BN MAGAZINE | BUSINESS NETWORK
Ship
I
n a storm out at sea, the chanc-
es for survival depend on the
reliability of a ship. The busi-
ness world is measured by its en-
durance at times of such economic
‘storms’. In unstable economic en-
vironments, only the fittest players
will survive. Periodic crisis can be
viewed much like a selection mech-
anism and stimulus for further
development or restructuring. As
such, the ability to take risks and
adapt your strategy with appropri-
ate speed is a key for success.
In this age of information, to gain
a competitive advantage, one needs
to possess the right tools and take
measured risks with appropriate
swiftness. It is important not only
to extract essential information
from vast amounts of data available
but also to share that knowledge
with others.
Sharing your knowledge is impor-
tant as it reinforces co-operation at
a level of institutional belonging.
One can vastly benefit from co-op-
eration with others. The more you
share the wider the web of your
network will contribute to your
success.
It is the primary mission of bizNET and proNET
to serve as a medium that shifts the balance from
competition to solidarity. We will continue to or-
ganize seminars, panels and conferences to bring
together business professionals with the view to
encourage valuable exchanges of knowledge, ex-
perience and points of view.
Days when wealth was valued above wisdom or
advice are long gone. Today’s businessmen with
capital to invest are looking for advice and infor-
mation. In these extremely turbulent times, we
especially need to support each other much like a
chain, which is only as strong as its weakest link.
Those who are brave and who have no intentions
to leave the ship in this storm are at the founda-
tion of bizNET and proNET. Through mutual
support and exchange of knowledge we are ca-
pable of creating a successful network of strong
business minded individuals.
I believe BN Magazine will become a much
needed bridge connecting and supporting those
with strong achievements and ambitions; a me-
dium that contributes to the dynamism and de-
velopment of institutional knowledge.
Chairman,
Business Network Executive Committee
Tamer Bayraktar
BUSINESS NETWORK | BN MAGAZINE
 Issue-1
September / October 2009
I am sure you all have an idea and placed us somewhere on your
mind. Let’s break the barriers and rebuild it all over again.
We are powerful
Because,
We listen to each other: We believe dialogue is rather effective than mono-

Why we help each other with no expectation?

logue.

We are loyal to each other

Because,
Instead of seeking the negativity within each other, we focus on the posi-
tive and endeavor to meet in the middle.

We love each other

Why we are so loyal to each other?

Because,
Why we love each other so much?

The best thing about being a human is to be able to love. We trust and put
others before our needs. For the sake of our love we pay no attention to
tiny mistakes that we can all make.

We help without any expectation!

Because,
We know that, giving without expecting any return will in time pay in divi-
dends!
Why we are so powerful!

The sheer fact that you have this magazine in your possession is proof of
all of the above. It has been far from an easy ride to get this far but yet,
not so difficult. A culmination of people that retain their ‘amateur spirit’,
fusing together a colorful repertoire of writers and researchers; a place
where individuals who are a success in their own field come together to
share their thoughts, express their views, with no expectation – only the
passion for hard work and first and foremost: - passion and love to creat-
ing this magazine.
Do you know?

You are at present reading this magazine baring all! We have the pleasure
of sharing elaborate articles chosen with meticulous attention; with all its
negatives and positives. This magazine has been possible as a result of such
exceptional support.

We are not here to say, “We have published an outstanding magazine”. We

endeavor to adhere to our readers’ opinions and viewpoints in order to aid
us. Your opinion will be the key to our development.

For the second, third and future issues of the BN Magazine

we welcome you all.
Managing Director, BN Magazine
Altan Aktürk
contents 34 A
G

20 Plug in Your Imag

A Success Story -

16 Is the World on the 70 Is Russel a Brand?

Verge of Economic Recovery

20 Plug in Your Imagination! 72 By Day By Night:

A Success Story - Zihni Yalcın Halil Yıldırım

24 Working for a British company 74 Redundancy:

in Turkey The Classic Mistakes

26 İstanbul: 76 New Media New Marketing

The New Shopping City

28 Capitalise on House 78 Energy Perspective

Price Falls

30 Cash Flow Management in 82 Buying Property in Turkey.

Recession Why is it so popular?

34 A week in the life of 86 European Approaches to

Gonca Gürsoy Artunkal Urban Life and its Quality

40 Turkey’s Mediator Role 88 Sulukule:

Stolen Place / Lieu Volé

42 Interview with Boris Johnson: 92 Book Review: How I Caused

The Mayor of London the Credit Crunch

46 Turkey: The World’s Second 94 Recipes from Hüseyin Özer:

Largest Textile Investor Uskumru Fileto

50 5 o’clock Tea with 96 London Turkish Film Festival

Hıfsı Ayrancıoğlu Making Digital History

54 İstanbul 2010 98 Turkish Naval Martyrdom

European Capital of Culture Gosport the Turk Town

58 A London Banker in Vietnam 100 NOS meets with Cem Yılmaz

66 Involving More Women 101 NOS interview with the

in UK Politics President of YÖK
A week in the life of
Gonca Gürsoy Artunkal

gination!
Zihni Yalcin 42 Interview with Boris Johnson:
The Mayor of London

Ali Özmen Safa :

columnist

18 Things will Never be 60 Çağlar Karataş :

the Same Again The Chinese Year of Ox

Ertan Hürer : Mehmet Öğütçü :

32 Playing Poker with the 62 Would Turkey be in
Taxman the “Winners Club” -1
William Horsley :
38 Kerim Balcı :
Europe’s Blurred 64 The Otherification of Turkey and
Vision of Turkey
the EU Parliament Elections
Irfan Önal :
52 Murat Yapıcı :
Turkey is Attracting more 68 A General Review of UK-Turkey
Tourists
Trade Relations

56 Ayşegül Yeşildağlar : 90 Orhan Dede :

Turkish Businesses in the UK Humanity First
 Business Related
BUS NESS bizNET Members Meeting with Mehmet Şimsek
NETWORK
Events PROFESS ONALS
NETWORK
(Finance Minister of Turkey)

“Business Breakfast” Series:

We ave organised
Exclusive Activities
Turkey-EU Relations Panel with Quentin Peel
(Editor of Financial Times)
•William Horsley - Chairman of the Association
of European Journalists.
•Dr. Ruth Mandel - American Academic.
•Jonathan Fryer - Freelance writer, lecturer, broadcaster.
•Ayça Abakan Duffrene - BBC.
Prime Minister of Turkey, Tayyip Erdogan’s Speech at
Oxford University
Panels
Extraordinary Life Skills Workshop with Melih Arat
International Women’s Day
Atatürk & Leadership Seminar
•Dr. Andrew Mango (Famous Writer)
•Prof. Salahi Sonyel (Academic)
2005/2009 •Textiles Sector with Cafer Mahiroğlu (owner of Select)
•Roy Stacy, Former US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State
•Mehmet Öğütçü, Director of BG Group Energy Holding &
Former Diplomat
•Ayfer Orhan, Prospective Parliamentary Candidate
•Jan Etienne, Writer & former Women’s Rights Adviser &
Academic
bizNET “Business Seminar” Series:
•Setting up a New Business & Finding Funding
(with Ali Özmen Safa)
•Marketing (Growing Your Own Business)
•International Trade - Import & Export
•Business Planning & Marketing
Seminar: Finding Opportunity in Crisis
•Ali Özmen Safa – Businessman
•Çağlar Karataş – Turkish Bankers Association, Chairman
•Niyazi Albay - HSBC, Manager
•Ertan Hürer – Chartered Accountant

Careers Related
Careers Evening @ LSE & SOAS
Breakfast Panels:
•Careers in Health & Science
•Careers in Law
•Careers in IT & Engineering
•Careers in Finance
British-Turkish Friendship Yaza Merhaba picnics:
www.yazamerhaba.org.uk
Every summer on the first Sunday of
June - 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 & 2009
FINANCE | BN MAGAZINE
Music/Culture Events
From Tuna to Tuva: Melodies from Turkish Lands.
A Night of Turkish Poems
Dinners
Bayram & New Years Dinner with British-Turkish Politicians
Breakfast with Turkish Journalists (Mehmet Altan, Fehmi Koru)
Iftar for Professionals’ & University Students
IT Professionals’ Dinner
LTR, London Turkish Radio Shows
2009 - Trade & Risk (bizNET)
2007 - Careers in IT & Engineering
2006 - Entrepreneurship & Capital
2005 - University Life & Work
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 BN MAGAZINE | FINANCE

Is the World on the

Verge of Economic Recovery?
Asim Salahuddin

In the last few months many analysts and economists

have highlighted potential green shoots in the world
economy. They have argued that the first signs of
economic recovery are on the horizon. Recent rises in
the stock market and the rise in oil has been used as
evidence of the credit crunch coming to an end.

In order to understand if the world economy is on

the verge of mending it would be wrong to exclusively
look at the financial indicators such as the rise in the
value of the stock markets or the rise in the value of
commodities to determine the health of the global
economy. One look at production, GDP, unemploy-
ment, retail sales, corporate and consumer spending,
number of foreclosures and bankruptcies and other
economic indicators, would actually show that not
a single economy in the world is showing a positive
trend when these indicators are considered as a whole.
For the aforementioned reasons the economic recov-
ery is at best premature. At best, western governments
by pursuing a policy of low interest rates and quan-
titative easing are delaying an inevitable inflationary
explosion. In fact it can be argued that by flooding
barren economies with money, western governments
are most likely to re-inflate collapsed commodity and
The US jobless rate is up to 8.9% the highest in 26
Years. US GDP shrank by 6.1 per cent in the first quar-
ter of this year. To cope with falling sales, businesses
reduced their inventories the most since the Second
World War by $103.7 billion in the first quarter of 2009,
compared with $25.8 billion in the fourth quarter of
2008. Business investment declined by 38% at an an-
nual rate. Exports of goods and services decreased 30
per cent in the first quarter of 2009, compared with
a decrease of 23.6 % in the fourth quarter of 2008.
Foreclosure filings rose in March 2009 to 341,180. This
figure is up by 17% from February 2009 and 46% from
March, 2008. Yet despite this fact the US government
has spent billions to shore up ailing banks and improve
credit flows within the economy. The same can be said
for other western economies.

AMERICA
currency bubbles, which will produce greater calamity
than what the world is witnessing today.

16 | FINANCE
 FINANCE | BN MAGAZINE

EUROPE
European retail sales declined at a faster pace in May
2009 as rising unemployment prompted consumers to
hold back spending, the Bloomberg purchasing man-
agers index showed. “Consumers still face a lot of bad
news from the labour market as unemployment will con-
tinue to rise,” said Nick Kounis, chief European econo-
mist at Fortis Bank Nederland in Amsterdam. Europe’s
unemployment rate rose to 8.9% in March, the highest in
more than three years. The rate will increase to 9.9% next
year and 11.5% in 2010, the EU commission forecasts.
The euro area economy may shrink 4% this year, accord-
ing to the European Commission, as exports decline and
companies cut output and jobs.

JAPAN
Japan’s jobless rate hit the highest in five years at 5% in
April. In the reported month, 3.46 million people were
without jobs, up 25.8% from April last year, the Min-
istry of Internal Affairs and Communications said in a
preliminary report. There were only 46 jobs available for
every 100 jobseekers, making the ratio the worst since
June 1999. The government also released the nation’s
core consumer price index (CPI) Friday, which showed a
0.1% fall in April, compared to a year before.

The wider South East Asia region finds itself in the same
position as Japan. The region is reliant upon exports to
the West and these have currently dried up due to the
global credit crunch.

FINANCE | 17
BN MAGAZINE | COLUMNIST
“
The recent turmoil
in the financial and
capital markets
has irreparably
changed the bal-
ance of power in
the world. Cash
is king. But it is no
longer the West
that has the cash.
They must look
to elsewhere for
”
support
Ali Özmen Safa
BSc (Hons) is Chairman and
Chief Executive of the Safa
Group of Companies
18 | COLUMNIST
Things will Never be the Same Again
In the 20th Century the battle, in economic terms, was between
capitalism and communism.
M any believed this battle
was decided in favour of
capitalism with the break up of
the Soviet Union and the intro-
duction to a greater or lesser de-
gree of Western style democra-
cies in the newly created states
in Eastern Europe. In many
ways, like many converts, cer-
tain countries embraced capital-
ism with fanaticism, without any
of the social life rafts that over
a long period of time had come
into being in the West to en-
sure that the “proletariat” were
not completely oppressed by
the “bourgeoisie”. Thus whilst
many became incredibly wealthy
in the former states of the So-
viet Union the majority suffered
to the point where it is debat-
able whether they benefited at
all from the “freedoms” which
were won through the over-
throw of communism.
The changes in Eastern Europe
happened to coincide with the
leadership of the Western world
being in the hands of two of
the greatest proponents of un-
restrained capitalism, Ronald
Reagan and Margaret Thatcher.
They were determined to “save”
Eastern Europe by exporting
capitalism as the way out of the
economic and financial depres-
sion which had ultimately de-
stroyed communism.
Following the collapse of Com-
munism in Eastern Europe the
West sought to control or at
least exercise considerable influ-
ence over the East in financial
and economic terms.
The recent turmoil in the finan-
cial and capital markets has ir-
reparably changed the balance
of power in the world. Cash is
king. But it is no longer the West
that has the cash. They must
look elsewhere for support. But
how long will it be, before that
support turns into dominance?
Governments throughout the
West have spent trillions of
pounds to avoid the collapse of
the banking system. And so in
many of the large economies
of the G8 nations the banking
system is now effectively con-
trolled by Governments thus
changing the basis of capitalism
for a very long time to come.
Capitalism is based on the con-
cepts of freedom of investment
and risk taking. Although, ethical
considerations have increasingly
watered down the harsh realities
of pure capitalism nonetheless
the system does allow the dif-
ficult decisions to be made on
largely economic grounds. Pri-
vately owned banks and finan-
cial institutions are accountable,
ultimately, to their shareholders
and the principal concern of the
shareholders is profit.
The capitalist system relies on a
strong element of competition.
But in the United Kingdom, for
example, half the major banks
are now under state control.
The involvement of Govern-
ment materially affects the equi-
librium.
Now the majority of the banks
are controlled to a greater or
lesser extent by Government
and so the free competition
which previously existed is gone
or at least reduced. For example,
even though Bank of England
base rate was reduced to 0.5%
mortgage rates have, if any-
thing, increased.
The accountability of the banks
has also shifted. In the past
banks were accountable to their
shareholders. Now they are ac-
countable to politicians. This
could affect the way in which
banks operate as investment de-
cisions justifiable on purely eco-
nomic grounds may be consid-
ered too politically sensitive to
be acceptable to their new mas-
ters, particularly with a General
Election due to be held within
the next year.
Western Governments which
have been forced to take dras-
tic action are not looking to be
tied into the banks indefinitely
and they hold the hope that they
may even profit from the situa-
tion. Once the economic cycle
has moved on and the banks
have restored their financial po-
sition the Governments hope
to offload their interest in the
banks by selling the shares they
have acquired at a profit. Given
the level at which the Govern-
ments have bought into the
Banks were their share price to
increase to anything like their
historic highs then the amount
of money needed to acquire
those shares would be huge.
But where is the money to un-
dertake such an enterprise?
The major cash rich nations are
those of the Middle East. And
so it may be that the very system
through which the West sought
to save the former communist
regimes will be the means by
which control of the Western fi-
nancial institutions passes to the
Middle East and capitalism, for
so long inextricably linked with
Christianity, could become the
tool by which the Muslim world
comes to control the financial
institutions of the West.
FINANCE | BN MAGAZINE

FINANCE | 19
 lug!
B r i tish p
i o n !
inat
n ted t h e
e -inve
g a s r
a who h
Yalci n -
o
t
u
h
re
Ie
mngineer
Zihni
i n y ed
award e

Plug ess Stor y

e en
s b - th
lc in ha gn Award’
Zihni
Y a si tant
e d D ot De an d impor ze
the ‘R restigious pri

c
esign
c
d
u
t p ct

S
mos rodu
rial p acturers.
A du st
in uf
g man
amon

Winner Zihni YALCIN
Tamer Kızılağaç
Nothing
endures but
change. For
those who dare
to change the
ordinary.
It has been said that in order to earn money
all one has to do is build a better mousetrap.
That expression simply means that what
everyday object and improve it a little. The for most of us
someone needs to do is take an ordinary,
change need not be substantial, but only
enough to be able say that it has been im-
proved. The object in question already has a
place in the market, so making an improve-
ment to it ensures that it will have sales ap-
peal.
Zihni Yalcin came to England 30 years
ago. He married Jacqueline and they have a
daughter, Ayfer, a lawyer and a son, Salih, a
graphic designer. Zihni describes himself as
a family man, but with a dream. That dream
is to see his new invention will being used by
anyone and everyone needing a UK plug or
charger.
Change is
uncomfortable
The plug we use now is an improved version
of a plug that was being manufactured soon
after the Second World War in 1946, which
was produced in accordance with British
Standards as a result of the ‘Electrical Instal-
lation’ meetings held in 1942 and organised
by Lord Reith at the Ministry of Works and
Planning. It is immediately recognised by its
appearance and that distinguishes it from
other plugs used in all other countries. Apart
from the UK, this same type of plug is used
by nearly 50 other countries including Cy-
prus, Iceland, Malta, Malaysia, Singapore
and many of the Commonwealth countries.
PEOPLE | BN MAGAZINE
Receiving the
most prestigious
design award in
the world
Zihni Yalcin has been awarded the ‘Red Dot
Design Award’ - the most prestigious and im-
portant industrial product design prize and
joins the ranks with some of the leading de-
signers and manufacturers in the world. This
award is a result of many years of hard work
and experience in the field of electrical engi-
neering and electronics.
The journey to the Red Dot Design Award
ceremony in Essen started three years ago.
It started in a moment of frustration. On
purchasing a new laptop he found that there
was no room for the accompanying plug to
fit into his small briefcase. In a flash at that
moment he began visualizing a solution and
set about designing it. His design was simple
yet the problem to overcome was complex.
With pencil sketches on paper the standard
electrical plug used in our everyday lives was
being reinvented. A proof concept prototype
followed and he took it to a patent attorney.
That basic design now stands among the 700
chosen out of the 3200 new products made
by 1400 manufacturers in 51 countries and
was awarded a Red Dot in Essen Germany
Mr. Yalcin’s plug was chosen as the ‘best de-
sign’ by the 24 member jury of the Red Dot
Design Committee.
PEOPLE | 21
 BN MAGAZINE | PEOPLE

The support of
ASTA (Intertek)
The biggest obstacle to making an alternative plug has to be safety. The
conservative ‘British Standards’ approach towards new inventions has
safeguarded public safety and it is a daunting prospect for any inventor
to try to change the standard plug without risking falling foul of the
detailed provisions governing the safety of UK plugs. However, Zihni’s
perseverance in ensuring that his plug will be safe and his close consult-
ing with ASTA (Intertek), a leading authority for approval of UK plugs
has resulted in a new Supplementary Standard being written specifically
with Zihni’s plug’s unique features to ensure this product will meet an
equivalent safety standard as set for all other UK plugs. New plug,
The plug has been granted a full patent and applications for patents in
other countries and design rights are pending. Zihni has joined forces
New demand
with his close friend and business partner Joshua Leff and approached The new product is certain to receive attention. There is an ex-
a German manufacturer Taller GmbH for sponsorship. Taller was very tremely high demand in the market and it is expected to replace
impressed with the newly designed plug and both of them were invited the current usage of the standard plug that is sold with portable
to Germany to meet the owners of the company to discuss a possible electronic equipment. The new plug should sell in several mil-
business arrangement. The meetings resulted in an agreement by Taller lion each year in the UK and Ireland. The new plug has solved
GmbH to launch, market and manufacture the new British plugs. the problem for millions of sufferers who have until now had to
carry bulky heavy plugs. The smallness of the plug and its thinness
Zihni Yalcin saw the designs potential at the start and went on to design also allows for easy posting as it will be easily inserted through a
and make a USB charger. When launched it will be the smallest U.K. letterbox at destination without having to call for it. (It is not pos-
charger and jokes that it will not be that much bigger than a car key and sible to put current electrical plugs through the standard British
just as light to carry. post boxes.)
The Charger is expect-
ed to be launched be- “The biggest satisfaction for me, and
fore the end of the year. for those who have supported this,
will be to see the product on the
Zihni Yalcin has also designed a shelves and selling to happy sat-
unique and slim line adapter to compli- isfied customers.”
ment his products for international travel- (Zihni Yalcin)
lers.

22 | PEOPLE
 PEOPLE | BN MAGAZINE

Revolutionary Inventor of the Thin Plug Zihni Yalcin

Sets the Stage at the Red Dot Awards 2009!
Halime Özdemir
Facing a global recession, the need to inno-
vate, with the ability to remain competitive
and relevant is what takes centre stage. In a
time where Designers, Companies and Insti-
tutions all face unprecedented pressure, the
need to prove their worth is vital as demands
for goods and services shrinks. It is exactly
for this reason Zihni Yalcin, has set the prec-
edent, and is leading the way. Welcome to
the next level of gadgetry advancement…
2009 marked the beginning of a ground-
breaking era in contemporary technology
and design. Inventor-Entrepreneur Zihni
Yalcin became winner of the most prestigious
and biggest International Design Prize, the
Red Dot Award. Yalcin unleashed his new
invention the Thin Plug: a foldable three-
pin product at the awards ceremony which
hosted more than 1,200 guests from across
the Globe on 29 June 2009 – Designers and
design experts, politicians and economists
alike converged to celebrate the successful
winners.
Yalcin faced competition from international
big name brands such as Sony, Panasonic and
many other well-known names in Germany,
but it was Yalcin’s Thin Plug design that
dominated the stage to revolutionise the
gadget industry, as we know it.
The awards ceremony was held at the Aalto
Theatre followed by a Designers’ Night in
the Red Dot Design Museum: - Prior to
the event it was possible to walk around the
exhibition that displayed Cars, Motorbikes,
other innovative award winning designs and
of course, the Thin Plug.
The ceremony was a red carpet event, filled
with excitement and proud buzz that greeted
all of the award winners. Live music acts and
renowned Ballet performances adorned the
evening followed by an exemplary meal for
all of the winners. This was an ideal opportu-
nity for like-minded individuals to network
as well as reap the fruits of their labour.

