, to enter the Turkish Foreign Ministry, you take a general exam, where you must score stratospheric points, then move on the the Foreign Service exam, then interview, specialised tests and so on, with a maximum of three attempts for entry. I have 4 friends/colleagues in this years class of just under 70 total, a quite larger class than usual. One drawback is the age and, to another extent specialization limit. The cut off is 28 and recruitment is largely from those with social sciences background. Some years ago a professor had commented on why Turkish Foreign Affairs are ‘weak’. With a population edging towards 74 million there are less than 1500 personnel in the Foreign Ministry, versus 5,700 serving the UK, 5,800 serving France, sufficient staff provides one clue.

One thing Turkey has done right is streamlining the MFA pages – the home page and also templates which are replicated in all Embassy/Consular offices around the world, with customizations in the form of Ambassador’s messages, country specific information and so on. This accessibility, particularly English versions of the home page, is a step forward by the Ministry.

Viva la hobnob!

The Canadian Foreign Service attracts their best and brightest from all fields – it is not necessary to have a political science or international relations background. The logic behind this is that diplomats represent the country, therefore the diversity in individuals and background provide an accurate reflection of the country.

The Australian Foreign Service recruits generally and via specialized programs, such as graduate recruitment and finance specialists. There is no age limit on either. Approximately 0.5% of those who apply make it through. One particular beautiful thing about the written component of the exam is that it is conducted over the internet – all you need is a reliable internet connection. It is ‘open’ book – meaning, you can refer to sources online or otherwise, but the exam is not testing rote learning on restatement of known policy but analytical and reasoning skills.

One thing missing in the analysis is incentive. If, as Monocle Editor in Chief, Tyler Brule suggests that the ministry be equipped with the smartest and best looking people in the country, then the ministries are up against some heady competition. How can the civil service compete when it comes to the private sector when it comes to compensation? It does depend on country but here are some parallels: number of (long) hours, travel opportunities, the cocktail/meet/greet/hob circuit, tax incentives (sometimes) but it does end about there. The diplo life is not for all. A few years out, then back to home base, then repeat the cycle again, and again. Skills can sometimes be seen as a bias – for instance knowing Japanese language and culture could be seen as unintended sympathy towards Japan. So much for skill acquisition versus private sector added values. Postings usually work along the following lines: home-hardship-home-nice posting. Private sector….not so much.

What can ministries offer that would attract (and complement) an even more diverse, clever, committed cadre? To serve one’s country is a matter of pride. That means that country needs to be attractive to serve – especially in untapped potential and opportunity. Shouldn’t work be about pursuing something personally satisfying, but also pursuing something greater than oneself? Perhaps that’s where the deficit lies – unsatisfactory links between the day to day and the long term, and without the little victories at postings along the journey, the gratification the private sector offers will continue to dilute the potential pool of promise… especially in those places which need them most.

"It's beginning to look a lot like...confusion"

It reminded me of the return trip from Stockholm last year – managing to get one of the last flights out before the piles of snow kept flights grounded for a day. Hot on the heals of Munich, where we sat waiting on the tarmac for an hour until the plows did their work, a very similar scene greeted us upon landing. Now for the snow giddy amongst us, this was a good thing. Snow, and lots of it. But lets remember where we are – Turkey and this was an extreme weather event. A natural disaster, no, but extreme weather event yes.

Good thing our van home had winter tires. The trip back was part Canadian Rockies snow, part Minnesota highways with balance of Turkish confusion. Cars crashed, cars abandoned, cars spinning their wheels, teams of men pushing, tying snow chains on (highway mind you). The 45 minute ride back from the airport took almost 2 hours. Entertaining? Yes, in a tragi-comedy way.

