On Saturday afternoon, following a recent World Economic Forum meeting in Istanbul where I spoke about managing in a downturn - I found a bit of time to visit the Hagia Sopia - photos above, and a few other sites.
The bazaar in Istanbul, like so many around the world, is a perfect example of a global ecosystem adapting to its environment. One hears negotiations, over a simple gold bracelet or piece of pottery, in nearly any language. Vendors line the avenues and call out to you in several languages until you respond. Walking down the streets with my French colleague, we encountered skillful negotiators who deftly handled French and English. Russian, Spanish, Italian, German were also common. And in a sign of the times, merchants seemed drawn to the few Chinese visitors, eager to practice their rudimentary Mandarin.
During the conference I did an interview with Turkey's daily newspaper - Milliyet - on Worldsourcing... for those who read Turkish, here it is...