The Red Dot Design Award

The red dot design award dates back
to 1955. With around 11,000 entries
from over 60 nations, the award is
now the world’s largest and most
distinguished design competition.

It breaks down into the three

different disciplines “red dot award:
product design”, “red dot award:
communication design” and “red
dot award: design concept”.

www.red-dot.de
Inventor Zihni Yalcin - Professor Peter Zec - Business Partner Joshua Leff

PEOPLE | 23
 BN MAGAZINE | BUSINESS

Interview with Yusuf Esenkal, Marketing Manager,

Istanbul Cevahir Shopping & Entertainment Centre - A centre managed by
Jones Lang LaSalle

Working for a British

company in Turkey
“Thehundred
number of shopping malls is reaching over two
up from a handful five-six years ago
”

24 | BUSINESS

QA uestion
Q: What are the advantages and disadvan-
tages of working for a British company in
Turkey?
Throughout my career I’ve worked for two
American companies and one Turkish com-
pany.
Today I’m working for a British company –
They all have had their own characteristic cor-
porate and organizational structures. Among
these different corporate cultures, the one
with the most solid formation is this British
company. They’re very good at applying their
local experiences globally.
Since the first day I walked into the office
I have been living and feeling the culture. I
would always state the business culture first,
as the most important advantage British busi-
nesses provide you with. I would put the
power from experience they have second and
the support to employees via reports and best
practice examples, know-how etc, thus com-
munication third.
As for the disadvantages, I can point to the
insistence in using the local business style and
information in Turkey, which I also listed as
an advantage. To expand a bit, it might some-
times mean making mistakes in order to apply
a local standard that is not fit for the current
state of the country in some circumstances.
Sometimes it is not right to insist on your
local rights in a foreign culture after all. You
need to adopt a principle based on ‘Thinking
globally, conducting locally’.
Q: What is the sector you work in and what
is the position of the British company you
work for in that sector?
We serve in the real estate market; especially
shopping malls - Renting, consulting, project
development and administration are among
our services. We cater to shopping malls
nswer
owned by Turkish and foreign investors with
these services.
The number of shopping malls has rapidly
increased in the past three years - Reaching
over two hundred compared to only a hand-
ful of them up until five-six years ago. At this
rate, it caught the attention of firms running
such businesses in the sector worldwide. For
instance, I was invited to the 11th Interna-
tional Shopping Malls Symposium in 2008,
held in Vienna. As a guest speaker I gave a
presentation on the progress in Turkey. Again
in 2008, Turkey was the guest of honour at
the MAPIC fair, held in Cannes, France.
As to our company, one of our headquarters
is in London and the other one is in Atlanta,
USA. We are a real estate management com-
pany offering services in 47 countries and
more than 450 cities in total. Our Turkey of-
fice opened early 2007 and in 2008 was re-
warded the most prestigious rental and man-
agement consultancy firm in the country and
is still going strong.
Q: Can young people who study in Brit-
ain find jobs at these companies you told
us about? How many British citizens are
working for your company at the moment?
I can say, from my own personal experience,
that people with overseas experience – profes-
sional or educational, have great advantage in
this sector. My MBA and professional experi-
ence in the US for 2.5 years cleared my way in
the business and helped me tremendously in
rising swiftly and reaching a senior position
in 3 years. This was during a time where there
were a limited number of young executives in
the sector and the businesses were young.
Likewise, experience obtained in Britain,
known as the cradle of civilization, is defi-
nitely very important, especially for people
considering entering the sector.
BUSINESS | BN MAGAZINE
In our company, there are two British citi-
zens. They are in the central administration
team which consists of 50 people. These Brit-
ish citizens, who are country directors, came
to like and embrace our country. Their chil-
dren study at Turkish schools and they try to
improve their Turkish themselves. There’s also
an example, one we especially like, a British
citizen who used to work for our company
as a manager couldn’t bear leave our country
for about 1 year after the end of his contract
and the emotional moments that took place
during the farewell as he returned to Britain
at the end of that year. To sum it up, foreign-
ers considering working in Turkey, especially
British citizens and Turkish citizens with Brit-
ain experience are very desirable and valuable
in our sector.
Q: Please tell us a bit about yourself and
your work.
I was born in 1980; I am married and have
one child. After graduating from Turkey, I was
in the USA for an MBA degree and worked
there for about 2.5 years. Then I returned to
Turkey and started working as a marketing
specialist at this British company. At the end
of two years, which I had started out as a mar-
keting specialist, I got the position of Mar-
keting Manager at İstanbul Cevahir, which is
one of the biggest shopping malls in Europe.
My responsibilities in general are - Develop-
ment of the annual marketing plan of the
shopping mall, execution of this plan, de-
velopment of the communication strategy of
the shopping mall, developing the communi-
cation channels of the 3 core parties (inves-
tor, tenant and visitor), management of the
relationships with agencies, development of
the general strategy for public relations and
relations with the press and implementing
suitable areas of global know-how and best
practice the company has, in Turkey.
BUSINESS | 25
 BN MAGAZINE | BUSINESS

İstanbul:The New Shopping Cit

İbrahim Eren

With a population İ stanbul accounts for 40% of Turkey’s retail stock and is the largest retail
market in the CEE region alongside Moscow. The city offers a wide variety
of retail formats ranging from retail warehouse units (‘big boxes’), fashion

of more than 12 outlets, established high street retailing and both mass market and high end
shopping centres. Shopping centres are becoming a genuine ‘third place’ for
İstanbulers to socialise, shop and enjoy other modern lifestyle activities.
million and with In comparison to many European markets, Istanbul has rapidly moved from

rising income lev- first generation schemes to modern mixed-use projects. Approximately 24%
of the retail space completed in 2008 was part of a mixed use scheme, and
are becoming increasingly popular as they resonate with the busy lifestyles
els, İstanbul offers of more affluent İstanbul city dwellers and provide a partial solution to the
growing concern of sustainable living.

huge potential for The Zorlu project, the largest mixed-use project in Turkey, which is sched-
uled to open by 2011, is a good example of a retail scheme supported by the
retailers, developers strong synergy created by mixed-use projects. The project offers luxury hotel
and residential units, a shopping centre, cultural and conference centres and

and investors. office space.

A number of prime retail projects that have been developed in the CBD such
as Kanyon (in 2006) and İstinye Park (in 2007) are further examples of the

26 | BUSINESS
 BUSINESS | BN MAGAZINE

ty
Cevahir Shopping Centre in İstanbul

same kind. Kanyon, an internationally awarded scheme anchored by
Harvey Nichols, includes a number of high-end dining venues such as
Hakkasan. İstinye Park also stands out as a successful and innovative
concept combining luxury and mass market retail brands, excellent
dining concepts and a traditional food bazaar.
has emerged in retail development has been outlet centres. Outlets ac-
counted for approximately 35% of the retail space developed in 2008.
The city’s largest outlet centre, Viaport, opened in August 2008 in
Kurtköy on the Asian side and also offers hospitality and exhibition
functions.

Mixed use projects are also moving out to the city’s periphery, such Another successful project, Optimum Göztepe Outlet Centre, opened
as Ümraniye, Ataşehir and Kurtköy on the Asian side and Bahçeşehir in November 2008 in Kozyatağı. The outlet centre concept currently
on the European side, generally including residential and retail com- being developed in Turkey includes food and entertainment facilities
ponents. - as well as fashion - and are generally designed, open air centres which
look set to provide a good model for the region.
Major projects on the Asian side include Meydan in Ümraniye, a unique
project opened in September 2007 that combines a green design and * Compiled from Jones Lang LaSalle Turkey: Market Report 2009
open air shopping facility. The scheme is anchored by Real and
Ikea. Buyaka, a mixed use project that includes residential and
office towers as well as a shopping centre, is expected to open
by the end of 2009, while the Pendik Marina project, which
will create synergies between retail and yacht port functions,
is expected to open in the third quarter of 2009. This project
is part of a wider redevelopment of the area by renowned
architect Zaha Hadid.

Due to an increasing appetite among İstanbul shoppers

for well known brands at lower prices, a major trend that

BUSINESS | 27
 BN MAGAZINE | FINANCE
Capitalise
On House Price Falls
Matthew Halsall, Investment Broker, Ducalian
As the downturn continues, percep-
tions are starting to change within the
property market.
The Royal Institution of Chartered
Surveyors has just announced some
positive news with buyer enthusiasm
continuing to grow in March and new
enquiries in the market increasing for
the fifth consecutive month. 31 percent
more Chartered Surveyors reported a
rise than a fall in new buyer enquiries
up from 21 percent in February.
Although some people remain wary,
RICS remain relatively upbeat stating
“Buyer interest is starting to gain real
momentum but will remain frustrated
while mortgage finance is scarce. Sur-
veyors are optimistic that transaction
levels will increase.”
It can be a difficult time to be a hom-
eowner at the moment, but what about
if you’re a buyer? How can you use the
current market to your advantage? Is it
the right time to buy?
The time to invest is now
Whilst the media love to focus on the
negatives, investors are snapping up
deals behind the scenes, and the next
12 months represent a window of op-
portunity for investors. Interest rates
are at an all time low, with banks offer-
ing very little in return. Buyer interest,
though improving, is still at very low
levels and credit is not as available as it
once was. As a result there are a number
of bargain opportunities in the market
and sellers who are willing to negotiate
on price.
28 | FINANCE
Our advice is not to get carried away by
the discount on a property deal, but to
take into consideration the yield on pur-
chase price (the annual rent divided by
the property purchase price) similar to
a bank account where you would con-
sider the AER rate of interest.
At the present time in the property cy-
cle we have negative growth and high
yields; favourable conditions for prop-
erty investors. We can only speculate
when we will reach the “bottom” of
the property market, but as buyer inter-
est returns back into the market the dis-
counts will go and prices increase.
Look for a property investment with a
good discount and yield, do your due
diligence and research on the local area
and market and be prepared to hold for
the medium to long term. This way you
can find an attractive investment option
with a higher return than most conven-
tional investments.
Here are a few hints and tips to take ad-
vantage of the downturn:
1 Do your due diligence and research.
This might seem obvious but it is key
to making a savvy investment. You need to
consider whether you’re buying at a good
price, good location and whether rental
predictions are achievable. Also look at
websites such as www.nethouseprices.com,
www.mouseprice.com and www.hometrack.
co.uk to help with your research.
2 Negotiate and buy below
market value.
Before the market reached the peak, people
were unbelievably buying above the actual
market valuations; this was the sellers’ mar-
ket. Right now it is the buyer that has all
the power and therefore discounts of up
to 35% off the estimated market value are
achievable. Remember only a discount off
the RICS valuation is worth considering.
3 Always source positive income.
Make sure you are aware of all the
monthly running costs and factor these
into your cash-flow. Costs such as service
charges, management charges, ground rent
etc , can quickly turn “positive income”
into “negative income.” Unless you find
a substantial discount or have confidence
that the investment will increase substan-
tially in value, positive income should al-
ways be a must have.
4
Where possible, limit how much
you spend.
There are ways to limit your capital expen-
diture and use less of your own money to
purchase property. By definition, the less
money you use the more you have to in-
vest in other opportunities. Of course care
has to be taken not to overstretch or over
leverage but this really depends upon your
appetite for risk and what you are looking
to achieve.
5
Use refurbishment or planning
to increase the value. This can
range from putting a conservatory on
your residential property, refurbishing
the kitchen or bathroom, or convert-
ing a house into flats or into a multi-
let. These are good ways to add value
to your property or make it more de-
sirable for when you look to sell.
 BN MAGAZINE | FINANCE

Cash Flow
Mustafa Mencit

One of the best definitions of an entre-

preneur is a person who is willing to bear
the financial risk of a business venture.
This burden is heavier for young and
small businesses and even more danger-
ous in recession time. Owning a small
business is not only a financial but also
an emotional investment. In hard times,
while receiving payments and maintain-
ing customers are as painful as ever, cash
flow management become the most the
critical issue in order to survive.

30 | FINANCE

Management in Recession
What is cash flow?
Cash flow is your capacity to pay your bills
on a regular basis. It consists of the incom-
ing and outgoing amount and timing of mon-
ey every day, week or month depending on
your cash circulation. The pattern of inflows
and outflows is supposed to let you possess
enough cash to pay bills on time. Bearing in
mind that inflows and outflows seldom occur
at the same time and most of the time inflows
lag behind, the objective is to speed up the
income flows and slow down expense flows.
Here it is worth distinguishing insolvency
from illiquidity. No matter how much profit is
accounted at the end of the year, if you don’t
possess available cash to pay your employees
and suppliers now, even though you are al-
ways solvent you become illiquid at this mo-
ment. Either you can borrow money generally
at an exacerbated rate which drags your busi-
ness into a vicious debt cycle or you can’t find
any cash to honour your contracts and you go
bankrupt. To avoid the bad outcome, sound
cash flow management is needed to suppress
the cash flow gaps.
Cash flow forecast
The first thing to do is to make a cash flow
forecast. A cash flow forecast illustrates re-
alistic predictions in one column against the
sources and the incoming amounts in another
column over a determined period. It should
also record the actual amounts to carefully
monitor the discrepancies between forecasts
and real figures. It reveals peaks and troughs
as well as the cash that you more or less pos-
sess at a given time. It helps you beforehand
identifying potential problems to keep the
business from the illiquidity trap. The earlier
you realize the problem the sooner you can
get rid of it. The forecast is a living statement,
the important issue is to foresee possible
changes and to update forecasts and plans to
avoid cash drains.
Maximising inflows & minimising
outflows
On the inflow side in order to improve cash
flow, it is possible to ask for an earlier pay-
ment from your customer in line with mutual
payment terms. Especially in hard times while
the returns from customers decelerate, you
have to chase outstanding sums to recover
late payments. Besides these, you can have re-
course to a factoring company through which
you can get your money with a discount.
Additionally, it is possible to apply for new
credit. Nevertheless credit conditions are
crunchy in downturn markets. Banks face
high bad loan losses which push them out of
business because of their dangerous leverage
ratio, therefore they become extremely selec-
tive. A small business needs to establish a
healthy and friendly relationship with banks.
It is recommended to communicate bad news
as well as good news to be credible. A realistic
cash flow forecast is also required by many
banks before considering a business loan.
Beside banks, when business is strapped for
cash there might be a temptation to touch on
short term finance providers, so called loan
sharks who offer available cash but at exorbi-
tant interest rates with cruel penalties in case
of late payments. It is better to take a vigilant
decision after comparing all opportunities and
getting professional advice.
Saving money, keeping quality
Another measure to withstand recession is to
lessen stock in order to have more liquid as-
sets. A business should be innovative in man-
ufacturing: Instead of stocking, it should em-
ploy just-in-time systems. It is basically a fast
interaction of the consumption of old stock
which causes new stock to be ordered. By do-
ing so, your business supports less cost of
carrying stocks. Reconsider faster workflows!
Think twice before promising! An alternative
way to keep more cash is to engage in leasing
FINANCE | BN MAGAZINE
rather than buying equipment or production
factors. As a further step it is also possible to
consider selling off currently redundant as-
sets.
A business supports both fixed and variable
costs. Although fixed costs generally follow
a calendar that helps you in forming your
forecast, they are more resistant to being cut.
Unfortunately it is worth considering not only
shedding some of your permanent work force
by hiring temporary workers if necessary but
also closing down some work locations. An-
other cost cutting measure is to acquire busi-
ness payment cards from your bank. Business
payment cards allow you to monitor online
your staff expenditure and separate staff ’s
personal expenses from business ones. An-
other form of expenditure is marketing and
therefore it is recommended to reconsider the
efficiency of your marketing strategy.
The issue in hard times is to survive. Diver-
sification in your product range could be a
way out; however relying on your strengths
is a safer way out. After producing your best
product, you can genuinely offer complemen-
tary products.
In general, small businesses have a limited
number of customers. If only one of them
has a financial problem, the overdue sum can
affect the survival of the business. It is vital
to look out for any strong or weak signals
about the health of your customers such as
credit rating, published accounts, mistyping
in cheques, rumours, aggressive or defensive
speaking style, always being in a meeting.
Consolidation & opportunities
Crises are the natural selection of the econo-
my. In all sectors, inefficient firms have to go
out of business. That brings consolidation to
the number of companies. If you have avail-
able cash at the right moment, an economic
downturn offers you an opportunity to buy
out your competitors at a cheap cost and to
expand your business in future.
FINANCE | 31
BN MAGAZINE | COLUMNIST
“
Tax investigations
are becoming just
like a game of
poker, however just
as in the casinos,
the house
always win.
” I believe that this new system has been devised and imple-
Ertan Hürer BSc(Econ), FCA
Managing Partner / Accountant
32 | COLUMNIST
Playing poker with the Taxman
I magine you are driving on
a country lane on your way
to an appointment, but you
are running 10 minutes late, so
even though you know that the
speed limit is 30mph you try to
make up time and for ten min-
utes of madness you drive at
40mph.
You make up for lost time and
slow down to 30mph, but just
as you do a police car draws up
behind you and flashes you to
stop.
You get out the car and the po-
liceman states “I have reason
to believe that you may have
exceeded the speed limit”. He
then adds “My enquiry into
your driving will be conducted
with a view to adding on penal-
ty points onto your licence and,
if there is sufficient evidence
of speeding the imposition of
a disqualification”.
mented on the basis that HM Revenue and Customs believe
that most businessmen have done something wrong.
He finally adds: “The penalty
imposed and whether or not
you are disqualified, will de-
pend on the level of your co-
operation; now at this stage of
the interview do you have any-
thing to tell me?”
You’re not sure what to do, did
the officer see you speeding or
not? If admit all you may only
end up with 3 penalty points. If
you deny all, you could end up
with 12 points and a disquali-
fication.You take a gamble and
own up to driving at 35mph for
five minutes.
Scenario 1
The officer immediately ac-
cepts your admission and
agrees to a three point penalty
and a fine of £100.
He whisper’s to his colleague
“You see nearly every driver
breaks the law and it doesn’t
matter whether or not you’ve
seen them they won’t take a
risk, they’ll own up to some-
thing!”
Scenario 2
The officer doesn’t accept your
admission and asks you to re-
consider your answer. You
don’t.
He then states “we have several
cameras along this road and we
filmed you driving at 40mph
for ten minutes. Due to your
non co-operation I will impose
a twelve point penalty, an auto-
matic three month ban and a
financial penalty of £200”.
Although some short cuts have
been taken this in essence is the
new tax investigation and pen-
alty regime that was introduced
on the 1st April 2009 (and no,
it’s not an April fool’s joke!).
The investigation into an in-
dividual’s tax affairs will often
commence with a simple let-
ter stating that HM Revenue
and Customs have a suspicion
that the tax payer has acted
“dishonestly”. A suspicion
because, they may or may not
have any evidence to back up
the allegation.
They will invite the tax payer to
an interview. Without offering
any evidence they will invite
the tax payer to admit to any
wrongdoing.
It will be pointed out that if
no admission is made and that
during the course of the subse-
quent interview either evidence
is presented or it becomes clear
that tax (both or either VAT
and Income Tax for example)
has been evaded a higher pen-
alty will be imposed.
The penalty will start at 0% of
the tax due for a small honest
mistake, 20% of the tax evad-
ed for an immediate admission
and can increase to a maximum
of 100% of the tax evaded if
there is no admission and evi-
dence is then subsequently pre-
sented.
I believe that this new system
has been devised and imple-
mented on the basis that HM
Revenue and Customs believe
that most businessmen have
done something wrong.
Tax investigations are becom-
ing just like a game of poker,
however just as in the casino’s,
the house always win.
FINANCE | BN MAGAZINE
 BN MAGAZINE | A WEEK IN THE LIFE OF...

A
week
in the life of..
Gonca Gürsoy Artunkal
Chairperson of Turkish Investment Banking at Citi Group

Gonca Gursoy Artunkal is the Chairperson of Turkish Investment Banking at Citi. She was voted ’The Most
Successful Female Banker in Turkey’ in 2006 and holds 3 graduate degrees. Gonca is also a founding member
of a Turkish NGO named Women for Women’s Human Rights - New Ways.