Two things immediately came to mind. Ankara, and Turkey for that matter needs some serious public transport infrastructure. Ankara is earthquake safe, the population and city grows in leaps and bounds. I was thinking, with a good subway, most of the crashed/abandoned stuck cars would surely be avoided. The easy to guess response would be ‘but we don’t have funds! Such a project will take years.’ Brief answer: short term pain, long term gain. International development organizations are in the country and attractive growth rates should not make this equation hard to resolve. There has been no real effort to brand Ankara, otherwise a bureaucratic middle income country hub. A couple of international basketball matches doesn’t cut it and high profile political visits are part of the package, not an added bonus. How long can the charms of Istanbul stand as the gateway for the rest of the land spreading east? Turkey stands to lose in the long run without an investment in logic… and logistics, especially as the other CIVIT’ii catch up.

Let's try things the smart way next time

Secondly, extreme weather events like this reveals the true capacity of the authorities in charge – be it municipal, provincial or national. It’s easy to splash on a fresh coat of paint, hang banners from light posts and spare no expense in welcoming extravagances, but a true test of capability could be an extreme weather event. I’m not suggesting natural disasters, but something that really tests infrastructure.  So how did Turkey, or rather Ankara cope this time? Poorly.

Proper planning prevents poor performance. Turkey has every potential to succeed – it’s just a matter of investment – be it education, sports, an international intermediary or growing business hub, riding on its character as a metaphorical and literal ‘bridge’ between east and west. Little things count – paving sidewalks where mud is the terre-de -choix, or just ensuring footpaths are even and maintained is a simple step. Build now, deal with the consequences later is creating unnecessary frustration and expense. If governments, here, want to restore trust and competency for the citizens they apparently/are supposed to serve, a little deliberative planning and investment would not go astray. Or is city-planning/design as university courses just further splashes of paint?

4 carriers, shouldn’t be a tough decision, lets look at the plans – 18 or 24 months contract or pay by month. Not a hard decision there either. Ease of navigation of website turns out to be a plus here. I’m not ordering fast food or looking to ‘supersize’ my mobile phone contract. But that’s the feeling I get when I’m at T-mobile’s site. I’m guessing iPhone buyers are techno-savvy and don’t need to be talked down to purchasing ‘menu’s’ or someone at HQ thought, this is what user friendly sales is.. a bunch of options with pretty colours on the website. T-Mobile reminds me of walking into a store, looking at the products and hoping that maybe a disgruntled employee will muster up enough energy to come over and say ‘can I help you with anything?’ The only other thing I remember about T-Mobile is Catherine Zeta Jones featuring in their ads, which must have been years ago now…

I’m looking for reliability, consistency and of course a reasonable price. This narrows the choice to Orange and Vodafone. Orange is in the lead because (really) their website is appealing, it invites you in and keeps you there. Something to do with also, friendly, smiling French Orange rep I chatted to at LeWeb a few years back. Image really can be everything sometimes. Vodafone is a close second, brand recognition is working here.

Hold on you say, what about O2? O2 was the first site I checked. After all, where was the Eddie Izzard show in London held last year? At the O2. So, brand recognition, check.  Coverage, check. Ability to check out their website, prices, contract types from Turkey. Fail. Major fail. Can anyone explain the rationality here please?

No Sale: Thanks for the fine print though

Editor Tyler Brule likes to talk about country ‘brands’ quite a bit, and naturally I think about ‘brand Turkey.’ While brand Istanbul has plenty of chances to shine because of its location, history and ‘hub’ nature, the rest of Turkey holds onto the hem of Istanbul’s skirts, like the younger sibling tugging for attention.

A small leap away are the Gulf countries, heavily investing into airports versus oil money, a major new brand strategy, so what is Turkey doing? Well I can tell you what Turkey is NOT doing. Case Study: Turkish Airlines.

In 2005 when I moved to Turkey and Turkish Airlines was the most convenient carrier to fly, I was impressed with the fresh Turkuaz cabin interior, a contrast to the glorified bus-set variety which existed when the airline was still under state control. The staff was good looking, friendly and could all speak English. The food was fresh, decent and there was none of the greasy hair stains on the windows.

Does this look like an interior you'd like to fly in? from as737700 on flickr.