Background
I started my career at Andersen Consulting on the attribution theory which was trying phorus, I loved being at the LSE and being
in London then I spent seven years at Chase to explain the differences in the successes or in London. This was a totally inspiring time
Manhattan Bank as an M&A banker focus- failures of female managers versus male man- for me and I loved being part of a truly in-
ing on emerging markets and the oil and gas agers which meant that I conducted in depth ternational student body.
sector. Later, I joined Morgan Stanley where interviews with a large number of managers
I worked as an equity analyst covering Turk- in Turkey. My sensitivity towards the aware- Towards the end of my year at the LSE, I
ish stocks. ness of women’s issues has been a consistent had to start thinking about what to do next.
I did not know exactly what I want-
I joined Citi in 2000 and held ed to do but I knew I did not want
various managerial positions in We have facilitated the inflow of approximately to go into banking! Hence, I opted
capital markets and investment US$30 billion of foreign direct investments into for management consultancy and
banking. Prior to my current started to work for Andersen Con-
assignment, I was the Manag-
Turkey since 2000 sulting in their change management
ing Director responsible for services division. This gave me the
Turkey and Middle East at Citi Venture Capi- theme throughout my life ever since then and opportunity to work for a number of Brit-
tal International. I have tried my best to promote work envi- ish companies and travel around the UK.
ronments that embrace diversity and have However, when it rained 29 days in a row in
I completed my primary and secondary edu- consciously chosen to work for organisations the June of 1992, I started to question “Why
cation in Turkey. Following Robert College, I that are supportive of such environments. I was living in London”. Besides, I also had
started my undergraduate degree at the Bos- I am also proud to be one of the founding started to see how much more dynamic
phorus University. During my second year members of a Turkish NGO named Women the banking sector was and how much my
at The Bosphorus University at the depart- for Women’s Human Rights - New Ways. friends who had chosen to go into bank-
ment of Business Administration I got the ing were enjoying themselves. At that time,
opportunity of gaining a scholarship from Following all these, I was fortunate enough there were many possibilities in banking in
Georgia Rotary Student Program to study at to receive a British Council scholarship and Turkey whereas there were no international
the Oglethorpe University in Atlanta where I come to London to do a master’s degree at management consultancy firms in Istanbul.
received a degree in Economics. I thoroughly the LSE. Studying in England was a totally Hence, I ended up moving to Istanbul and
enjoyed the time I spent there as I had the novel experience, it took me some time to started to work for Chase Manhattan Bank
freedom to study many different subjects adapt to the English way of thinking and in the summer of 1992. However, once I
ranging from Astronomy to Marxism in addi- writing, in fact I was more familiar with the experienced the 1994 crisis in Turkey, I con-
tion to the core Economics curriculum. American educational approach. Whilst the cluded that whilst the weather was much
actual buildings and facilities left a lot to be nicer in Turkey the overall economic cli-
I then came back to Istanbul where I did a desired compared with what I had seen in the mate was not and soon after I came back to
master degree in Business Administration US and were by no means comparable to the England to work for the M&A department
at the Bosphorus University. I did my thesis beautiful campuses that overlooked the Bos- at Chase’s London office.

34 | A WEEK IN THE LIFE OF...

 A WEEK IN THE LIFE OF... | BN MAGAZINE

A typical week
of Gonca Gürsoy ARTUNKAL
On Monday mornings, I am usually in London
and I start my day at six o’clock. I am in my car driv-
ing to work by six thirty when I make phone calls
to colleagues in Turkey and we chat about the week
ahead. I also touch base with any clients with whom
I need to speak about urgent or crucial issues. By the
time I arrive at Citigroup Centre, I have just about
an hour before our 8:15 MDs meeting during which
I go through my e-mails. The rest of the Monday is
usually scheduled with internal meetings where I get
updates on the markets, the deals that we are work-
ing on and coordinate with London-based colleagues
who are working on the coverage of the Turkish
clients. At around 2:30 pm, I leave Canary Wharf to
Heathrow where I catch my flight to Istanbul.

Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday I spent

in Turkey whereby I spent most of the days at client
meetings and with our team on the ground. I also
need to see clients in the rest of Turkey and may end
up spending one or two days in Ankara, İzmir or any
other city where our clients based. Sometimes, as will
be the case this week, I go travelling to Paris or other
European cities where we meet with clients who are
interested in investing in Turkey.

On Friday afternoons, I catch the flight back to

London to come and spend the weekend with my
Gonca Artunkal was voted husband and my son who is twelve. My husband
“The Most Successful is also in the finance industry and he also needs to
travel some part of the week. So, what we love doing
Female Banker in Turkey”
most in the weekends is to spend time together as
in 2006. a family. It is actually our son who determines the
schedule which is based around his activities,
parties etc.

A WEEK IN THE LIFE OF... | 35

“
My sensitivity towards the awareness of women’s issues has been
a consistent theme throughout my life ever since then and I have
tried my best to promote work environments that embrace diversity
and have consciously chosen to work for organisations that are

”
supportive of such environments.
 A WEEK IN THE LIFE OF... | BN MAGAZINE

Job Work environment Worst part about

I am the Chairperson for Turkish
and training your job?
Banking at Citi. What we call Turkish
We provide well focused and struc- The worst part is when you need to
banking is the part of Citi which is re-
tured training programs to young make a major difficult decision as
sponsible for the corporate and invest-
bankers who join Citi. These usu- a manager and make reductions in
ment banking business. We have cli-
ally last around 6 - 8 weeks and the cost base. In the banking sec-
ents from the top leading companies
take place in New York and Lon- tor, the key cost item is personnel
and financial institutions in Turkey
don. However, training continues expenses. Hence, I had to let go
as well as the public sector. We have
throughout your career at Citi. For some staff members recently and
approximately 30 personnel in our
example, the reason why I am in also in the previous down turns.
team, 25 located in Istanbul and five
London today even though it is a This is not an easy task but needs
located in our London office. It is a
Tuesday is that I am on a two-day to be done.
very strong team consisting of some
training course targeted for manag-
very well educated and experienced
ers of various banking franchises
bankers who have been in the sector
for 15 - 20 years, young and highly
across the EMEA region. We do
seek very high standards and quali- Best part about
motivated colleagues. What we offer
to our clients is a solution to all their
fications in people who join Citi. I
am proud to say that our younger
your job?
banking needs ranging from ensuring
colleagues in the Turkish banking
an efficient flow of their daily cash- The most rewarding part of my
team are much better qualified than
flows, providing trade finance, help- job is to know what we are doing
myself - there are quite a few who
ing them with their working capital or on daily basis is contributing to the
hold MBAs from top schools such
project financing to advising them on Turkish economy. As a team we
as Harvard and they have all been
the IPO of their companies or acqui- have facilitated the inflow of ap-
the top of their classes in Turkey’s
sitions and divestitures of businesses. proximately US$30 billion of for-
best universities. I must add that we
The very solid corporate banking eign direct investments into Turkey
also have a few LSE graduates.
training and experience I had at Chase since 2000 by advising either sell-
combined with the M&A and equities ers or international companies who
experience I had at Chase and Morgan have acquired companies in Turkey.
Stanley are extremely valuable for me It is of course also very much re-
in this role. warding to be recognised for what
you do. I was very honoured when
I had been named ’The Most Suc-
Any advice you can give to people enter- cessful Female Banker in Turkey’
in 2006 by the Dünya newspaper
ing a similar career / position? and when I was ranked as an eq-
uity research analyst. Furthermore,
The current economic climate is challenging for bankers at all levels - even at or on daily basis, the biggest joy is to
more so the entry level. We are not able to extend as many job offers as we used work as a team not only with my
to for young graduates. Nevertheless, perseverance and enthusiasm always pay colleagues here at Citi but also with
off. My advice would be to ensure they get as much work experience as possible our clients. It will sound interest-
and do their very best in those internship programs to differentiate themselves ing but working through days and
from the other interns - they need to demonstrate their dedication and com- nights and going through highly
mitment as much as possible during those limited number of weeks and ensure stressful situations together also
that the bankers that they work with realize they are people whom they can trust creates a great bond among team
when working on a key client assignment. members and enables you to enjoy
the achievements much better.

A WEEK IN THE LIFE OF... | 37

BN MAGAZINE | COLUMNIST
Europe’s Blurred Vision of Turkey
Europe -- meaning Europe’s
political leaders -- is failing to
see Turkey as it is. It suffers
from “blurred” vision. Turkey
is, along with Russia, one of
the two big countries in the
neighbourhood whose histo-
ries are inextricably interwoven
with Europe’s and which have
“
the power to affect the nature
of Europe itself. The long and
painful accession negotiations
now under way make that a
certainty again.
Turkey still has very serious
“Small Europe” shortcomings with respect to
”
its record on human rights, tor-
suffers from a long- ture, the so-called “deep state”,
term condition: and the influence of the mili-
tary over civilian political life.
Myopia The country must hold firmly
to its modern commitment to
being a modern secular state
with the rule of law. As for the
European Union, it claims to
represent the idea of a rules-
based system of governance
and international relations and
a roadmap to reform. But with
regard to Turkey the EU has
too often changed the rules to
the convenience of its exist-
ing members. That is a seri-
ous mistake which has helped
to bring about something like
a train crash in this important
relationship.
The decision to suspend work
on the most important chap-
ters in Turkey’s EU accession
talks over the long-standing
Cyprus dispute is a sign of
inconsistency and a lack of
seriousness. That decision was
William Horsley taken in spite of the very great
Writer on international steps taken by the Turkish gov-
affairs and former ernment and the Turkish Cyp-
BBC foreign correspondent riot leadership to support and
38 | COLUMNIST
vote for the Annan plan to set-
tle the Cyprus problem. Most
Turks, opinion polls show,
have concluded that Europe is
biased against them, and they
are not really wanted. In re-
sponse, Ankara has played the
part of a spoiler, blocking clos-
er NATO-EU cooperation.
The core of the problem is that
the EU as an institution has
shown itself too much con-
cerned with what may be called
“small Europe”. It has shown
itself to be poor at dealing
strategically with wider issues,
and with the issues of “big Eu-
rope” – including Turkey.
The reality is that Turkey is in-
dispensable to Europe. In the
words of one Turkish busi-
ness leader it is “the China on
Europe’s doorstep”. Turkey is
the 6th largest economy in the
European Economic Area, and
destined to loom much larger.
It is part of the European Cus-
toms Union, a transit country
for vital energy routes supply-
ing Europe with oil and gas
from points further east, and
will soon have a larger popu-
lation than Germany at a time
when Europe faces the pros-
pect of a drastic population
decline.
Today’s European leaders ap-
pear to ignore the fact that
throughout modern history
Turkey – and before it the Ot-
toman empire -- has been re-
garded as an integral part of
the European balance of pow-
er. Almost hundred years ago
the re-born nation was called
the “sick man of Europe”. In
the post-war period it became
a member of NATO, the west-
ern alliance, well before West
Germany.
In January this year the French
commentator Dominique Moi-
si wrote a perceptive article
entitled “Who Lost Turkey?”,
saying that the Turkish ques-
tion “matters greatly, because it
touches on some of the most
unstable and unsettling of the
world’s diplomatic disputes.”
Moisi allocates some blame to
Turkish political leaders for the
sense of alienation in EU-Tur-
key relations, because of Mr
Erdogan’s hot temper and his
resort to populist gestures. But
mainly he blames the West -- in
particular, President Sarkozy
for his open hostility to Tur-
key’s EU membership; former
US President George W Bush
because of the Iraq war, and
Israel because of the way it
conducted its military opera-
tions in Gaza.
I agree with that analysis. It
shows the dangers arising
from Europe’s blurred vision
of Turkey. The European
Union’s ideal of a rules-based
supranational system for the
whole continent has been a
powerful force, and brought
many benefits. But a hand-
ful of countries on the inside
have been led astray by their
sense of exclusive ownership
of the EU project. Increasingly
the countries on the other side
of the line feel abandoned or
even look to other alliances be-
cause Europe cannot give them
the reassurance they seek. The
Europeans need to see Turkey
as it is. It is time to adjust the
focus.
 BN MAGAZINE | POLITICS
Turkey’s
Mediator Role
Aynur Şimşek
L ocated between Europe and Asia, Turkey is
and has always been physical and cultural
bridge between these two continents playing a
crucial role in world affairs. As a result, it stands
in such a unique position being an ‘honest bro-
ker’ in disputes between the countries in these
two continents as well as its neighbours. It is
always been the case that Turkish diplomacy
has a golden opportunity to act as a mediator
between east and west, and between Islam and
Christianity.
For example, the country has close ties to Israel
as well as Arab states such as Iran. It has care-
fully managed relations with Russia and holds
close ties to Georgia. Diplomatic bridging
implies a unique mediation role for Turkey es-
pecially in the troubled regions of the Middle
East, the Caucasus and the Balkans. During the
1990s Turkey began to set up regional coopera-
tion initiatives. As a consequence, now Turkey
is in such an important position, that even the
Obama government might ask Turkey to test
the waters, to see whether Iran would be open
to negotiation.
During the recent Palestine and Israel crisis,
for example, Turkish diplomats have already
showed that the mediation power that Turkey
holds is quite vital, where a face to face meeting
was arranged with the chief Hamas leader Kha-
lid Meshal in Damascus.
Furthermore, Turkey facilitated proximity talks
between Syria and Israel, and acted as a non-
Russian-controlled conduit for gas and oil. It
sits between the energy crossroads of Asia and
Europe, vital to efforts to build new oil and gas
pipelines from Central Asia and the Caucasus
into Europe. The crucial point is ‘how can Eu-
rope become less dependent on Russian oil?’
The answer lies in a pipeline from Azerbaijan
through Georgia using the Turkish port of Cey-
han.
40 | POLITICS
Turkish
President
Abdullah Gul
Turkey’s ambition to pursue
its important mediator role
was recently illustrated by
Turkish President Abdul-
lah Gül’s message stating:
“You cannot solve prob-
lems while fists are in the
air. Problems can only be
solved through dialogue
at negotiation tables.”
If Turkey is willing to
extend this role, it could
have a positive impact on
the Middle East peace pro-
cess. In recent years Turkey
has progressively become
more involved in brokering
solutions to disputes in the
region. Besides the established
allies such as NATO and the UN,
Turkey also has less conventional partners
such as GUAM and the Shanghai Coopera-
tion Organization (SCO).
As President Gül said: “Throughout history we
have had numerous problems with our neigh-
bours. These must be resolved, or there cannot
be peace.” In other words, these disputes must
be resolved as they do not only affect Turkey
but Asia and Europe through Turkey, and the
most effective way to the solutions would be
accepting Turkey’s mediator role, For example,
the US feels a big pressure to repair its credibil-
ity in the Middle East in the aftermath of Iraq,
meaning that Turkey’s regional cooperation
initiatives are needed more than ever.
Turkey is moving to a new era of a softer, more
approachable foreign policy and promotes its
role being a bridge between Europe and Asia to
a further step by becoming a mediator
worldwide.
BN MAGAZINE | INTERVIEW

Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson

The Turkish Mayor of London

Ali Rıza Arslan

What are your views about city. The capital’s economic suc- What are your views about
multicultural London and cess includes a long history of Turkey’s integration to the
their positive contribution to strong economic and business EU?
the community and econo- ties with Turkey.
my? What are your observa- I fully support Tur-
tions and projections about You are the honorary presi- key’s entry into the
the Turkish community and dent of Anglo- Turkish soci- EU and I welcome
Turkish businesses in ety. Do you feel you are con- further develop-
London? nected to your Turkish roots? ment of London’s
How do you identify your relationship
I had a Turkish great-grandfa- ethnic background? through this ac-
ther myself and I am very proud cession. I believe
that so many people from Turk- I’m hugely proud of my Turk- their entry will
ish backgrounds have made ish roots. I’ve been fortunate contribute
London their enor-
home and made
an enormous “I’m hugely proud of mously to
a better Eu-
contribution rope; indeed
to the capital.
London’s inter-
my Turkish roots” it will help
recognise the
nationalism and considerable
diversity are the keys to its suc- enough to visit Turkey and contribution they
cess as one of the greatest cities meet with members of my fam- currently make.
in the world. This is reflected ily who still live there and so I
in the significant number of feel very connected to that part
Turkish businesses that operate of my history.
across a range of sectors in the

Boris
INTERVIEW with

Johnson MAYOR OF LONDON

42 | INTERVIEW
 INTERVIEW | BN MAGAZINE

Some areas of the Turkish community into use, working closely with the capital’s from all over the world. They are both
are still quite derelict, are there any boroughs huge melting pots of international culture
plans to improve those areas? There are tough times ahead but London with people drawn to enjoy all of the op-
is now seeing co-ordinated, creative and portunities on offer.
The past year has been a turbulent one innovative approaches to development
the economy and housing market which will ensure we emerge stronger from Do you have a message for the Turk-
in the capital but I will not let the downturn. I am extremely confident ish-British community in London?
that deter our hugely impor- we will achieve our goals of halving severe
tant work to deliver more overcrowding, delivering more quality af- I’m proud to be Mayor for all of London’s
affordable housing for fordable housing and widening housing amazingly diverse communities and I will
Londoners. choices for Londoners. work tirelessly to make this city the best
We are developing place to live, work and raise families for all
new housing sites What similar/different characteristics Londoners. Turkish and Turkish speaking
each week, build- do you see between London and people have brought skills, experiences,
ing new homes Istanbul. cultures and ideas to the capital, helping
and bringing make London the dynamic and progressive
previously run Both are great, historic cities yet both now city it is today.
down hous- offer a modern, vibrant environment that
ing back continue to attract people
BN MAGAZINE | FINANCE
London Mayor on one side Turkish
Ambassador on the other
Seval Kahveci
Boris Johnson’s achievements and success to
date are widely known. But what about his
Turkish relatives? Johnson’s Turkish ancestry,
which starts with his great grandfather Ali
Kemal, has received considerable media cover-
age. However, the success of his distant rela-
tives, two brothers, Selim Kuneralp and Sinan
Kuneralp, whose grandfather was also Ali Ke-
mal, is little known in Britain. Perhaps it is
wise to begin with a brief family history.
Ali Kemals family in the UK
It all begins with the controversial figure of
Ali Kemal. He was a Turkish liberal journal-
ist, newspaper editor and poet whose tragic
end was to be killed by a lynch mob after fac-
ing trial for treason against the Turkish state.
Prior to this end Ali Kemal had married an
Anglo-Swiss lady named Winifred in 1903 in
London who, in 1909, gave birth to a daugh-
44 | FINANCE
ter named Selma and a son initially named
Osman Wilfred Kemal. Soon after the birth
she died. After Ali Kemal returned to Turkey
in 1912, Selma and Osman were brought up
by their English grandmother Margaret Brun
(née Johnson). Osman Wilfred Kemal later
changed his name to Osman Wilfred Johnson.
Osman Wilfred Johnson married Irene Wil-
liams and in 1940 had a son named Stanley
Johnson, who is the father of Boris Johnson.
Ali Kemals family in Turkey
Soon afer Ali Kemal returned to Turkey he
married his second wife Sabiha Hanim in
1912. Sabiha gave birth to a son named Zeki,
who later became an ambassador for Turkey.
Zeki married Nejla and gave birth to two sons,
Selim and Sinan Kuneralp.
Selim Kuneralp is an ambassador to Turkey
and Stockholm. Prior to this appointment
he served as general secretary for the EU De-
partment of the Turkish Foreign Office. His
brother, Sinan owns and directs ISIS Publish-
ing House in Istanbul and is a historian. He
has written and edited a number of books on
Ottoman history. Both brothers are fluent in a
number of languages. Sinan and Selim Kuner-
alp are both related to Boris Johnson through
Ali Kemal.
A brief survey over the career choices of the
descendants of Ali Kemal suggests a fascina-
tion with history, an active engagement with
the present and a desire to influence the fu-
ture. This common thread of interest and
devotion to the realisation of their respective
goals is perhaps what strikes one as most ad-
mirable. Indeed, determination, devotion and
success runs within the family.
Visit www.bnmagazine.co.uk for pictures of
the Mayor and his family visit Ali Kemal’s
village in Turkey.
 BN MAGAZINE | BUSINESS

Turkey: The World’s Second

Largest Textile Investor Reyhan Yazıcı / Fashion Designer

Did you know that most famous fashion brands are in fact manufactured in Turkey?
The Turkish textile sector is one of most important players in the world textile sector.
After China, Turkey is the largest textile investor in the world.
Textile is Turkey’s most important sector and is still the only field that manages to stand firm
on the ground despite the global economic crisis. There has been a visible increase in fashion
that addresses personal taste as opposed to the needs of eco-friendly urban outfitting. Cer-
tainly, we could say that looking at the textile sector from the view point of fashion industries
wouldn’t be the best approach in this instance.

46 | BUSINESS
 BUSINESS | BN MAGAZINE

There are many reasons for English brands to be

manufactured in Turkey. English companies started
to change their manufacturing strategy slowly mov-
ing out from China and increasingly working with
Turkish factories. Meeting deadlines is extremely im-
portant in the Textiles sector and in the past, Eng-
lish firms didn’t mind whether deadlines were met
or not, therefore they got everything manufactured
in Asia. But when English companies began to see
that manufacturing output was completed within 3-4
weeks in Turkey, it made Turkey a better option for
production based performance.

our minds is of the last 15-20 years in expor-

In the name of fashion; luring-marketable
minimalist trends are quite simply the tip
of the ice-berg. When one observes the
development and growth of the textile
technologies industry, we begin to under-
stand somewhat their perspective. The
textile industry came into fruition from
industrially developed countries such as
England, Germany, France and US. The
rapid growth in industrialised countries
sustains an important portion of employ-
ment that not only meets compulsory ex-
isting needs, but allows questions to be
proposed and answered. The machines
used during production of raw and pro-
cessed material outlined an essential part
of this sector. At the same time, improve-
ments have been effective for countries
that in the early days we couldn’t ignore.
Primarily, the people who worked within
this field were put through professional or
vocational training. Textile departments
and courses at college or university level
are still active.
Designers, engineers, marketing experts, pat-
tern cutters, data collectors and other gradu-
ates from such institutions continue to work
in this sector and offer a high quality service.
Fashion or Exportation
As one of the world’s leading industries;
whatever country the Textile industry is
prominent, has proven to aid the develop-
ment and enhancement of that country. The
outfits that are used to cover and protect
ourselves serve different purposes nowadays.
Simple, ordinary and cheap productions will
be exchanged in place of high quality, tech-
nologically enhanced fabrics, in the near fu-
ture. Third world competitive countries such
as Asia will gradually lose their reputation as
having cheap labour and poor quality brands
will be taken over by quality and intelligent
innovations within the sector where design is
crucial. In reference to the production pro-
cesses found in Turkey, this takes the lead on
the list of the textile countries to become the
future textile country. With its potential and
nano-industry products Turkey is already in
the EU market with a successful textile busi-
ness whilst still being considered to be a part
of it.
As it stands, brands and fashion products that
take up a large portion of the EU market are
already being manufactured in Turkey. When
we talk about export, the first thing comes to
tation and textile industry whereby, Turkey
has been prominent and active in export to
and across countries all over the world. Even
if Turkey is unable to compete with the Asian
market prices, Turkey still is on the front line
of this market. Quality and multi-functional
(interactive) products are being exported from
Turkey and will continue to do so. Taking ad-
vantage of this poignant moment, Turkey
is now gearing for successful development.
When put into perspective alongside cheap
products that bare no design quality and label,
you will find that such trends are no longer de-
sirable within this market. Turkey is becoming
a preferred partner within the textile industry,
ranking level with Italy. Large and financially
strong; Turkish textile companies are continu-
ing to fund research and new projects to aid
advancement and support initiative.
Made in Turkey
Turkey is constantly making agreements to
produce new brands of which it already holds
5% of the share in the Textile world.
In light of the economical crisis, there has
seemingly been a reduction in the level of
textile consumption in Turkey as well as all

BUSINESS | 47
 BN MAGAZINE | BUSINESS

around the world, but nonetheless interest in increase in exporting t-shirts, underwear, men This fast thriving and a competitive market
fashion is keeping the market going. In fact, and women suits and knitted garments. is where the businesses endeavour to survive
world famous brands are looking into and and have sufficient sources that represents
working towards opening offices in Turkey. New Technology and continues to understand the momentum
of the textile sector.
Many world famous brands are sold with a With a textile industry worth billions of
‘Made in Turkey’ label. While offering a high
quality service to those worldwide brands the
pounds, this is one sector that continues to
renew itself. As mentioned before, it is for this
Made in Turkey
Turkish textile industry supports them by us- reason many famous brands are moving into
ing modern designs and fabrics and at the the Turkish Textile market. Recently, Italian The following brands are manu-
same time monitors the sale’ figures and gives brand Prada, Quiesse, Italian-French made factured in Turkey and sold with a
them an enormous support on manufactur- Coin, Spanish-French origin Celio and popu- ‘Made in Turkey’ label.
ing as well exhibiting their products. Turkish lar English retail company Harrods are work-
textile companies- with their concept of iden- ing on investment projects in the Turkish Adidas Machka
tifying technological issues of their custom- Market, and see this economical slowdown
ers, maintaining new projects and brings them as an opportunity for their businesses. The
AG Massimo Dutti
into production. largest market of today is textile and fashion B&B Max Mara
trends that will grow even bigger now with Banana Repulic Mervyn’s
Collaboration of Turkey and England: nano-technological products. In the near fu- Bershka Nauticalia
ture, Turkish textile will be the market that is Bouclair Neckermann
There are certain reasons for English brands known as having eco-conscious designs. At
to be drawn to the Turkish market like every this moment, most of those nano-technolog-
Burberry Next
other brand. England has changed its view ical products (in other words interactive) are Calvin Klein Nick & Nora
somewhat to- being designed Corneliani Nike
wards Turkey, and manu- Costco Old Navy
slowly moving factured in Debenhams Polo Ralph Lauren
its gaze from Turkey. Eco-
China where friendly, com-
Diesel Pull & Bear
it is common fortable light DKNY Puma
knowledge wears will Donna Karan Quelle
that working define the fu- Earl Jeans Reebok
environments ture fashion Eddie Bauer Replay
are unhealthy style and will
and many ar- not only serve
El Corte Ingles Rifle
tificial materi- the personal Esprit Rose E Dee
als are being taste but will Express Sara Lee
consumed. also support GAP Sears
An important healthy liv- GAP/BR/ON Seven
element is ing. However,
meeting the deadlines set, also achieving them though not present in this moment in time, it
Giorgio Armani Sixty
sooner than expected. In the past, English is inevitable that future designs will determine Guess Tchibo
firms didn’t mind whether deadlines were met the competitive market with such new tech- H&M Ted Baker
or not, therefore they got everything manu- nology. Turkish fashion will be introduced to Homestead Tommy Hilfiger
factured in Asia. But when English compa- world. Turkey is aiming to capture the fashion Hugo Boss Top Shop
nies began to see that manufacturing output world with advanced technologies which has
was completed within 3-4 weeks in Turkey, it already given a good grounding in the Euro-
JC Penny Umbro
has made Turkey a better option for produc- pean market. Jeffrey Fabrics Wal-Mart
tion based performance. Karstadt Wrangler
Fashions that can withstand the tides in this Lands’ End Zara
Among the worlds fashion industry, England sector are those that continue to regenerate Lascol ...
comes 5th and it is the country which imports itself everyday. Despite such a competitive and worldwide
mainly from China, closely followed by Tur- market, work toward improving the quality of
Lee
Levi’s known brands like
key. English consumers, instead of negotiat- lifestyle rather than just dressing consumers
Louis Feraud Holiday Fabric
ing with the wholesale companies prefer to up is a high priority. Business is not the same
buy for themselves directly in order to reduce anymore. Design and quality alone is not are sold with the
Lucky Brand
the cost. This way, they find it easy to make enough. Authenticity, flexibility and function- “Made in Turkey”
Marks & Spencer label.
arrangements with the Turkish textile com- ality add positive elements to daily lifestyles
panies that work to an ethical standard and and it is exactly this image that is becoming
Marzotto Group
in healthy environments and we observe an ever more important.

48 | BUSINESS
FINANCE | BN MAGAZINE

FINANCE | 49
 BN MAGAZINE | PEOPLE
Economic Crisis
How do you see the economic crisis?
I would say the crisis started because lend-
ers were so greedy and all they did was lend
money and charge big interest rates and pass
the risk onto insurance companies.
Years of lending bubbled up the people debt
and when that money for lending dried up it
affected everyone in contact of money, basi-
cally everyone that is alive.
What are your predictions for the fu-
ture?
I have been following the news ever since the
economic crisis started and one thing I’ve no-
ticed is that media made things worse. Okay
we all know that there isn’t much cash around
but when people are hearing that X Company
has closed, Y Company has closed and I don’t
know how many other companies are having
difficulties and so on, this sort of news stop
people spending money which made things
even worst.
I am very optimistic and believe that this sum-
mer things are going to get better as Euro is
being very strong and the people bearing in
mind the credit crunch would stay in the UK
and start spending a bit as kids would be on
holiday.
50 | PEOPLE
HIFSI AYRANCIOGLU
Director of A to Z Catering Supplies
New Investment
Whole thing is like stationary car; it is very
difficult at the beginning to move it but once Will you be making new investments in the
it starts rolling it will not stop. near future? If so into what?
We are thinking of opening few more cash
How did it affect your business? and carry depots around London within say
the next 6 months.
At the beginning of the credit crunch our
business were booming and our business Why?
increased by 40 %. This was because people
were cutting down from upper class restau- We have done a detailed survey and found
rants and spending one forth of their saved out that cash and carry is local business for
money on take away shops. local people. So bearing this in our minds we
thought if our customers are struggling to
Unfortunately now, things have changed dra- survive and still they cannot come to us why
matically and people are now cutting down can’t we go to them.
from take away shops and instead they stay
indoors and buy an oven cook pizza or meals
from supermarkets for one third of the mon-
ey that they would spend on take away.
We are trying to cope with credit crunch by
introducing cash & carry services and plus
running special promotions so we could pass
on big savings to all our customers.
Biggest effect we have observed on our busi-
ness is shrinking gross margins, this is be-
cause people are trying to survive and they
try to squeeze you as much as they possibly
can on the prices.
 PEOPLE | BN MAGAZINE

“To me success is how much time

I can spend with my kids and loved
ones away from work”

Art & Culture Being a Director / Leader What is success for

What kind of art galleries and cultur-
al places do you enjoy visiting? Why?
I am an easy person and can enjoy everything
in life. I find going back in time and investi-
gating people’s lives and thoughts very inter-
esting and fascinating.
I also have two little boys and like to take
them to all sort of places, galleries and muse-
ums. These visits also help me when teaching
them life and history.
What was the last book you’ve read?
Reading is part of my life and cannot live
without books, regardless of title or author I
read at least one book a week.
What kind of director are you?
I have never worked for another company
before and wouldn’t know the different types
of directors that exist.
I believe in hard working and always listen to
other people regardless of their position or
background. I always try to be nice to eve-
ryone and love helping people in every way.
One thing that I always wanted from all the
people that work with us is regardless of
what problems they have in personal life try
not to bring it to work and do not steal my
time that you get paid for.
Are there any businessmen or leaders that
you are influenced from?
Hifsi Ayrancioglu?
I have studied until I was 32 years old of age
and, big part of my study was mathematics,
and mathematics means numbers and num-
bers means money.
I believe, in any business you have to have 5
things and I am fortunate to have them
1. Good relationship
2. Ambition
3. Accounting knowledge
4. Self discipline
5. Team work
To me success is how much time I can spend
with my kids and loved ones away from work.

Last book I’ve read was in Turkish and called
‘Istanbulluluk’.
Which news papers do you follow
daily/on the weekend?
As I have mentioned above I’ve never worked
for the big companies before and would not
know any other directors. As a leader I like
Obama, he has a confidence in himself and
speaks very firm.

I don’t read newspapers at all.

PEOPLE | 51
BN MAGAZINE | COLUMNIST
“
Despite the credit
crunch we’re also
delighted that
tourism from the
UK has continued
to grow this year
”
Irfan Onal, Director of Turkish
Culture and Tourism Office
52 | COLUMNIST
Despite the credit crunch Turkey
is attracting more tourists
“Turkey even overtook Spain for the first time as the UK’s
favourite package destination in 2008!”
Turkey is one of the 10 most
visited countries in the world.
Last year alone, we welcomed
26.3 million tourists, a year on
year growth of 12.8 percent.
Turkey’s also very popular
with Brits - over 2.2 million
visited last year, attracted by
the country’s huge choice of
historical, cultural, and recrea-
tional attractions, fantastic cli-
mate and friendly people.
“Turkey is one of the 10 most
visited countries in the world”
Despite the credit crunch
we’re also delighted that tour-
ism from the UK has contin-
ued to grow this year, with
10% more British visitors in
the first four months of 2009
alone. Mugla, which includes
the coastal resorts of Bod-
rum, Marmaris and Fethiye, is
the most popular region with
British holidaymakers – last
year half of its visitors were
British. Turkey even overtook
Spain for the first time as the
UK’s favourite package desti-
nation in 2008!
Turkey continues to offer fan-
tastic value for visitors, with
the Turkish lira having recent-
ly weakened against the Euro,
British Pound, and U.S. dollar.
M&S Money has reported a
20% increase in sales of the
lira at their in-store bureaux de
change, confirming the attrac-
tiveness of Turkey as a travel
destination.
Turkey really is taking off as
a business and leisure destina-
tion with increased capacity
and new flights this year from
Turkish carriers Turkish Air-
lines and Pegasus Airlines, as
well as a host of others, includ-
ing BA, CTA, Flyglobespan,
Jet2 and Monarch Airlines.
New luxurious hotels are also
popping up all over the coun-
try, from the new Bosphorus
Four Seasons and W Hotels in
Istanbul to the Sofa Bodrum
and Mardan Palace along
the coast.
Golf tourism is also booming
in Turkey with its 19 interna-
tional level courses, fantastic
climate and high standards of
service and accommodation,
making it an ideal year-round
golfing destination. Being
outside the Euro-zone also
means great value. The resort
of Belek, on the Mediterrane-
an coast, just 30kms from An-
talya, is at the heart of Turkish
golf. It’s a carefully planned
resort to cater to the needs of
golfers and was crowned Eu-
rope’s 2008 Golf Destination
of the year at the golf indus-
try’s prestigious annual IAG-
TO Awards, the golf industry
equivalent of the Oscars. The
first golf course opened there
in 1994 and in a short time
has established itself on the
international golf circuit, with
fourteen world class courses,
including those designed by
celebrated golfers Nick Faldo,
and another by Colin Mont-
gomerie.
In 2008, around 386,000
rounds of golf were played in
the Belek region by overseas
visitors and this should in-
crease beyond 400,000 green
fees in 2009. Other interna-
tional standard golf courses
are dotted around Istanbul,
Ankara and the Muğla regions.
Turkey’s also had a fantastic
year in the press, with a sev-
enteen page full colour edito-
rial spread on Antalya in the
Conde Nast Traveller in April
2009 and another multi-page
feature on Istanbul set for
October, as well as weekly
spreads and reams of online
coverage across the national
papers, from the Guardian,
Telegraph, the Times and the
Daily Mail to name just a few
– as well as throughout top
travel and glossy magazines,
including the Sunday Times
Travel Magazine, Wanderlust,
Wallpaper and Elle Magazine.
Turkey really is the hottest
destination for 2009.
 BN MAGAZINE | ARTS & CULTURE

Halime Özdemir

Istanbul 2010 European Capital of Culture

A New Beginning…
The year 2010 marks the start of a new chapter in modern European history as we know it. This is the
year Istanbul will gain the title European Capital of Culture alongside member cities Péc,
Essen and Rhur. The idea of putting Istanbul forward as candidate for the European Capital of Cul-
ture was initiated by Melina Mercouri, in 1985; at the time of which she was the Greek Minister for
Culture. In that same year the European Union Council of Ministers determined the scope of the
project and put it into implementation.

54 | ARTS & CULTURE


So what does being the European
Capital of Culture mean for Istanbul?
As Turkey moves ahead with the process
of its candidacy to be part of the Euro-
pean Union, Istanbul will take the stage
to demonstrate and highlight the ongoing
interaction of European culture within
Turkey that has existed for many hun-
dreds of years, notably reaffirming it’s po-
sition within culture and the arts all over
the world.
A variety of the projects have been initi-
ated during the course of Istanbul’s 2010
development with the view to establish a
firm grounding in, and continuation of
investment during and after Istanbul’s par-
ticipation. Cultural heritage projects will
facilitate preservation of Istanbul’s heri-
tage; with the view to increase accessibility
to information assists the development of
urban identity. Continued investment in
the arts is what will unite those who come
to Istanbul for cultural and artistic proj-
ects in a landscape bursting with galleries,
cultural riches, mosques, churches, palaces
and museums.
The structure and function of the Istanbul
2010 Agency is a unique working model
of a multi-party private organization, not
seen before in Turkey. United together in
the name of creating new cultural infra-
structures, urban projects and neighbour-
hood improvement, thus becoming a hub
knowledge and expertise through those
involved within creative processes. Form-
ing no bias, or political standpoint, the Is-
tanbul 2010 is a culmination of Industry
Professionals, Artists, Scholars, University
Professors, Journalists and much more.
Istanbul 2010 is defining its ability to
make the most of local, national and in-
ternational experiences, supporting inte-
grated thinking and application practices
by infusing different disciplines together.
Becoming the European Capital of Cul-
ture will also give a boost to the city’s eco-
nomic relations with Europe, as well as
contributing to its cultural relations. In-
vestments in urban renewal, urban living,
and environmental and social develop-
ment are high on the agenda as is main-
taining the city’s cultural heritage.
However in recent times some may ar-
gue that urban regeneration projects that
have prevailed in Istanbul thus far have
undermined residents’ capacities to shape
ARTS & CULTURE | BN MAGAZINE
their environment with implementations
lacking in participative mechanisms. It is
however, Istanbul 2010’s proposal to work
towards shifting the focus of urban regen-
eration projects towards urban neighbour-
hood rehabilitation programmes, thereby
prioritising citizens and residents needs.
Endeavouring to make them central to the
public culture of the city. Istanbul 2010
has created a vital and long awaited op-
portunity to begin innovative processes in
urban project development in Turkey. It is
most important that with a new admin-
istration in charge at the Istanbul 2010
Agency, original aims and objectives that
have been formulated by the Istanbul
2010 application for nomination, and
further elaborated by the Agency will con-
tinue to be upheld and implemented.
Istanbul 2010 European Capital of Cul-
ture brings forth the opportunity to unite
with Europe leading the way forward to
further collaborations on a global stage,
highlighting Istanbul’s must see growing
potential for investment. The transforma-
tion of this ancient city, and transition
onto a new and exciting chapter is truly
exciting for those who watch.
ARTS & CULTURE | 55
BN MAGAZINE | COLUMNIST
“
However reducing
labour costs should
not be considered
as the immediate
response to cut
down expenses
”
Ayşegül Yeşildağlar
Turkish Work & Social Security
Attaché / London
56 | COLUMNIST
Turkish Businesses in the UK
I would like to congratulate
Business Network for their
initiative to publish a periodi-
cal on the world of business.
Recent years have seen the
emergence of various Turkish
magazines and periodicals in
specialized fields such as trade
or business indicating that the
professionalism and expertise
of the Turkish community in
the UK is improving to the
extent that it needs to find its
expression in publications be-
yond the scope of popular dai-
ly or weekly newspapers.
Turkish businesses in the UK
have lots of challenges to tack-
le. Turkey has a very unique
position as a country having
successfully fulfilled customs
union with the European Un-
ion before a clear perspective
of membership was given and
without getting any financial
aid due to lack of unanimity
voting required for the finan-
cial protocol annexed to the
Customs Union Agreement.
Given the fact that Turkey has
not yet acceded to the Euro-
pean Union, our businesses
in Europe are deprived from
competing on equal footing
with the European businesses.
Free movement of Turkish
workers is still far from being
a reality despite the principles
laid down in the Association
Agreement of Ankara con-
cluded as early as 1963 and
despite further commitments
and time tables provided by
the Additional Protocol (1973)
or Association Council Deci-
sions (1/80 or 3/80, 1980)
for the implementation of
the principles laid down in the
Agreement, putting Turkish
businesses at a very disadvan-
taged position compared with
their rivals. Most of our enter-
prises have to deal with issues
of work or residence permits
for their employees on top of
all the other challenges of glo-
bal competition.
The Member States are in-
creasingly tightening their im-
migration rules, UK being
one of them and boasting to
have fulfilled the most radical
change of the last 40 years in
its immigration policy. Thus, as
the EU membership of Turkey
delays, we have to deal with
new burdens imposed on our
people and businesses. We are
all familiar with the pressures
of Kebab Shops with new re-
quirements such as getting a
sponsorship certificate from
the Home Office to be able to
bring workers from Turkey. We
are also aware that owners of
kebab shops are advised by the
UK officials to train and em-
ploy other nationalities (Polish,
Bulgarian etc.) in the face of
stringent measures preventing
them from employing Turkish
workers.
In addition to the external
problems outlined above, we
also have problems stemming
from the fact that some Turkish
businesses fail to provide fair
treatment towards their Turk-
ish workers, which is more an-
noying. During my office here,
I regret to have seen Turkish
people, mostly vulnerable stu-
dents, being employed at hour-
ly wages of £2.50 when the
minimum wage in implementa-
tion is over £5. I have also seen
lots of people without pen-
sions since their employers had
failed to pay national insurance
contributions although they
had worked in tuff conditions
which could now be regarded
as clear breaches of interna-
tional labour standards. I do
not deny the fact that business-
es are experiencing difficulties
and pressures in the world of
aggressive globalization we are
going through, however reduc-
ing labour costs should not be
considered as the immediate
response to cut down expens-
es. Businesses should explore
other ways to survive without
offending their employees. We
should not forget businesses
that make their employees mis-
erable are not likely to have
much success in the long term,
and that the tight measures in-
troduced by governments are
usually the result of abusive
attitudes.
It is time that the Turkish
Community in the UK should
get organized on the basis of
needs and new organisations
should offer much more than
solidarity and I am happy to
see that this process has al-
ready started in this country.
Non Governmental Organisa-
tions should offer solutions to
the problems of their mem-
bers and they should have
the capacity to act as pressure
groups on the policies of the
host country. They should
have publications where they
could share information and
raise awareness. Turkish busi-
nesses can have bigger impact
on UK policies by getting bet-
ter organised and improving
their networks. Therefore once
more I congratulate the initia-
tive to publish a periodical on
business and wish you every
success in contributing to be-
coming a much more informed
community.

Michelin Guide 2008-2009
Recommended
Özer Oxford Circus
Sofra Mayfair
18 Shepherd Street
Mayfair W1Y 7HU
Tel 020 7493 3320
Fax 020 7499 8282
(outside seating available)
www.sofra.co.uk
Sofra & Özer Restaurants
Mathew Drennan’s Top 5
Best in London for
(19-25 April 2008) Sunday Lunches
“ Food is Turkish with an international twist,
and particular attention is paid to healthy eating.
“It’s a bit of an institution - choose the lunch menu and
await the food parade.”
MATTHEW DRENNAN
Sofra Covent Garden Sofra St. John’s Wood Sofra Oxford Street Özer London
36 Tavistock Street 11 Circus Road 1 St Christopher’s Place 5 Langham Place
Covent Garden WC2E 7PB St John’s Wood NW8 6NX Oxford Street W1U 1LT Regent Street W1B 3DG
Tel 020 7240 3773/3972 Tel 020 7586 9889 Tel 020 7224 4080 Tel 020 7323 0505
Fax 020 7836 6633 Fax: 020 7586 8778 Fax 020 7224 0022 Fax 020 7323 0111
(with roof garden) (outside seating available) (outside seating available) (outside seating available)
Michelin Guide 2008-2009
Recommended
Information & Comments
www.ozer.co.uk www.ozercatering.com www.huseyinozer.com
 BN MAGAZINE | FINANCE

A London Banker in Vietnam

Banks Cheat, sold in Hong Kong, are comparable to rates
in London. The cost of living in Hong Kong
Banks Lie! is higher and in some instances far exceeding
prices in London. Real estate prices are even
Oytun Pakcan surprisingly higher than the UK considering
thieves’ and ‘Capital Protected Lies’, refer-
ring to capital protected products. This out-
cry is clearly a reflection on how economic
crisis is truly Global Crisis when Capital Pro-
tected Notes and Funds are being targeted.