In 5 years, some of the Captains have such poor English that I cringe (I teach English from time to time and have a hard time understanding what is being said, save for having basically memorized all the flight announcements). While the cabin crew have largely remained nice looking, there is definitley a gap. Some are gracious, warm, friendly while others pride themselves their position, behaving as if its a priveilge for you to be served by their duty free shopping selves.

Next comes the lounge in Istanbul. Is it really necessary for ALL the TV’s to show the same channel, all with volumes turned up? Air conditioning is haphazard and with the two major walls glass (ie most of the daylight hours= greenhouse), please turn on the AC instead cutting costs. Where is the subtlety and the ‘loungeing’ aspect of being in the lounge? It wasn’t like this 5 years ago… Even the SAS operated lounge at crazy Heathrow is able to give that “pause” feeling.

Aran Cafe tempts you away from the lounge in Munich airport

The best innovation in the lounge (and I’m being sarcastic here) has got to be the recent decision to get rid of the free wireless. Perfect! So what are the benefits of the lounge? There is a free (!) massage chair and shuttle to the aircraft, but thats about it. Unless you are taking an early morning flight, you can wish away your flight leaving or arriving on time. Now with Lufthansa flying from Ankara to pretty much everywhere via Munich, the jump to German counterparts seems more tempting. Munich airport also, is like a playground. How is it with so many best case examples, Turkish Airlines or airport operators aren’t able to get it together?

Home of the Giant Carrot: Beypazari

Beypazari is a town about an hour or so west of Ankara. It is known, amongst other things for its carrots, 80 layered Baklava and dated houses, some which are museums. Beypazari also has a decent silver jewelery hub and markets straddling the main street. Blueberries, almonds and other goodies made their way into our shopping sacks. Also, thin scarfs, with embroidered edges for 5 lira (about €2).

Imagine my disappointment then, when I saw pretty much the same scarf yesterday, at a branch of Mavi Jeans, retailing for 25 lira. It wasn’t the price that disappointed. It was the ‘Made In China’ tag. The sales assistant, chimed in with, ‘oh but the fabric is from Turkey, they just assemble it in China’.

Summary: same scarf 5 lira 100km away versus send material overseas to be worked on in China then sell for 25 lira? Does this formula sound a little strange to you too?

The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) has a program called the “Innovations for Women’s Empowerment in the GAP Region Project” where garments produced by women in economically compromised areas in Southeastern Anatolia are sold exclusively in certain Turkish ateliers. It’s well and good for large scale development efforts like this, but while there is a town an hour away, making the same products for a 1/5th of the cost, do we really need to buy Turkish goods assembled in China? Mavi Jeans is one of the few Turkish brands, arguably, that has some international footing (oh and by the way, when Mavi opened on Broadway, NYC about 6 years ago, the goods there were cheaper than what they retail for in Turkey…not exactly inspiring for the aspiring Turkish middle class/consumer). So why are we not investing in our local economy?

Assembled in China from Turkish Fabric. Priced at 5 times the going rate.

Other ‘Med’ countries: Italy and Spain in particular have managed to to leverage their garmenting prowess into household names. Inditex is the parent company of Zara, Oshyo, Massimo Dutti and others while you have underwear extravaganza flying out of Italy in addition to the Benetton’s and so on. If Turkey is going to move beyond kebabs, tea and some Eurovision popsters, perhaps it could start by focusing on infant industries, garments being an obvious pick. Even the surplus produced for H & M and Banana Republic retail cheaper than the SALE stock at Mavi. Really, with brilliant kids graduating here, someone can (*should) do the math to end up with a healthy bottom line, healthy local investment and healthy brand image and happier economy.

“One of my favorite cartoons ever is a strip from Charlie Brown. Linus, the smartest of the Peanuts gang, has just received his first “B” ever on his report card, and now here he is, age six, fretting away about not getting into the college of his choice. ”I am burdened by a great potential,” he exclaims. I couldn’t have put it any better. God knows I’ve tried.”

His daily cartoons make so many of my days. Join the fun