T he current environment within the bank- that it is a small mountainous island covering
ing industry has created an ideal opportu- only ¹⁄6 th of London. Capital Protected Notes and Funds are also a
nity for many bankers to take advantage of this hot topic in Turkey nowadays and these rela-
downturn, and take a career break. How better It proved that the crisis is truly global when I tively complex financial instruments give retail
to mark the end of the hectic years in bank- came across a big group protestors in front of customers access to different asset classes that
ing passed then to explore South East Asia. Bank of China Headquarters in Hong Kong. they didn’t have a chance to invest in before
through traditional investment
So here we go! One
chilly afternoon in London bankers call vehicles. These financial
products also com-
mit to give inves-
London, I jumped
on a Turkish Airlines
plane and headed
their colleagues in tors all their main
capital/invest-
ment back if the
to Hong Kong. As
usual Turkish Airlines
excelled in offering an
Hong Kong: markets do not

exemplary
service, accompanied
by a wide range of
“FILTH”, Failed
In London Try
quality food.

The flight was di-

rected over Istanbul,
where it occurred me
that whilst in transit
Hong Kong.
that, by using Istanbul Ataturk Airport as the They were carry-
transit port, clearly a strategic move to make ing banners with
Istanbul the hub that connects West and slogans such as;
East, casually attracting foreigners to Istan- ‘Banks Cheat,
bul. It also occurred to me that my flight was Banks Lie’,
one where by Turks were the minority among ‘Banks are
an array multinational passenger profiles in
the plane. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that
Turkish Airlines is arguably the best interna-
tional brand Turkey has created over the last
two decades.

Hong Kong is a typical expat town and this

is no surprise considering the 17% income
tax rate for the highest bracket versus the
new 50% rate in England. Satirically, London
bankers call their colleagues in Hong Kong:
“FILTH”, Failed In London Try Hong Kong.

Though taxations may seem far from obtru-

sive to ones income in relation to the UK,
you will find that the general price of goods

58 | FINANCE

perform according to their view. However,
it is important for public to understand that
capital protection is under certain conditions
and one of these conditions is that the retail
bank who sells these financial instruments
and the investment bank who underwrites
them should not get bust. Probably some of
the protestors in Hong Kong lost their money
invested in these products underwritten by
Lehman Brothers or Bear Sterns. Although
it is unfortunate, it is very important for in-
vestors to understand what they are investing
into and what its conditions are.
They were carrying banners with slogans
such as; ‘Banks Cheat, Banks Lie’, ‘Banks
are thieves’ and ‘Capital Protected Lies’,
referring to capital protected products.
Moving on from my experiences
in China, my next stop was Vietnam. Vietnam
is a country in its youth within the tourism
industry, having only opened its doors to the
outside world some 10 years ago. Compara-
tively to neighbouring regions in South East
Asia, Vietnam is still underdeveloped to
‘Western’ standards. I mostly spent my time
in Northern Vietnam. Predominantly this is
the communist region of the country, histori-
cally making its name as the region that fought
against American forces located in the South
around Saigon, now known as Ho Chi Minh
City. The Capital Hanoi, is the second larg-
est city, located in the North and is known
as the communist capital. Although it is the
capital, there doesn’t seem to be much activity
here and is not as economically robust as the
vibrant and more westernized Ho Chi Minh
City; however, it is precisely the authenticity
and gradual development that makes Hanoi a
far more exotic and appealing destination to
the Western eye.
Ho Chi Minh is the leader who defeated
American forces and united South and North
Vietnam; hence, it is not surprising that the
base of American forces, Saigon, is named
after him. He is also responsible for intro-
ducing Marxist – Leninist ideology to Viet-
nam. It is important to note that Ho Chi
Minh’s understanding of this ideology is
significantly different than traditional com-
munism that we know and was implemented
FINANCE | BN MAGAZINE
in Soviet Union. One striking example is that
Ho Chi Minh did not see the contradictions
between the ideals of communism, with the
masses continuing to practice their religions
freely. Even during the 80’s when the com-
munism was most heavily felt in Vietnam,
everyone could freely practice their religion.
Following the collapse of the Soviet Union,
Vietnam moved towards “Doi Moi”, market
reforms in the economy similar to Perestroika
in USSR. Today, Vietnam is still ruled by a sin-
gle Communist Party and the political system
of the country is defined as Socialism on pa-
per though a mid-level private sector is grow-
ing continuously. What I found particularly
interesting is that even basic services such as
university education and health are not free in
Vietnam. So I guess the days that the com-
munist governments used to leave free milk
and newspaper in front of the doors are over
for good. In traditional communism, the
governments used to take everything but at
least they would give back something in re-
turn. Looking at the condition of the roads
and the infrastructure in Vietnam and listen-
ing to locals, it seems like the government
doesn’t do much these days other than col-
lecting part of everyone’s rice production. 
Next issue, Oytun Pakcan will continue his observa-
tions from Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar (Burma)
and Laos.
FINANCE | 59
BN MAGAZINE | COLUMNIST
The Chinese Year of Ox
Last month The OECD Eco-
nomic Outlook issued End-
2008 report. It shows that
some 21 of 30 member coun-
tries already in or heading into
a recession that could last at
least a year. Business invest-
ment will contract by over 5%,
and unemployment could rise
by at least 8 million by 2010.
2009 marks the Chinese Year of the Ox, a symbol of patience and hard
work, and inspiring confidence in others. The crisis has knocked govern-
ments off balance, but like the ox, we must not be knocked off course.
“
The long-term job of building a better tomorrow should start now.
This social crisis is affect-
Business investment ing families and communities
across the planet, with emerg-
will contract by over ing and developing economies
5%, and unemploy- suffering too.
ment could rise by Lower global inflation and
more affordable energy and
at least 8 million food prices offer some relief,
by 2010
”
nonetheless with the economy
still in intensive care around
the world and public anxiety
spreading, the situation could
actually worsen. Restoring
growth, stability and confi-
dence must still remain the pol-
icy priority for many months to
come.
History has shown that crises
on this scale ultimately lead
to social and political instabil-
ity with unpredictable and of-
ten tragic results. Today, those
who are losing homes, jobs
and pensions as a result of the
financial crisis for which they
bear no responsibility, are be-
ing called on–as taxpayers–to
bail-out those who are actually
responsible. This produces a
strong political cocktail that
governments would do well to
Çağlar Karataş
heed.
Chairman, Turkish Bankers
Association (UK)
60 | COLUMNIST
While short-term action to
save the banking system, stop
major companies going under
and stimulate demand to help
the recovery of the real econ-
omy are all necessary, there
can be no return to “business
as usual” once the recovery is
underway. According to its re-
port, this is a point OECD ap-
pears to accept in principle, but
what about in practice? What
sort of analysis and advice can
they really give to their mem-
ber governments?
This most serious economic
crisis since the Great De-
pression must mark an end
to an ideology of unfettered
financial markets, where self-
regulation has been exposed
as a fraud. Moreover greed
has overridden rational judg-
ment to the detriment of the
real economy. Make no mis-
take: We need healthy financial
markets for our prosperity and
development and to strengthen
vital public services. But 2008
reminded us how damaging
badly regulated markets can be
for our economies.
The crisis has led to some
major new thinking, about
regulation and markets, about
accountability and ethics, and
about the kind of economy we
need to build. The new strat-
egy of the regulators is about
devising better policies, better
regulations and better institu-
tional frameworks that enable
businesses to flourish and pub-
lic interests to be safeguarded
in a stronger, cleaner and fairer
world economy.
A national and global regula-
tory architecture needs to be
built so that financial markets
return to their primary func-
tion which is to ensure stable
and cost-effective financing
of productive investment in
the real economy. Additionally,
governments must acknowl-
edge the urgent need to begin
work on a more inclusive, just
and democratic system for the
governance of global markets.
One thing is clear: the massive
public interventions of recent
months cannot be sustained
indefinitely. They are costly to
budgets, and like any strong
medicine, may damage the pa-
tient in the long run. (The La-
bour party has already risen the
income taxes and will continue
to do so to bridge the budget
deficit gap). That is why the
regulators have to devise “exit
strategies”, not to return to the
pre-crisis vulnerable arrange-
ments, on the contrary to help
governments safely withdraw
emergency measures without
disruption once stability is
back.
2009 marks the Chinese Year
of the Ox, a symbol of pa-
tience and hard work, and in-
spiring confidence in others.
The crisis has knocked govern-
ments off balance, but like the
ox, we must not be knocked
off course. The long-term job
of building a better tomorrow
should start now.
BN MAGAZINE | COLUMNIST
Would Turkey be in the “winners’
club” or “losers’ pit” by 2023?
A “Devil’s Advocate” perspective; Part-1
If I could look into my crystal ball to predict who the winners and losers of the global
system would be by 2023 (the centenary year marking the founding of the Turkish
Republic), do not expect me to give a rosy picture of the future for today’s 27-state
European Union (EU). The current recession will no doubt ease by the end of this
year, though the deep-seated systemic problems will remain, and companies will begin
taking on workers again, signalling the end of the worst economic downturn since the
Great Depression of the 1930’s.
T his setback may herald a new era in the
global system, fundamentally altering the
political and economic balance of power. The
post-crisis era also looks certain to shake the
established institutions, rules and players, re-
defining a gradually emerging “new world or-
der” that will likely cut back the influence and
power of super-majors such as the US, Japan
and the EU to the benefit of BRICs.
Tomorrow’s EU turning into
“Euro-Disneyland” ?
To maintain its current position, let alone
compete with others, the EU needs to recon-
nect its priorities and interests with the cur-
rent and anticipated challenges faced by its
people; demonstrate visibly the 21st century
relevance of the concept “Europe” if it is
not going to become a “Euro-Disneyland”
of the world; and give the policy answers to
these challenges first and then let institutional
change help deliver them; rather than the oth-
er way round.
This is to say that, unless Europe takes sur-
gical action soon, its further economic and
political decline is almost inevitable. Without
comprehensive reform, Continental Europe’s
overprotected, overregulated economies will
continue to slow down and deteriorate. This
does not mean that Italy, Germany, France,
the UK, and other now-prosperous countries
will become poor; on the contrary, their stan-
dard of living will remain comfortable. It is
the division between “old and new Europe”
which will deepen. Europe’s political and eco-
nomic clout could become less relevant on
the world scene.
The prospects could be even worse if the ag-
ing population will put greater strain on the
62 | COLUMNIST
public health and social security burdens, if
the erosion of its international competitive-
ness in relation to China and India (and other
emerging “tigers”) will continue, if the trans-
Atlantic dialogue with the United States does
not go further than where it is, if Russia and
Ukraine are not somehow accommodated
within or with the EU, and if the EU cannot
pull its act together to become a single voice
in foreign, security and energy policies.
Why did I become a
euro-sceptic ?
I do not want to sound like a doomsday
alarmist because there are also positive devel-
opments to inspire optimism, and the future
can turn for a better course if right actions
and approach are taken in a timely manner.
However, against the preceding context and
because of the bad way Turkey has been
treated by the EU over the past half a cen-
tury, I cannot help but tend to be more euro-
sceptical than euro-phile.
The longer one lives on this island, less than
an hour’s ferry ride from Calais to Dover, the
closer one becomes to the viewpoint of the
“euro-sceptics club.” We know that the Brit-
ish have never been terribly popular members
of the EU from the outset. It is no wonder
why its membership of the EU had been
vetoed several times during the tenure of
France’s Charles de Gaulle. Long before they
joined, many Continental Europeans thought
the British were too different to be construc-
tive members of what was then the European
Economic Community. London has always
preferred its American cousins across the At-
lantic and valued Commonwealth relations.
However, the Brits are honest. They do not
hide their dislike of the Continental Europe-
Mehmet Öğütçü
Director of BG Group Energy Holding
ans’ approach to economy and life, and gen-
erally despise the federalist vision of Europe.
But when it comes to implementing the ac-
quis communautaire, they are more effective
than most fervent members of the “federal
Europe” dream do.
There is of course no unanimity of opinion
on Europe with New Labour, Tories and Lib-
eral Democrats often taking some divergent
paths. Yet, a doubting stance lingers on and I
have happily acquired this virus here.
Over the years, I have come to empathise
with the euro-sceptical approach, particularly
while working professionally with EU institu-
tions and politicians. My views have become
stronger after having closely observed the
bureaucracy and inefficacy of the European
Commission, squandering its annual €133 bil-
lion budget, whilst the European Parliament
makes unfocused and inconsistent decisions
backed by uncapped salaries and fringe ben-
efits. Few good long-term strategic decisions
are made. Low performance levels plague
many policy initiatives. There is a general in-
sensitivity and arrogance harboured, when
not openly displayed, towards other cultures
and interests.
Playing Devil’s Advocate
My discussion with those opposed to Tur-
key’s EU accession on whatever grounds, be
it economic, religious, cultural, geographic or
political, usually begins with the statement
that “actually, we also do not look warmly on
accession prospects, just like you, but for a
variety of different reasons”. This serves as a
cold shower and strong reminder that Turks
should not be taken for granted and are not
clinging to their coat tails. Then, list the good
reasons, without empty rhetoric, why Turkey

should not be interested in membership if the
Turkish accession dossier will continue to be
handled the way it is currently being done.
What has often been forgotten in Europe
is that the level of support as indicated by
opinion polls and re-wording of the political
party manifestos regarding the EU is declin-
ing in Turkey. There is a large and growing
opposition inside Turkey to entry into the EU
–emanating from not only ultra-nationalists,
religious fanatics or hard-line soldiers keen on
sovereignty and suspicious of the “real” in-
tentions of the EU. Plus, the unfairness and
hypocrisy displayed on the Cyprus settlement
have further fuelled anti-accession sentiment
in the country.
At any rate, the feeling is that we do not have
to prove Turkey is an essential part of this his-
torical-geographical territory called Europe.
We have been living in this space for much
longer than most new EU members. We are
proud to be Europeans, but at the same time
Caucasian, Middle Eastern, Mediterranean,
and Balkan – none of other Europeans have
such a rich diversity and wide outreach.
There is no question that the EU is suffer-
ing from enlargement fatigue. There is wide-
spread concern, rightly or wrongly, that Ro-
mania and Bulgaria may have been admitted
prematurely. Even before the current crisis,
commentators in Brussels were betting on
Croatian accession in 2011 (although that is
looking increasingly problematic), with ac-
cession for Turkey and the Western Balkans
effectively kicked into the long grass, behind
a fig-leaf of extended membership talks with
no momentum.
The EU has regrettably lost much of its repu-
tational capital in the eyes of most Turks in
the street. To my great surprise, the youth,
both well educated and self-confident, as well
as strong nationalists, are more sceptical of
the EU than the “old guards”. Sarkozy and
Merkel have not helped much by insisting on
the so-called “privileged partnership” at the
expense of undermining the basic tenets of
the “pacta sunt servanda” (Latin for “agree-
ments must be kept”). These are not to say
that Turks have done their bit of homework
and met their obligations, and that all the
blame should be on the EU’s door.
EU’s pre-accession strategy has somewhat
eroded motivations for membership and trig-
gered nationalistic reactions in Turkey. The
widening gap between unfulfilled expecta-
tions and the EU’s functioning feeds public
euro-scepticism. EU’s unceasing reform de-
mands and reluctance for Turkish accession
have further fuelled mistrust, focusing the
‘EU debate’ on the cost of accession without
much in the way of economic benefits while
putting on a “strait jacket” in many areas of
vital importance – a perfect example of asym-
metrical relationship.
Communicating on the same
wavelength
Frankly speaking, I take particular pleasure at
airing contrarian views on this issue and being
part of the debate as to why Turkey might be
better off without full membership.
The real cost to the EU of Turkey’s non-ac-
cession needs to be visibly highlighted. After
all, there are already more than enough un-
conditional pro-EU supporters in Turkey.
Hence, what we need are people who can act
as qualified ‘Devil’s Advocate’ and show those
Turkey-bashing souls that there is the other
side to the coin and Turkey cannot be pushed
around at their pleasure.
Our objective in doing so of course is not
to disparage the EU to the point of leading
people to think that there is ‘no real future
for Turkey in the EU; we should turn our face
towards the east or the north’, as some of my
compatriots propose. Instead, our aim is to
inject a healthy dose of realism and scepti-
cism to the generally rosy vistas presented to
us, as well as to encourage the development
of a balanced and acceptable ‘give and take’
approach for the accession process.
As Turkey’s opponents argue, it is true that
the eventual accession will considerably
change the future outlook of both Turkey and
the EU. Surely, the EU with Turkey as a mem-
ber will look quite different from anything its
founding fathers ever envisaged. The Union
will face the challenge of fundamentally re-
defining itself, progressively changing from an
entity largely concerned with economic and
social redistribution via its agricultural, cohe-
sion and structural funds into a global actor
that invests more on competitiveness, infra-
structure, research and development, pov-
erty reduction, military capability, and border
protection. Admittedly, this process will not
be easy politically, since there will be strong
COLUMNIST | BN MAGAZINE
opposition from domestic sectors, adversely
affected, in nearly every country including in
Turkey.
Hence, whether Turkish accession will be for
better or worse in the final analysis depends
very much on how both sides will agree to
interact from the outset towards a commonly
perceived vision.
Let’s not devalue EU’s
achievements
To be fair, we should be thankful for the ideal-
ism and faith shown by the European Union’s
founders. No doubt, the EU is the biggest
political union and largest economic market
in the world, whose citizens live in democracy,
peace, freedom and prosperity. The EU has
achieved many stunning successes in its his-
tory.
It has engineered the Single Market, moved “a
bit” the Lisbon 2010 competitiveness agenda
forward; the Schengen agreement worked,
and Brussels is currently leading the way with
the global climate change agenda. The EU of
course is committed to creating a single area
of freedom, justice, and security. It is also try-
ing to achieve energy supply security without
antagonising Russia. The track record leaves
us with mixed feelings.
Yet, today these are not enough to justify the
existence of the EU to a different generation
living in different times.
The fact is there are serious blockages in the
EU system right now and if these are not
cleared and, if radical new structures are not
put in place instead of the current cosmetic
changes then it is inevitable that the inner EU
bickering will only become more aggravated
and ultimately irreparable. If this happens
then no one would expect the EU to have any
real impact anymore on the global system. It
will be relegated to a regional bloc status.
Continuing subjects in the next issue
*What is in it for us?
*Turkey to become a precious asset and the
EU a “strait-jacket”?
*How should negotiations be conducted?
*Redefining the Turco-EU roadmap
*Judge Turkey not based on how it looks
today
COLUMNIST | 63
BN MAGAZINE | COLUMNIST
The ‘otherification’ of Turkey and the
EU Parliament elections
The European Parliament elec-
tions underlined several defects
in the EU project. At every
critical juncture, Europe is opt-
ing for distancing itself from a
United States of Europe.
The only light at the end of the
tunnel is the result of the Irish
vote, where the Eurosceptic
Sinn Fein failed to win a seat in
the European Parliament. But
there are signs of traps for the
future of the union: In almost
“
all the major countries of Eu-
rope, the conservative parties
won the elections. Even more
The European alarming is the fact that ex-
treme nationalist parties fared
Parliament will be surprisingly well.
populated by MEPs
Results in the United Kingdom
who are against the are representative of the gen-
very existence of that eral European voting patterns:
The left-wing government sus-
”
parliament. tained a huge blow, conserva-
tives and Eurosceptics did well
and the ultranationalist Brit-
ish National Party managed
to find seats in the European
Parliament. Not good news
for supporters of the further
enlargement of Europe, not
good news for immigrant com-
munities and not good news
for Turkey.
The overall turnout of voters
was even lower than expected.
This means two things at the
same time: European institu-
tions still mean little to, let’s say,
a German voter, and we cannot
deduce results about future na-
tional votes from these results.
Understandably, opposition
parties that rely on a reaction-
ary mood, issue-oriented par-
Kerim Balcı ties like the Greens and parties
Columnist,Today’s Zaman with a strong ideological mes-
sage are more apt in mobiliz-
ing their supporters to spare
their hours to go to ballot box.
64 | COLUMNIST
Though this explains the re-
cent surge of the environmen-
talist, rejectionist, anti-union
and anti-immigration parties,
this also means that the EU
Parliament is losing its touch
with its raison d’être.
The United Kingdom Inde-
pendence Party (UKIP) re-
ceived 14.4 percent of the vote
and secured 13 seats in the Eu-
ropean Parliament. The greater
winner of the elections, the
Conservative Party, is already
critical of certain European
policies. Even worse is the fact
that the British Nationalist
Party (BNP) received 6.5 per-
cent of the vote and secured
two seats in the European Par-
liament. One of those seats
will be occupied by the very
leader of BNP, Nick Griffin, a
staunch enemy of immigrants.
Why does a party that says
“No!” to the European Union
join the parliamentary election
of that union? The only expla-
nation is this: “They are com-
ing in order to block political
processes; especially those that
account for the further uni-
fication of Europe.” It is for
sure that Nick Griffin is going
to be a natural ally of Nico-
las Sarkozy in the European
Parliament by means of their
common antagonism to “the
coming of Turks.” Suprana-
tional politics creates strange
marriages. I am sure that a
Frenchmen would be the latest
“thing” Griffin would like to
cooperate with.
Only in countries where the
governments are already anti-
immigration, anti-enlargement
and anti-Turkey, the govern-
ments retained their domi-
nant positions in the election:
France and Germany are good
examples. But in countries
where the governments are
left wing, open to the further
enlargement of the EU and
openly supportive of Turkey’s
membership to the union, the
opposition parties scored high:
Portugal, Spain and Italy are
such cases. Even in Greece the
ruling party lost the race in the
face of the main opposition
party, the Panhellenic Social-
ist Party (PASOK), where the
ultra-right Popular Orthodox
Rally (LAOS) increased its
MEPs from one to two and
vote to 7.2 percent.
In Latvia, the Russian ethnic
vote made its presence felt
for the first time after the in-
dependence of the country in
1991. In the Czech Republic,
the right won a clear victory. In
Hungary, an anti-globalization
party, the Movement for a Bet-
ter Hungary, came out of the
blue and won three seats in the
European Parliament.
There is no use in giving more
examples. The clear fact is this:
The European Parliament will
be populated by MEPs who
are against the very existence
of that parliament. This says
a lot about the future of the
EU. Anti-Turkism, anti-en-
largement, anti-immigration,
anti-globalization and anti-uni-
fication are all represented by
the same people, and they are
at the same time increasing. If
European leaders continue to
demonize immigrants in gen-
eral and the prospective mem-
bership of Turkey to the union
in particular, they will also be
inciting the fires of separatism
and Euroscepticism among
their own constituencies.
 BN MAGAZINE | POLITICS

Involving More
Women in UK Politics
John Pindar

One thing that has been a constant theme of politics in the UK in the action’- by having ‘all-women short listed’. This was
past 20 years has been the need to have more women involved in politics, scrutinised later by the Judiciary on account of the
not for the benefit of women, but for the benefit of British society as a UK’s sex discrimination laws. A strategy
whole. used by the labour party and also helped
Blair gain the electoral landslide in 1997,
An interesting comment comes in a book written by Lesley Abdela, was to put up the percentage of women
‘Women with X Appeal’. She says: ‘Practically every week, in every politi- MPs to 20 percent of the
cal party, people are saying, both at internal meetings and in public, they House of Commons. Some
hope more women will stand for elected office and especially for Parlia- of the new MPs, though,
ment.’ In fact, she wrote this after a general election (1987) when only 2.7 became known, disparag-
percent of the MPs elected to the UK House of Commons were female. ingly, as ‘Blair’s babes’ and
seemed at the time to be
Today however, the situation seems to have generally improved for wom- ultra-loyalist to the leader-
en. The UK and Turkey have female representation in their national par- ship.
liaments in the order of 20 and 9 percent. The four ‘best’ countries in the
world are Rwanda (57 percent),
Sweden (47 percent), Cuba
(43 percent) and Finland (42 “For the 2010 general election,
percent). The highest amount
of female ‘power’ (women in
the Cabinet) is in Finland (58
a system of ‘mentoring’ and
percent) and the country with
the most dramatic rise in female
‘positive encouragement’ is be-
representation is Kyrgyzstan,
from zero percent to 25 percent ing used to help women win
in one election. In the context
of the current European elec-
tions, the European Parliament
parliamentary seat selections in
also has a good track record for
female representation. good prospect constituencies”
In some countries, such as the
UK, women have faced both
structural and attitudinal problems in the past. I will explain that. The
UK has a first past the post voting system for parliamentary elections
which means it is vital for women to be selected
for the ‘right’ seats where they have a serious
chance of winning. The Conservative
party had a reputation for only
selecting candidates for Par-
liament who came ‘with
wives’. The greatest
change to this situation
came in 1997, namely
by altering selections in
parliamentary seats with the use of ‘positive

66 | POLITICS

One of the UK’s devolved parliaments, the Welsh
Assembly, has produced a 50-50 female-male
split without the need for a ‘structural process’.
However, help has been provided significantly
by the use of a proportional representation
system of voting.
The Liberal Democrats have used one struc-
tural mechanism, namely ‘zipping’, producing
an alternating male-female-male or female-
male-female rank order in the first elections to
the European Parliament to be fought under a
PR voting system. Currently, seven of the 11 UK
Lib Dem MEPs are female. For the 2010 general
election, a system of ‘mentoring’ and ‘positive
encouragement’ is being used to help women
win parliamentary seat selections in good
prospect constituencies.
There is an established organisation: ‘gender
balance task force’ which provides train-
ing for women parliamentary candidates.
However, in some cases female Lib Dem
parliamentary candidates or incumbent fe-
male Lib Dem MPs end up in the election
standing against Conservative or Labour
female candidates. Nonetheless, the extent
to which the Lib Dems can add an extra
POLITICS | BN MAGAZINE
25 seats to the current total of their MPs, will disproportionately
improve female representation in the parliamentary party. The
first person from a Chinese background to fight a seat in the
mainland UK is standing as a Lib Dem candidate- and is female.
One route for women in UK politics is local government and
there are many female Lib Dem councillors. And there is likely to
be more women in politics by 2010. Being a local councillor can
involve having real power and certainly making a difference to
people’s lives.
Clearly, the battle to have more women involved in UK politics
has been partly won, despite having had Margaret Thatcher as
Prime Minister. Women from the Turkish community could add
their talents to the political process. You will now have, in this
decade, less structural problems to deal with. You should certain-
ly consider the idea of being a local councillor- especially if your
local council is doing absolutely zilch for its people. One level of
government, which could be a great advertisement for the diver-
sity of London, but fails in that respect, is the Greater London
Assembly. Given it has 25 members, some of them elected by
a London wide ‘top-up’ list; it would be of great significance to
have one of its members from the Turkish community.
As I said at the beginning, involving more women in politics, and
from different backgrounds, is of immense value to the entire
community in London and indeed the UK.
POLITICS | 67
BN MAGAZINE | COLUMNIST
A General Review of UK-Turkey
Trade Relations
T he UK is one of the key
countries for Turkey in
terms of trade and economic
relations. UK is the 6th larg-
est export market and the 10th
largest import market for Tur-
key. From the UK side, Turkey
ranks as the 19th import and
24th export market.
Currently, the monthly value
“
of goods traded between the
two countries is around 406
million GBP each month. As
In 2009, the of end of 2008, the trade vol-
global downturn has ume reached 7.2 billion GBP,
with 4.7 billion GBP of ex-
aversely affected the ports from Turkey to UK and
trade outlook
The primary import categories from Turkey to
between
UK comprises of textiles and clothing, automo-
”
Turkey and UK.
tive and spare parts and electrical
home appliances
2.5 billion GBP of imports
from UK to Turkey.
The primary import categories
from Turkey to UK comprises
of textiles and clothing, au-
tomotive and spare parts and
electrical home appliances.
Turkey’s share in the import
market of UK is; textiles and
clothing 8,7%, refrigerators
12%, televisions 8,6% and au-
tomotive and spare parts 1.8%.
Turkish imports from UK
concentrate around medicines,
iron and steel, passenger cars
and automotive spare parts,
machinery and yachts and lei-
sure boats.
Murat Yapıcı
Chief Commercial Counsellor In 2009, the global downturn
has adversely affected the
trade outlook between Turkey
68 | COLUMNIST
and UK. In line with the con-
traction in the UK economy
-which is among the hardest
hit countries- the trade vol-
ume is displaying a downward
trend. For the first two months
of 2009, imports from Tur-
key decreased by 31%, while
exports to Turkey decreased
by 24%. However, it is worth
noting that, although the pe-
riods of economic downturn
are difficult times, they also
present valuable opportunities.
The markets contract during
downturns, however they also
become very dynamic as many
players leave the market, leav-
ing opportunities for newcom-
ers. Thus, the crucial abilities
of survival for international
players are the right positioning
of the products and internal
management of the company
in terms of pricing and costs.
In terms of bilateral trade,
there are many opportunities
to establish and enrich the busi-
ness relations. Turkey can serve
as an excellent source for trade
with the high quality and cost-
effective selection of products
with short and reliable deliv-
ery times. Also, outsourcing
is another opportunity to be
taken especially for automo-
tive spare parts, machinery or
shipbuilding sectors. Construc-
tion Industry, technical textiles,
testing and certification, joint
production of chemicals for
environmental use are only
some of the sectors for fruitful
partnership opportunities. It is
worth noting that, Turkey has
one of the most developed lo-
gistics infrastructure in the re-
gion and with close links to the
neighbouring countries, she
can serve as a very efficient dis-
tribution base. These fields of
cooperation serve to increase
the global competitiveness of
the two countries.
Another facilitator for trade is
the Turkey-EU Customs Un-
ion, which was established in
1996. The agreement covers
mainly industrial goods in-
cluding processed agricultural
goods.
Within the context of this
agreement, Turkey and EU
eliminated customs duties and
trade barriers between each
other and Turkey started to ap-
ply Common Custom Tariffs
of the EU for trade with third
countries. Therefore, Turkish
and UK businesses can trade
with no or low customs duties,
just like doing business with
an EU member country. This
already established framework
continues to play a fundamen-
tal role in our trade relations
and makes the difference for
trading with Turkey from the
EU business perspective.
 BN MAGAZINE | BUSINESS

Is Russell a Brand?
Sinem Özbaşlı

The traditional perception of branding has been changing. Marketers have

been branding everything from water to individuals. Celebrities like David
Beckham convert their names into valuable brands and market
themselves.
The term brand is a derivation of the word “brandr”. Historically, animal
owners used to stamp their livestock to differentiate them
from others. However, in the contemporary consuming age,
marketers brand everything from water to individuals in
order to distinguish them from competitors. General-
ly, branding term is applied to organizations, product
and services. However, recently celebrities have
started to brand their names. Like Russell
Brand, Paris Hilton, David Beckham, or
Gordon Ramsey; they register their names
and protect all of their brand rights.

Celebrities not only market themselves by endorse-

ment, but they also sell their own products such as
clothing, perfumes, books, sauce pans and so on.
So, celebrity brands can be classified as actors,
musicians, models, directors, radio personalities,
writers, singers, athletes,
musicians, politi-
cians, and even
royalty. All in
all, traditional
identifica-
tion of
brand
has
changed,
currently
celebrities
are also con-
sidered as
brands.

70 | BUSINESS

Why do we brand things?
David Beckham * First of all, celebrities can be man-
aged professionally the same as prod-
uct brands can be. Celebrities
have image makers to make
celebrities fashionable and
attractive in the way their
audience wants to see
them.
* Secondly, all aspects
of marketing mix are
used in order to sell
celebrity brands. Those
elements are product,
price, place, promotion,
physical evidence, personnel,
packaging, public relations, and
also political power.
* Generally brand names should
be simple, easy to remember, fa-
miliar, and distinctive. As a re-
sult most celebrities change their
original names with easily recog-
nizable names. For instance, the
original name of Tiger Wood was
Eldrick Woods or Tom Cruise’s
real name was Thomas Cruise Ma-
pother IV.
* Celebrities can protect their names
by trademarks as product brands
protect their names, and identities.
For example, David Beckham has
protected a graphic representation of
his characteristic free kick by register-
ing trademark.
* Furthermore, as brands have func-
tional and emotional features, so do
celebrity brands. David Beckham is a
BUSINESS | BN MAGAZINE
good example of the functional mean-
ing e.g. bends a ball from 30 yards),
and emotional aspects e.g. his charis-
ma and charm.
* Also, fame is not given to celebrities;
they earn it by their achievements and
their jobs’ quality. In that case Paris
Hilton could be an exception, because
she was born with a silver spoon in her
mouth. However, Gordon Ramsey be-
came famous for his talent in cooking.
* Another important criterion is brand
associations between celebrities and
endorsed products/services. Therefore,
they can easily affect consumers’ at-
titudes toward products/services. For
example, Coca Cola invested $ 25
million in advertising campaign with
Bill Cosby and it was a great success.
However, Bill Cosby failed in the
E.F. Hutton endorsement. Therefore,
celebrities’ character and product at-
tribute should meet in order to build
strong brand association.
* Finally, employer brands like
Manchester United Ltd’s players can
call themselves celebrity brands as
well. Therefore, players have become
commercial brands and make profit
out of their activities. For instance,
David Beckham who is perceived as
the king of the celebrities, described as
sporting hero, fashion icon, parental
role, model, and global merchandise
machine. When he shaves his head,
thousands of young men all around
the world shaved their heads as
Beckham did.
BUSINESS | 71
Building Manager by Day
Graphic Designer by Night
Halil Yıldırım

H alil is one of a growing number of Turkish profession-

als who earns their living from two jobs. His passion
is Graphic Design yet he earns a living working as a
Building manager in Portobello Dock; notably known as the es-
tate contestants of the popular TV show “The Apprentice” lived
during last years series.

Halil’s journey began by studying Computer Engineering at Univer-

sity. It wasn’t long before he found that this path was not right for
him, and so took the decision to leave. He then went onto complete
a degree in both Fine Art and Industrial design, at the same time!
This proved to be testing times for Halil but nonetheless, proved to
be the right choice, as through this endeavor, he began to realize his
strengths, which gave him the encouragement to leap onto a Master’s
Degree in Graphic design. Halil comments “Art and design as well as
learning to fit a million things into a single day provided a fantastic
backdrop to learning to balancing my day job and my dream job.”

During his day job as a Building Manager, Halil comes into contact
with individuals from a number of different business backgrounds,
which provides him with a great source to find new and potential
clients for his freelance Graphic Design work. Establishing connec-

“
tions and networking through daily interactions have proven to be
fruitful in adding to his repertoire which in turn is increasing his client
base. Halil states: ‘It is my biggest ambition to one day to start my own
design studio and earn a living from by Graphic Design.’

Through the success of his freelance work, it is not surprising that

Halil is often approached with questions as to why he doesn’t pursue
Graphic Design fulltime. Halil is quite coy in his response, but feels Exhausting as my lifestyle
that, the day job provides him with a certain degree of security, that in
fact allows him to be adventurous and free within his design. He quite may seem, being able to do
often remarks that, even if your artwork is published in magazines and
has extensive experience having taught graphic design at university what I love, even if it is only
level doesn’t guarantee you a successful career...
part time, make the long
He admits that it is extremely enduring combining his day job with
his dream job, especially within the current economic climate. Halil hours and everything else
believes that the time is not yet right to expand further on his design,
by giving up his day job. Nevertheless, he truly does believe that he is that comes with it
getting closer and closer to his dream.
worthwhile.
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BN MAGAZINE | CAREERS

n d a n c y
Re i c M i s t adu
k e s
C l a s s t to quic
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e

The
ti o n b u th e r e is
ve no op e
“Each tim ancy’
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“There a w, and it’s likely
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74 | CAREERS

Classic mistakes
firms make
1 Getting the consultation process wrong:
Employees must be informed of redundancy
proposals before consultation begins. Where more
than 20 people are to be made redundant at one
establishment within a period of 90 days, consulta-
tion must last 30 days and the employer is obliged
to consult employee representatives (and the
statutory dismissal procedures applying before
6 April do not apply). If this did not occur,
then each affected employee who should have
been consulted would be entitled to 13 weeks
actual pay as compensation for the failure of
the company not to consult with employee
representatives.
2 Using “last in, first out” (LIFO) as a
way to pick people: This can have the
unfortunate side effect of discriminating
against someone because of their age. A
recent High Court case (Rolls Royce PLC
–v- Unite the Union [2008] EWHC 2420)
has now helped to clarify the position
and decided that, although discrimina-
tory, the criteria could be objectively
justified as pursuing a legitimate aim.
This means that if LIFO rewards the
loyalty and experience of long serving
employees, an employer may be able
to justify using the principle.
3 Discriminating against “dif-
ficult” employees: Employees
must be measured equally against
the same criteria. The process is
designed to be fair to all employees.
4 Leaving pregnant employ-
ees or those on maternity
leave out of the process: While
you can’t use pregnancy or
maternity as a reason to pick an
employee for redundancy; it’s also
not a reason to not place someone
at risk of redundancy. This is be-
cause excluding them could make
it unfair to those who are not on
maternity.
CAREERS | BN MAGAZINE
İpek Ayşe Sayın
5 Not being able to justify why you have
picked the people who will be made redun-
dant: You must be able to provide evidence of
selection and how those at danger were scored. If
an employee is made redundant and the employer
cannot justify a redundancy state of affairs then the
employee will have a claim for unfair dismissal. An
employee with more than one years’ continuous em-
ployment has the right not to be unfairly dismissed.
Any redundancy dismissals that have taken place
before 6 April 2009 must have complied with the
old statutory dismissal procedures. Failure to comply
with will have rendered the dismissal automatically
unfair. From 6 April onwards, the only principles
governing redundancy dismissals will be those estab-
lished by case law that primarily was reported before
October 2004 before the statutory procedures were
introduced.
Also the limits on payments and awards made to
workers in certain employment tribunals in employ-
ment rights cases have risen. The increased limits
affect the following areas: statutory redundancy pay-
ments; the basic and compensatory award for unfair
dismissal and the limit of guarantee payment made
when employees are not provided with work.
Failure to give adequate consideration to alternative
action is another danger area. There may be plenty of
options – including a shorter working week, pay cuts,
or redeployment to another branch of the business.
“There’s always the risk that disgruntled redundancy
candidates will demotivate the rest of the workforce,
or even commit acts of sabotage,” warns Edwards.
“I once acted for a caterer who feared a canteen cook
facing dismissal would put something nasty in the
soup. The over-riding need to safeguard the business
should be balanced with treating the person as fairly
as possible.”
The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Develop-
ment (CIPD) claims that an employer loses £16,375
for every employee laid off, even before costs like
higher labour turnover and a fall in staff productivity
are factored in.
CAREERS | 75
 BN MAGAZINE | BUSINESS
NEW media
marketing
Hikmet Nakilcioğlu
The definition of media has been reshaped in the new millen-
nium. Nowadays its tools serve to facilitate communication,
making recommendations and enable discovering and build-
ing communities.
The cutting edge of the new media can be found in social
networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn and
Friends Reunited. Apart from their communicative functions
such social networks are also used as new marketing tools and
are widely taken into consideration when setting strategies.
Social media has recently emerged
as an important communication
“Facebook can be an efficient tool for are
tool, internet usage and the amount canalising traffic to a company’s site and corporate image, improve internal
of time spent online in both leisure possibly generating additional revenue. “ communications, and reach out to
and work hours strongly indicate
this. As Internet allowed more and
more interaction, human relations have been shifting from being
group-based to being network-based. Social networks are main-
tained through communication among members who can share in-
terests and activities within online platforms. The websites generally as exciting as the growth period of new media.
provide various methods of communication for members, who can
interact through messaging, email, video, voice chat, file-sharing,
blogging and via discussion groups. There are now a wide variety
of social networks built around gaming, business, politics, dating,
friendship or virtual worlds.
Even though social networks have predominantly been used as com-
munication platforms, now they have also become marketing tools.
Since their introduction they have been commonly used for present-
ing oneself to the world online, sharing interests, keeping up with
friends and making social arrangements. Now marketing is added to
this set of functions. MySpace has gained a recognition and reputa-
tion in the business world due to its music channels and other mar-
keting opportunities.
Facebook was initially considered as a playground for people who
are looking to keep up with friends. As such, Facebook often gets
overlooked by people in the business world who see it as a waste of
time. But despite these prejudices, Facebook can be an efficient tool
for canalising traffic to a company’s site and possibly generating ad-
ditional revenue.
76 | BUSINESS
With advances in new media and web technology it is now easier for
organizations, their employees, suppliers, customers and stakehold-
ers to participate in the creation and management of relationships. It
is important to figure out how a corporate communication strategy
can leverage and shape these trends. New media services can be em-
ployed to work in tandem with traditional communication tools such
as phone, fax and corporate intranets. Such a hybrid approach could
enable organizations to maintain and strengthen existing stakeholder
relationships, but also reach out and build relationships with new
stakeholders who were previously inaccessible or invisible. In this
context the new web-based tools
used by corporations to interact
with existing customers, maintain a
new markets and
audiences.
The revolution in information technology changed the current shape
of this fast-moving sector. What happens next is less clear, but just
 
Here are 5 tips on creating Facebook business pages:
Get Involved — It is better to set up your Facebook profile with
your name, not the business.
Look for Old Co-Workers and Current Connections — Finding
people you know helps you stay connected.
Join or Create a Group — Facebook has various special interest
groups, such as; business, hobbies, politics, sports, alumni, and many
others. These groups will open up more opportunities to meet and
make “new friends”. Starting your own group will also allow you
toattract people to your interests.
Look for Events — Using face-to-face networking or meetings are
the best online relationship methods. Looking for events or creating
your own will help you improve relationships.
Add Applications Selectively — There are over 2000 Facebook
applications that you can add to your page. Some of them are not
suitable for your business. You should add the ones which are related
to you. 
 100 extra international minutes
free when you top up £15
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 Ozan Adan

The Energy Perspective

One of the most controversial
types of modern day energy is
clearly nuclear. There are more
than 400 nuclear power plants on
Earth, which produce a mere 16
percent of the world’s electricity.
Although, nuclear energy reduces
CO2 levels by 2 billion metric tons
per year, there are side effects that
perhaps this generation might not
encounter

Solar Australia – Australians man-

Solar companies seemed to be overwhelmed
with the increasing global demand they are
currently facing. Key solar players such as
Spain and Germany have been hustling for
the market shares in larger economies out-
side the EU. China and the US have both
promised higher investment into renew-
able energy in the coming years. President
Obama suggested increasing solar invest-
ment by 83 percent costing the House of
Representatives $15 billion for this year
alone. China similarly promised to invest a
staggering $439.6 billion until 2020 for re-
newable energy projects. Germany, who is
world number two in solar production af-
ter Spain, is definitely one producer looking
away from home to horizons much further
away. However, distance has now become
a severe issue. Transporting the large and
sensitive panels will be costly and risky. Set-
ting up production lines closer to the market
seems to be the answer as long as there is a
guarantee of success.
age to contribute 525.4 mil-
lion tonnes of CO2 per per-
son a year (in 2005). Although
this is mainly from coal power
stations to generate electricity,
large changes are set to make
in order to alter this fact that
is affecting the world. The
Australian Prime minister has
put in an order for the largest
solar farm in the world to re-
duce the countries CO2 levels.
The project will cost around
$1.4 billion (Australian Dol-
lar) and will generate the same
electricity as one coal power
station (1,000MW).

Nuclear
One of the most controversial types of
modern day energy is clearly nuclear.
There are more than 400 nuclear power
plants on Earth, which produce a mere
16 percent of the world’s electricity. Al-
though, nuclear energy reduces CO2 lev-
els by 2 billion metric tons per year, there
are side effects that perhaps this genera-
tion might not encounter but might be
felt in future generations. Nuclear waste
is clearly, the main drawback of the en-
tire industry. The cost and time spent to
neutralise the waste is a chore nuclear
engineers can do without. The process is
complex, tedious and most certainly dan-
gerous. Radioactive metal rods are han-
dled through different cooling and stor-
ing stages by robotic arms. Initially they
are cooled in demineralised water for
about three years. Later they are chopped
up and after other processes are inevi-
tably transported in guarded vehicles to
nuclear waste complexes to be stores in
glass for years and years to come.
ENERGY | BN MAGAZINE
France – One of the leading
nuclear countries in Europe is
France. With over 50 nuclear
power plants, France produces
79% of the electricity is uses.
French introduction into nu-
clear power was triggered by
the oil crises in the 1970s which
lead to French authorities of
the time investing in there own
energy sources. With over 30
years experience in the industry
France is now helping US nu-
clear power plants the resolve
waste problems. The US has
the biggest nuclear power mar-
ket in the world and the French
Areva Company has begun
training some Americans on
its French sites already to help
with the waste issue. Areva is
also involved with the Savannah
Nuclear projects where the US
plans to convert some nuclear
weapons into energy.
Turkey – Newly appointed
Turkish energy minister Taner
Yildiz, has expressed that there
will not be any changes made
to the current Turkish nuclear
energy programmes. Yildiz also
expressed that, as a rapidly de-
veloping country, Turkey must
obtain nuclear power to be fully
recognised as a strong economy.
Prime minister Erdogan has
also secured nuclear deals with
the Russian Prime minister, Pu-
tin, in his recent visit. The two
prime ministers have agreed that
in total four reactors will be built
in Turkey by the Russians.
BN MAGAZINE | ENERGY
The Energy Perspective
Oil
Since the summer of 2008, oil prices had reached criti-
cal figures of $40 pb (per barrel). Considering the cost of
production for every barrel can come to around $50-60
pb, selling the product at less than $40 will inevitably harm
even the largest International Oil Corporation (IOC). Al-
though most IOC’s have enjoyed $140 pb during the
summer of 2008, the influx in prices since then has pre-
vented IOC investment in alternative energy sources, not
to mention investment in general. This also means that
existing projects have been generally halted. Optimism of
an economic recovery and astonishing production cuts
by OPEC has recently bumped prices near the $60 pb
mark. However, many still argue the worst is yet to come.
80 | ENERGY
Turkey - Turkish Petrol Company TPAO has been
in fruitless talks with Chevron, the U.S. IOC and
with RWE a leading German firm. Turkish officials
argue that the Black Sea contains 10 billion barrels
of oil and 1.5 trillion cubic meters of natural gas.
The deep sea drilling will require a large amount of
investment from both parties, as it will be an ex-
pensive method of exploration. TPAO, however, is
confident that with the help of other exploration
companies such as Exxon Mobil and Petrobas, ex-
ploitation of the resource should begin by 2016.
The Turkish authorities are also in a predicament
with the southern Cypriot exploration plans. South-
ern Cyprus has begun exploration research around
the seabed covering the island. Cypriot authorities
have struck agreements with Noble Energy, a US
based company. Turkish authorities strongly op-
pose any exploration without the agreement of
Turkish Cyprus. Cypriot leaders threaten to take
matters to EU and UN level further creating prob-
lems for the Turkish EU accession plans.
OPEC – The Organization of Petroleum Exporting
Countries has further reduced annual forecasts for
oil consumption. The US, the world’s leading en-
ergy consumer, has further cut demand by 1.5 mil-
lion barrels per day in April compared to last year
meaning demand will cut down 3.2%. Global de-
mand for oil has cut down 150,000 barrels per day
(bpd) to 84.03 million bpd.
Jordan – Royal Dutch Shell and Jordan have finally
signed a concessionary agreement for exploration
rights in the shale deposits. An estimated $540 mil-
lion will be initially spent on the project as an as-
sessment for potential. Jordan has an estimated 40
billion tons or oil shale deposits which would main-
ly supply the Jordanian people. The agreement is
subject to approval from the Jordanian parliament.

Wind
The increasing interest in wind energy
has arguably been sparked by many dif-
ferent reasons. The unpredictability of
oil prices is one clear reason. However,
the real phenomenon is the desire to feel
that we are being green. We are no longer
just buying electric cars that look absurd;
we are questioning where the electricity
actually comes from. This is a very pro-
found point to rise as most of the UK
electricity, for a long time, came from coal
power stations. This is about to change.
The EU has made it quite clear that with-
out good emission control technologies
most of these power stations will be de-
stroyed. Carbon capture techniques are
good examples of these, however still,
many pressure groups will not be happy
until they are all replaced by wind farms.
UK, Kent – The British authorities have
granted permission to create the worlds larg-
est offshore wind farm.
They have allocated a patch of sea 12 miles
off the Kent cost. This is part of the UK ini-
tiative to increase the amount of investment
going into the green energy sector. Den-
mark’s DONG, the German E.ON, and the
United Arab Emirates based Masdar will be
in partnership to build the construction. An
initial investment of $3 billion will be made
for 175 turbines to generate 630 megawatts,
which should be ready by 2012.
Then after, the partners will expand the proj-
ect to be able to generate approximately 1
gigawatt, enough to supply power for around
750,000 homes.
ENERGY | BN MAGAZINE
“The one who adapts his policy to the times prospers, and like-
wise that the one whose policy clashes
with the demands of the times does not.”
Niccolo Machiavelli (1469-1527)
scheme of things. Although, the Turkish
prime minister has recently visited Russia to
discuss above all “gas issues” for the com-
ing winter. Many suggest that Russian atti-
tudes and relations however, can change far
too easily over the course of the summer.
The Russian gas company Gazprom, is cur-
rently in talks with Azerbaijan to buy out
the gas originally designated to the Nabuc-
co project. This alone is a clear signal from
Moscow that business is business.
Iraq - The Iraqi central government has also
rejected any involvement with the Nabucco
project formerly promised by the Kurdistan
Regional Government (KRG).
Iraq is proven to have over 112 trillion cubic
feet of natural gas, which is dotted all over
the country.
The central government in Baghdad and the
KRG have both failed to come to any con-
crete decision regarding any of the country’s
Gas
energy policies and objectives.
Europe is desperately trying to find solu- The KRG has signed agreements with IOC’s
tions to its gas problems. The problem oblivious to Baghdad which they in turn au-
tomatically reject.
is mainly derived from the annually in-
creasing financial demands of the sup-
Nabucco is one of these agreements. Iraq
plier, Russia. Turkey is a key player in is struggling to attract large investments by
this solution. The sheer failure of the IOC’s who do not want to risk investment
Nabucco pipeline only demonstrates to a country that has so much potential yet
Russian resilience and utter opposition equally divided.
of the emergence of a gas competitor in
the EU. The Nabucco pipeline is aimed
at transporting gas from the Caucuses
and the Middle East to Austria straight
across Turkey. Ever increasing fore-
casted costs for the project seems to be
the least of the problem in the grand
ENERGY | 81
 BN MAGAZINE | PROPERTY

Buying Property in Turkey:

Why is it so popular?
In recent years, Turkey has emerged as a hotspot for European holidaymakers
and investors. Why now is the perfect time to invest in Turkish property?
Ayse Aslan / Director of MoveToTurkey

Since it first became possible in 2003, over coastline lapped by the warm turquoise wa- prove to be. They are still as good, whether at
73,000 foreigners – large numbers of Britons ters of the Mediterranean and Adriatic. Ev- £30,000 or £1million.
included - have purchased Turkish properties. erywhere around you, ancient ruins conjure
A thriving new-build property market quickly up the richness of its Lycean, Greek, Roman, While property prices in the UK, US and Eu-
materialised, spawned and nurtured by holi- Byzantine and Ottoman heritage. Long sun rozone famously plummeted, average prices
day visitors so entranced that they and over drenched summers, charming towns and vil- in Turkey’s tourist regions have quietly con-
55s retiring overseas alike are now flocking to lages, fine cuisine, a veritable cornucopia of tinued to rise at 10-15%. Albeit lower than
Turkey in droves. recreational activities and disarmingly friendly the preceding 5 years’ average of 22% per
local people weave their distinctive magic to year, this resil-
The attraction is obvious; over 300 days of complete the enchantment. ience amidst
sunshine a year, breathtaking landscapes, ev- global economic
erything a holidaymaker could possibly desire. Yet many in the UK are still surprised to dis- gloom augers
cover that Turkey is already the world’s num- well and points
Tourists, captivated by its natural beauty, his- ber 1 golfing venue and 8th most popular to Turkish prices
tory and perfect holiday environment, return tourist destination. Little wonder so many of being strongly
time after time to luxuriate in the experience. the more discerning are discovering that now influenced by a
But the well kept secret called Turkey is finally is the perfect time to invest in Turkish prop- combination of
out - visitors soared from 17 million in 2006 erty. conditions not
to nearly 30 million last year. generally mir-
Of the thousands who have already bought rored elsewhere.
Turkey is a priceless gem, set in seemingly holiday homes there, few realised at the time
endless miles of stunning what good invest- According to
ments those pur- Spain’s Ministry
chases of Tourism, for
would instance, arriv-
als from the UK
were down by
over 23% earlier
this year – bad
news for anyone relying on rental income to
meet mortgage repayments on massively de-
valued property, and especially those desper-
ate to sell at any price. Spain is far from alone
in feeling the pain.

The search is on with a vengeance for more

affordable holidays favouring destinations
that do not use the dollar or the euro. Hence
in Turkey’s spectacularly beautiful coastal re-
gions tourism is enjoying equally spectacular
growth. The 2009 Travel Trends Report joint-
ly published by the Foreign Office and ABTA
confidently reported that the number of Brit-

82 | PROPERTY

ons visiting Turkey last year had increased by
32%. Europe’s second largest travel operator,
Thomas Cook, expects to see this trend con-
tinue, reporting last month that the hottest
ticket this summer is a holiday in Turkey.
Unsurprisingly, the rapid expansion of tour-
ism is a major driver of the property market
in Turkish resort areas; quality self-catering
accommodation simply cannot be built as fast
as the demand for it is increasing. So canny
property investors seeking fertile ground for
capital growth eye with approval the Turk-
ish Government’s tourism strategy, spanning
massive infrastructure investment in airports,
highways, urban improvements and marinas,
with all construction subject to rigorously en-
forced planning and building control. Strict
conservation laws protect the environment
that draws visitors to Turkey, in a determined
endeavour to leave it unspoilt by the concrete
jungles found elsewhere around the Mediter-
ranean.
Turkey is a stable, modern democracy that
now ranks as the world’s 15th largest economy.
Its mature and dynamic private sector thrives
in an energising liberal and reformist invest-
ment climate that has seen GDP rise by 143%
and exports by 179% over the last 5 years.
Its burgeoning economy is underpinned by a
highly educated and motivated population of
73 million, of which 61% is aged under the
age of 34. This strategically vital member of
NATO has been in a Customs Union with the
EU since 1996 and is now an accession state.
For the present, however, its independence of
the EU enables its already buoyant real estate
market to develop, relatively unaffected by
sterling’s poor performance against the euro.
In this particular regard, Turkey is the envy of
emerging European countries such as Esto-
nia, Bulgaria, Poland and the Czech Republic.
A youthful and economically active popula-
tion also provides the established resales mar-
ket so essential to investors’ exit strategies. A
good investment must after all be realisable.
Crucially though, prices are still much lower
than in other Mediterranean countries and
property continues to yield good returns. Me-
dium to long-term investment prospects re-
main very promising.
PROPERTY | BN MAGAZINE
But investors buying in Turkey benefit in the
short-term, too. Transaction costs in Spain,
Greece, Cyprus or France can add as much as
10 -16% to the cost of purchasing a property,
compared with just 3% in Turkey. Similarly,
Spanish Income Tax is chargeable on rental
revenue, whereas such items of expense as
repairs and management fees are fully tax de-
ductible in Turkey, where only the profit on
rentals is taxable. Other running costs are also
very low, for example with annual Council
Tax chargeable at a mere 0.1% of the prop-
erty’s value.
UK citizens are reassured by
the avoidance of dual taxation
treaty that exists between the two
countries. In a move to encour-
age foreign investment in Turkey,
the Turkish Government also de-
cided that it will charge no Capi-
tal Gains Tax on properties pur-
chased by foreigners and owned
for more than 4 years.
The purchasing process itself
is much simpler than in many
countries and need not be a
daunting experience. Turkey has
a robust legal system that offers
protection to the overseas buyers
its Government’s policies actively
seek to encourage.
Just 4 comfortable hours’ flying time from a
host of UK airports, Turkey’s resort regions
are accessible year round as never before.
Direct services to resort airports such as
Dalaman, Antalya and Bodrum by low cost
charter airlines Easyjet, Pegasus and Onur
Air supplement holiday flights operated by
Monarch, Thompson and Thomas Cook, to-
gether with the scheduled services of Cyprus
Turkish Airlines.
PROPERTY | 83
BN MAGAZINE | ARCHITECTURE & COMMUNITY
European Approaches to Urban
Life and its Quality
Tamer Kızılağaç / Architect
For individuals to T here are a number of European literary exam-
ples based on the “Quality of Life” attributed to
maintain a good the evaluation of parameters often based on factors
like economic structures of society, civic environ-
standard of liv- ments (housing, work and social life), opportunities
of education, family structure or legislative
ing within their grounding.
found environ-
Much like the balance of these parameters, as our
ment concep- level of understanding about quality develops as our
expectations begin to change in relation to our ac-
tions such as, the customed surroundings. The fundamental issue here
notion “Quality is that city life is considered restricted and is often
associated to very tight living spaces. The expansion
of Life’ and vary- of tight-knit urban frameworks is arguably the most
common request of city dwellers and is often found
ing practices in to be quite an exciting concept. The notion of space
relation to it have within ones environment enhances ones “Quality of
Life”. This ideal is particularly important to Europe-
been subject to an Union’s current framework as is increasing qual-
ity of life; economic and social standing of society is
many speculative among the European Unions main objectives.
discussions. The agreement of applications
Increasing ones “Quality of Life” and continual en-
hancement within society is one of the main priori-
ties of the European Union, but with this, in 2000
the Lisbon Treaty set aside one target in particular.
The target set was that by the year 2010 the Euro-
86 | ARCHITECTURE & COMMUNITY
pean economy is to be one of the leading economic
competitors, with its youth bringing forth dyna-
mism and knowledge to a Global stage. For the Eu-
ropean Union to reach its targets, solely using eco-
nomic strategies are not enough. With the society
and cultural framework that exists within Europe,
it is vital that strategies for advancement must ac-
commodate and nurture the vast array of cultures
found within its framework. In this instance, social
and economical advances that are non-bias in move-
ment must be accepted. For European societies to be
considered a competitive society it is imperative to
improve the quality of social life. As a result, a “cul-
tural harvest” as it were, is what is needed for which
social / environmental integrations will follow. Pro-
tection of social and cultural diversity is as necessary
as the guarantee of a democratic perspective. This is
fundamental in creating a quality living space, as a
standard basic need, thus making ‘Architectural Poli-
cies and the Quality of Urban Living’ central to the
development of any policy within this framework.
All applications to improve the quality of life directly
or indirectly must be in agreement to one and other.
The European Union, in respect of architectural and
urban space is in many aspects behind in creating a
common political grounding. Aside
from the above; there are number of
factors that are prominent when it
comes to attributing cultural re-
lations as it is the public’s own
values and the general and lo-
cal management is what makes

investment approaches on an economic front
quite temporal. A way you can minimise this
result is by applying new “joint public poli-
cies” that accommodate these. The formation
of a constructed environment and urban de-
velopment of “joint public policies” needs to
be formed primarily from a local level leading
the way to a global platform. Countries that
are part of the European Union have through
education, attempted to push forward and
develop related built environments, and ar-
chitecture through investing in vocational
training. However, cultural and social values,
and the bringing together cooperation based
on economic principles are continuing to be
a difficult barrier to breakdown. It is exactly
this situation that continues to be top of the
agenda of priorities for the European Union
and advancement towards it global goals.
Understanding our environment
One of the most prominent approaches to
European architecture and the quality of life
of its people is in 1995, the book ‘European
Architecture and Tomorrow’ by the Archi-
tects Council of Europe, featured a report
that openly advised Europe on its structured
environments. In this report, architects living
in Europe discussed governmental establish-
ments and its authorities, drawing attention
to carefully put across the lack of social un-
derstanding towards these cultural urban envi-
ronments. Also drawing attention to the qual-
ity of living within its
societies by emphasising
how vital it is to under-
stand its environments,
and how this will in turn
ARCHITECTURE & COMMUNITY | BN MAGAZINE
increase the competitiveness of the European
Union.
In 2000, in respect of architecture, members
of the European Union established a Europe-
an Architectural Policies forum. Through this,
the decision to put forward writing regarding
European architectural quality was considered
crucial. As social awareness increases, the ne-
cessity to raise the standard of architectural
applications was further pressed upon. Aside
from this view, these writings discussed a lo-
cal policy management action plan for inte-
gration needs to be carried through. With re-
gard to architectural quality, a decision from
the European Union to support good quality
architecture for the societies living within the
urban environments in question, agreed that
this would lead to unification and progression.
Development in areas such as culture and
tourism would thus lead to regional economic
advancement and agreed to support these
approaches.
In 2004 the Architects Council of Europe,
published a second book on “Architecture and
the Quality of Life”. The European Parlia-
ment, reports how individuals and communi-
ties; both employers and consumers of these
products; - society at all levels, emphasizes the
importance and the quality of the social envi-
ronments to become cultural structures. Fur-
ther towards understanding talent and aware-
ness of Architectural norms, these ideals are
being implanted at early stages of education,
as early as nursery level gradually developing
to further levels.
The future is in the research
In light of such ‘constructive’ activeness, Ar-
chitectural Policies and Urban Quality of Life
proves evermore important to the develop-
ment of European Construction Technology,
further outlining the need for research sub-
jects within the building sector and related
construction environments. Results obtained
within this framework aims to support analy-
sis on these subjects, and have further brought
different active professional groups together
within the same sector, thus preparing a
ground for institutions that are seen to apply
different work disciplines to equally to create a
long-term vision on health and safety.
The ‘Quality of Life’ concept is grouped with
environment, health and safety subjects in Eu-
rope. If we view the same perspective as the
European Union, we will see economical tar-
gets conflicting with Social Cultural norms.
The ACE continues to criticize the Euro-
pean Commission, and defends how “Social
and Cultural dimensions aren’t recognized,
economical approach is hindering society in
their benefits”. At their last meeting the ACE
revealed the concept “Future designs, Market
and Lifestyle”. Yet again, highlighting neces-
sary improvements to European Urban Life-
style.
Architecture must be seen beyond designing
buildings and physical scenes, and observed as
a direct social economical environmental and
cultural influence. In the near future, we ex-
pect Architecture and Urban Quality of Life to
be present in the European Community and
Legal Organizations.
ARCHITECTURE & COMMUNITY | 87
 BN MAGAZINE | ARTS & CULTURE
Sulukule
Stolen Place / Lieu Volé
Halime Özdemir
Chronicle of Dispossession
16th May – 12th July 2009
T he exhibition Stolen Place / Lieu Volé
is an illustration of the impact of the
urban ‘regeneration’ project that is under-
way in Sulukule, Istanbul. Sulukule is no-
tably one of the oldest regions in Istanbul
inhabited by Roma people located next to
88 | ARTS & CULTURE
the ramparts an old Byzantium city. The
Sulukule regeneration project provoked
widespread public outcries against the local
municipal yet plans to proceed went ahead
in early 2006. Much of Sulukule has now
been demolished and the inhabitants (ap-
prox. 5000 people) now moved to the far
reaches of Istanbul to various housing proj-
ects or quite simply dispersed.
Sulukule: Stolen Place / Lieu Volé illustrates
a complex integration of films, photographs
and murals accompanied
by 3dimensional objects
in response to the events
and course of destruc-
tion in Sulukule; highlighting the strength
of this once tight knit neighbourhood and
civil society organizations involved.
The work is a response from artists around
Istanbul and across the world with activ-
ists, university students, professors, writers,
journalists having reflected on the devasta-
tion and the hierarchical influence of this
project, the findings of which feature in
this exhibition.

What is the Sulukule campaign?
The Sulukule campaign is aimed to high-
light the disadvantages of urban regenera-
tion projects that have ultimately lead to
the destruction of local heritage, disem-
powerment of communities and continuous
movement of people as we speak.
The Sulukule Platform and Human Settle-
ments, in collaboration with the Hafriyat
Gallery, artists and activists are proudly pre-
senting ‘Sulukule: Stolen Place’, in France
for the first time. Organised by Professor
at the Bilgi University and International
Project Coordinator at Santral Istanbul Dr
Asu Aksoy in collaboration with Aslı Kıyak
İngin, Designer and Architect, the exhibi-
tion is currently on show at the ‘Maison Fo-
lie Moulins’ in Lille, France.
This exhibition is the result of the in-
tervention Harfiyat in Istanbul, entitled
‘Sulukule’yi aldılar / darbukamı kırdılar!:
Yenileme, Yersizleştirme, Sulukule which
translates ‘They have confiscated Sulukule /
they broke my Drum!: Renovation, Travel,
Sulukule currently on display in Istanbul at
the Şükrü Pündük Gallery. The echoes of
this campaign of art and action two years
ago, entitled ‘Sulukule, 40 days and 40
nights’ continues to reverberate.
Sulukule is a devastating example of gentri-
fication led by the hand of State. Sulukule
has been dismembered to ensure plans to
replace this poor neighbourhood with villas,
parks, hotels and shopping malls can take
shape. Surely the interests of the inhabit-
ARTS & CULTURE | BN MAGAZINE
Photos by Nalan Yırtmaç
ants, whose cultural heritage has existed on
this land for hundreds of years should have
benefited from regeneration?
One of the points of historical value of
Sulukule is that it is known for is its dis-
tinguished musical heritage of the Roma
Gypsies, and as well as its culture and urban
structure.
Much like the ruins surrounding Sulukule,
it is now the people that have been dis-
persed. This exhibition is a testimony of
faith to show that another way is always pos-
sible. It is a source of hope that things could
change again; this is the very driving force
and inspiration of this show.
ARTS & CULTURE | 89
BN MAGAZINE | COLUMNIST
Humanity first...
T he saying is nice, but it is
missing. ‘If the shadows
of small men are lengthen in
somewhere, the sun is about to
set there.’ The missing part is
that: The real men do not have
shadows since the light does
not have a shadow. Men who
conceive the veracity truth of
“
being a human do not over-
shade, but shine.
Without knowing human be-
ing, one cannot achieve the se-
crecy of the truth. As long as
the human being is not recog-
The sum of the nized by its essence, a full can
never be recognised as a full
rescue packages whereas a whole can never be
a whole. A human being who
that has already could not attain the glazy ef-
been announced so ficiency of the wholeness can
”
not find his route to walk to-
far quadruples the wards his horizon. Alienated
cost of the even to itself, humanity may
lose the possibility of
World War II achieving the road to-
wards a synthe-
sis, whereat a
progress, and
a maturation
in the after-
math of trans-
forming the knowl-
edge into conscious.
Therefore, he is obliged
to live with the booms of
palpitations without reaching
any synthesis under the bar-
renness of those eternal thesis
and antithesis. Unfortunately,
where the capitalism carried
the humanity today by knock-
ing its essence down is this
coast of sterility.
The economic crisis, which has
been shaking the entire globe
as of the recent two years, is
Orhan Dede, Research Associate full of deep meanings that can
Illustration by cry the aforementioned real-
Tamer Kızılağaç ity out. The sum of the rescue
packages that has already been
90 | COLUMNIST
“We are sometimes much more alienated to
ourselves than others”
announced so far quadruples
the cost of the World War II.
Moreover, the evolution and
consequences of the crisis are
not exactly clear. As the French
philosopher Edgar Morin says,
‘Humanity, today, questions
himself with the surprise that
he feels against the world built
by himself.’ Since he questions
himself with this surprise, he
cannot predict how to weigh
anchor from the coast of ap-
prehensions he has been left
into. Unfortunately, the hu-
manity is continuously dragged
into new
surprises.
The major
issue of our age
is undoubtedly the
issue of human being.
What is going bankruptcy
nowadays is not the giant
companies; but, the men him-
self. Pointing to the mentioned
perspective after claiming that
‘The global financial crisis is
a divine warning,’ the Pope
Benedict XVI must be right
in a way. The recent economic
crisis must be a divine warning
with its meanings and reasons;
however, it is not possible for
the humanity to perceive those
warnings. Because the human-
ity has already turned himself
off to the meaning and spirit
La Rochefoucauld
by covering himself with the
considerable knowledge like
a blanket; and is not aware of
the philosophy of thought.
What has been neglected so
far is the human being that has
forgotten himself has lost his
test with prosperity today. This
test was a major one. Seyyid
Kutub makes great analysis on
the issue by pointing that sat-
isfaction (gusto) is an accumu-
lated energy; hence, extreme
satisfaction means extreme en-
ergy. The human being needs
ground to evacuate this
energy. It is very unfor-
tunate to determine that
the evacuation grounds in
today’s civilization show
itself in crimes such as
prostitution, use of alco-
hol and drugs, murders,
suicides... Therefore, the
humanity has lost in the
winning zone. ‘Satisfac-
tion is like salty water. As
much as you drink, you
get thirstier,’ Ali Unal
expresses. So, produc-
ing new remedies and cautions
turn out to be inevitable in or-
der to feed the need for satis-
faction.
As a consequence, the current
financial crisis we are going
through is not the first and will
not be the last. Until the hu-
man being finds his route to-
day’s selfish, greedy and ‘unsat-
isfied’ civilization will lastingly
feel nauseated and will throw
up the malignancy inside it by
other crisis. A humanity lack-
ing the affection and sense of
truth will continuously be scat-
tered in the realm of virtual
games as far as he realizes
his essence.
 BN MAGAZINE | BOOK REVIEW

How I Caused the Credit

Crunch A review by Özgür Arslan

T ake the 10 hour-journey of a businessman from

London to Tokyo, at the height of an economic
crisis and you will find that I could not have picked up
a better book to read on the plane! One who is not only
of Japanese origin but who seems to take the blame for

“
the credit crunch too…

As I later find out, Ishikawa is a former investment

banker whose (success?) story begins at schools of Eton
College and Oxford University, where he develops a
career touching seven of the main global investment
it makes us banks and ends with being made redundant by Morgan
ordinary Stanley last year.

people Ishikawa’s lifeline bares a lot of similarities with that of

Andrew Dover, the fictional hero of Tetsuya Ishikawa’s
understand first novel ‘How I Caused the Credit Crunch’.

just what went Although some experts seem to disagree with Ishikawa
on issues concerning the financial meltdown, his style
wrong around

”
of writing convinced me that he is certainly a sharp and
knowledgeable guy, as you would expect of a former
the time of the Goldman Sachs banker. His narrative is witty and he is
not trying to be judgemental which is very refreshing.
banking crisis
How I Caused the Credit Crunch is an insider’s self-
story of finance, strippers and credit derivatives and
aims to explain the ins and outs of the structured credit
markets; needless to say that the 11-page glossary of fi-
nancial terms came really handy to me at times while
reading into the night on the plane. However, at some
parts of the novel I wondered whether the book has
been written for finance geeks or for insiders and the
final ruling is that it will probably fascinate anyone who
is up for a mix of a finance guide or a holiday thriller
like me.
I figured the reason why the novel is a hit is that it keeps
you intrigued with million-dollar transactions and with
much cheaper escort visits of the financial world; and at
the same time, it makes us ordinary people understand
just what went wrong around the time of the banking
crisis but without naming the names or finding a scape-
goat. Nevertheless the book makes it clear that it was
not the author or his colleagues who “caused” the credit
crunch and they really had no other choice but to act
the way they did as the flaw was in the “system”, not in
them.
by Tetsuya Ishikawa, Icon Books
It is a light and fun read but it is also informative. Do-
ver’s very well told story unfolds in front of our eyes and
displays the sequence of events that led to the credit
crunch. Perhaps this simplicity of the book is what
makes it so enjoyable: the credit crunch is part of the
story and it doesn’t get academic or boring anywhere.
His stories do sometimes feel a bit exaggerated but the
reader immediately understands from the way he tells
them that they stand very close to reality.
Still, it is a general opinion that Ishikawa has managed
to do what writers of ‘how I’ books of the economic
literature have failed to do so before: he created a factual
analysis of the credit crunch within an exciting fictional
narrative. I found this to be a powerful way of telling
all about the Wall Street excess. His way of explaining
complex financial terms through stories and similes had
my undivided attention while I was reading the book.
If I was to recommend an engrossing book that is in-
formative on the present global financial situation, this
certainly is the one.

92 | BOOK REVIEW
BN MAGAZINE | FOOD

Recipes from Hüseyin Özer

Uskumru Fileto (Mackerel Fillet)

Salad Mackerel
…… 20gr rocket …… 300gr filleted Mackerel
…… 4 cherry tomatoes cleaned and bones picked
…… 20gr inner leaves of with tweezers
cos lettuce …… 20ml Olive oil
…… 5ml balsamic vinegar …… 2 slices of a lemon
…… 5ml virgin olive oil …… a pinch of cracked black
…… 1 medium red onion pepper
…… a pinch of sea salt

This simple way of preparing fish fillet will be incredibly tasty. Try to get your fish as fresh as possible.

1 Marinate Mackerel fillet with olive oil, sea salt, cracked black
pepper, lemon and bay leaves.
4 While the fish is grilled you can prepare the salad. Put all salad
ingredients into a bowl except the onions.

2 Put the fillet under the grill skin side first and after 3-4 minutes
turn it over and grill for further 1 minute.
5 Mix the salad and place them on to a serving plate next to the
fish.

3 Do not let the fillet over grilled to avoid becoming dry. Place
the fillet onto a serving plate.
6 Add the freshly sliced onions next to the salad to finish.

Bon appetite.
94 | FOOD
BN MAGAZINE | ARTS & CULTURE
London
Turkish Film Festival
Making Digital History
Halime Özdemir
N ow in its 15th year, the London Turkish
Film Festival is firmly established as an
exciting platform for daring, varied and stylish
cinema. Since its inception, the festival has
screened over 200 feature and 300 short and
documentary films across the city’s most pres-
tigious cinemas. Its formula of mixing new
Turkish talent alongside critically acclaimed
directors such as Cannes winner Nuri Bilge
Ceylan has helped bring what the Barbican
describes as “New Turkish Cinema” to the
masses.
This year, the LTFF is about to add an impor-
tant new feather to its cap, becoming the first
British film festival to offer a digital distri-
bution prize to the winner of its Best Film
Award. This ground-breaking award takes
advantage of the digital revolution, enabling
cinemas across Britain to cost-effectively
screen the winning film, allowing thousands
more movie lovers to sample the delights of
contemporary Turkish cinema. The festival
organisers are currently in talks with Soda Pic-
tures and the UK Film Council who are both
keen to support the 1st Annual UK Digital
Distribution Award.
Henry Kwao, manager of Odeon Lee Valley
believes digital distribution will help increase
awareness of the Turkish film industry. His
own 12 screen cinema in North London
regularly screens Turkish movies to packed
audiences. Kwao admitted that the manage-
ment were pleasantly surprised at, “What
started as an occasional spot for a Turkish
movie has become a weekly feature on our
billing.” He adds, “We’ve seen a phenom-
enal growth in demand for Turkish movies.
Other Odeon cinemas have been charting our
progress closely and are now keen to emulate
our success.” He thinks digital distribution
is the way forward, “If you make it easy and
commercially viable, lots more cinemas will be
keen to screen.”

The pioneering LTFF is also looking into means of
broadcasting Turkish movies on British television,
working with a London based media company to cre-
ate a prime-time weekly slot on UK cable and satel-
lite platforms. Vedide Kaymak, Founder and Director
of LTFF hopes these exciting developments will
attract more interest and greater funding from British
Turkish businesses. “There is an explosion in digital
living, with the entertainment industry at the heart of
many cutting edge innovations. We want to exploit
these opportunities. Our own community is awash
with entrepreneurial success – it would be wonderful
to see greater commercial collaboration between us.”
Kaymak is a pivotal figure in the LTFF. Since moving
to the UK over twenty years ago, she has been active
in shaping the Arts and Cultural scene for London’s
thriving Turkish-speaking community. An accom-
plished producer with an extensive portfolio of TV
and short film productions, Kaymak is also a major
distributor of Turkish film in the UK, helping her to
identify emerging talent and international hit movies.
However, it was her work as Front of House Man-
ager at the Rio Cinema, an independent Art House
in Dalston, which led her to create the LTFF in
1993. Kaymak got her dream project off the ground
through what she describes as “the energetic support
of Charles Rubinstein” the general manager of the
Rio Cinema. His facilitation helped bring in the sup-
port of Film London and in little over a decade, what
started as a small three-day event in a local North
London cinema has grown to a full-scale must-see
film festival spread across two weeks and multiple
venues.
ARTS & CULTURE | BN MAGAZINE
To date, LTFF has received
widespread support from the
British Film Institute and ma-
jor picture houses such as Cine-
world and Odeon cinemas. In
addition, Film London, UK Film
Council, Istanbul 2010 European
Capital of Culture, Go to Turkey
campaign, and the Turkish Embassy
in London, have all sponsored the
festival, helping to grow its scope and
reach. The Turkish Ministry of Tourism
and Culture continue to work closely with
LTFF as part of its commitment to support-
ing the Turkish film industry worldwide.
The festival’s eclectic programming has won it plau-
dits from across the British film industry. It provides
an important platform for a new generation of film-
makers of Turkish* origin in the UK and beyond,
providing them essential exposure in one of the
world’s movie capitals. Each year, the Opening Gala
hosts over 400 guests including directors, produc-
ers, actors, and short filmmakers. During the LTFF
season, panels and discussions take place with a wide
range of participants from the international film
industry – a popular feature of the festival.
Kaymak’s vivacious nature is infectious, as is her
passion for LTFF. “Film is a powerful vehicle to illus-
trate contemporary Turkey – our diverse society has
so many stories to tell and the Turkish film industry
possesses enormous talent. We are delighted that
LTFF can bring some of that magic to London.”
 BN MAGAZINE | HISTORY

Turkish Naval Martyrdom

GOSPORT THE TURK TOWN
Ottoman navy lose soldiers to
cholera in Portsmouth in 1850.

“Another surprising detail about Portsmouth is that the Turkish-

Ottoman traditional crescent and star emblem is also adopted by
Portsmouth football club”
98 | HISTORY

Özge Yurdal
Portsmouth is well known for its football
club in the English Premier league. How-
ever, what is less known about this port-
side town is that it hosts a
Turkish Naval martyrdom
as well. The martyrdom
was formed in 1850, for
the personnel of two Otto-
man frigates called ‘Mirat-i
Zafer’ and ‘Sirag-i Bah-
riye’ both of which came
to Portsmouth in order to
get cannon and navigation
training.
Local newspapers of that pe-
riod indicate that initially the
frigates and its personnel were
the centre of attention when
they first arrived. According
to an article published on 14
December 1850 in The Illustrated London
News, “Ottoman Navy officers of the two
frigates that docked at Portsmouth port have
visited the Portsmouth Wharf and Clarence
Stocks in guidance of Sir Godfrey Webster.
They obtained supplies from local shops and
the officers were very polite towards the peo-
ple who wanted to see the frigates, however,
due to their religious beliefs, they refused to
accept visitors on Fridays and Saturdays.”
The cholera outbreak in the summer of 1849
HISTORY | BN MAGAZINE
at the opposite shore of Portsmouth, Gos-
port, had started to affect Portsmouth during
1850 because of the poor and inadequate pre-
cautions to such an epidemic. Furthermore,
the lack of a proper drainage system as well
as the unhealthy conditions that sailors and
dock personnel lived in and the late start of
redevelopment plans caused cholera to spread
among Ottoman naval personnel quickly. As a
result, in five months 22 Ottoman naval per-
sonnel had lost their lives.
These facts were confirmed by the captain
of Mirat-i Zafer, Mustafa Bey. In his sixteen
page report, he stated that the training com-
menced very well and the naval officers stayed
for six and a half months. However, due to
the spread of illness, some officers died and
were buried in a cemetery next to the hospital,
consigned for these naval officers.
According to a document dated 1906 which
refers to the Haslar Hospital’s history in Gos-
port, part of the cemetery – martyrdom- was
moved to Caylhall Naval Cemetery on the Al-
ver Lake, in 1902 because of the construction
of another hospital building.
In 1985, as a result of Turkish Chief of
Staff ’s attempts to restore the cemetery, the
martyrdom was reopened on Turkish Naval
Martyr Day, 4 April 1993.
Portsmouth football club has the
Turkish Crescent and Star
Another surprising detail about Portsmouth
is that the Turkish-Ottoman tra-
ditional crescent and star emblem
is also adopted by Portsmouth
football club. However, according
to historians and linguists, this is
not because of these two Otto-
man frigates but previous deal-
ings with Turks throughout his-
tory. Another name for Gosport
is “Turk Town” but there is not
enough evidence to explain why
it is so. The only document that
reveals the relation between the
Turks and the English in Ports-
mouth was found by J.E. Mann,
a folklorist. According to this
handwritten and unsigned docu-
ment, the story goes all the way
back to Crusades, that the town was formed
by Turks, who were brought by the English
from Anatolia as prisoners of war.
HISTORY | 99
BN MAGAZINE | UNIVERSITY

NOS
Network of Students
www.networkofstudents.com

ABOUT NOS
NETWORK OF STUDENTS
Network of Students (NOS) was founded in March
2007 by a group of students from different universi-
ties across the UK to help students network with
each other as well as providing support and advice for
graduates to enhance their career opportunities. NOS
is a young and ambitious organization aiming to serve
their members with new and exciting projects such
as Career Evenings, public lectures, breakfast panels,
social activities, concerts and trips to other countries.

NOS will provide a platform for British, International

and Turkish students to share their cultural heritage
and experiences, and building bridges toward mutual
understanding and respect between the diverse stu-
dents across all of the UK’s universities.

NOS’s key role is working as an umbrella for all

University Turkish Societies in the UK, to assist and
develop cooperation among one and other. The
outcome of this cooperation is to create pathways to
work together for cross-group organizations. Mem-
bership to NOS is open to all students in the UK.

NOS will be used by students to;

*Share information
*Network and build relations
*Promote knowledge, events, businesses,
entertainment and general positive
inspiration
* Encourage new members to take
more active roles in NoS

NOS Activities 2008/09

*Careers Evening NOS Interviews the Presiden

* Breakfast & Panel
-Career Opportunities in Finance Higher Education Board (YÖ
-Law Breakfast & Panel
*Trips to Europe
*Days out; Paintball
Yusuf Ziya Özcan
*Football Tournament
*Cultural activities
*Panel with the president of YOK

100 | UNIVERSITY
 UNIVERSITY | BN MAGAZINE

NOS meets with

Cem Yılmaz Cem Yılmaz came to London to promote his latest
film A.R.O.G at the Sci-Fi film festival.
Cem Yilmaz, one of Turkey’s leading stand-up comedians,
also known for his vast repertoire of acting and screen-
writing, has adorned many a comic book as a cartoonist
for over a decade in Turkey.
Yılmaz met with NOS students in London at the cock-
tail party prior to the screening of A.R.O.G at the Apollo
Movie Theatre in London’s Piccadilly Circus. Network of
Students (NOS) took the opportunity to chat with him
and tell him about NOS.
He was outwardly impressed with the efforts of NOS and
congratulated us for providing such a service for the Uni-
versity students in the UK.
He was surprised to hear, yet was impressed to find out
about our network of 1500 members and the diverse so-
cial and accademic events that we’ve
organised.
Cem Yılmaz was announced the most popular and suc-
cessful comedian by university students, so we invited him
to do a stage performance in London for us. His reply to
this offer was “I miss the stage also. As you know I have
not been on stage for a long time. I will definitely come to
London once I’ve prepared my new stage show”.
Cem Yılmaz joined Sci-Fi London Film Festival upon the
invitation of festival organizers, who viewed and liked his
movies. His film was the first Turkish film to be promoted
at the London Sci-Fi Film festival.
Interview by
Cem Belevi

NOS: Why do Turkish students pay 3
or 4 times more tuition fees than EU
students?
EU Candidates and EU members
have different rights assigned to
them. Turkey is still a candidate
and this means that until we are in
the EU Turkish students will not
receive any discount on university
tuitions.
NOS: Have you done anything about
this?
We are working very hard together
with the Ministry of Foreign Af-
fairs to get a discount for our stu-
dents. We directly ask institutions
if our students can be admitted
nt of the with a discount. Unfortunately
Universities are not permitted to
take steps on their own initiative
ÖK) - as they are dependent on Laws. A
solution is only viable if and when
governments and the EU council
commission get involved.
NOS: Why do UK universities charge you offer us?
more than other EU countries? As a student organisation you have
We are aware that the fees are made an excellent achievement
high. However we can only state by forming a single body, keep-
what the problem is. We cannot ing Turkish students together and
resolve it. We are not satiated in a solve their problems. Where you
position where we cannot negoti- get stuck inform us [YOK] and
ate with any parties. we will help you. I would also love
NOS: The biggest problem faced by to see more people actively taking
Turkish students abroad is the subject roles in their own university stu-
of diploma equivalency with Turkish dent society and student organisa-
universities. It is common place for a tions like NOS.
student’s entire study history abroad
becoming obsolete just because of
this. What is your opinion?
We have actually made lots of
changes about diploma equiva-
lence. For every equivalence appli-
cation we make certain enquiries
and in many cases confirm equiva-
lence as long as there haven’t been
any legal or other problems.
Interview by:
Ensar Daştan
NOS: NOS is a Turkish student as- Adnan Özgür
sociation in London. What advice can

UNIVERSITY | 101
BN MAGAZINE | FINANCE

102 | FINANCE