Oct 12th Fast Train to Geneva

We took the high speed train to Geneva for a briefing at the world trade office.

We had a fantastic briefing at the World Trade Office, despite the fact that the Doha round of trade reform appears to have been swept under the carpet never to be heard of again, the delegates at the WTO are continuing to pursue trade reform. All still believe that the Doha round will eventually be completed but none is prepared to put another deadline on it. Until then they are working on reforms in areas where there is little disagreement.

Some of the beautiful countryside back on the French side of the border 

 

We visited a boutique French winery & Vinyard and tasted some fantastic french wines. The implementation of drink driving laws in 2005 have hit the french wine industry hard. Eric said he was still feeling the effects of this. The grapes here are capable of producing 10t/ha but they use sacrificial canes to reduce production to 6 t/ha, producing a higher quality wine. 

Oct 11th OECD Brief + + +

After a few days of sun and warmth in Turkey, winter returned to us as we entered France.  Our first meeting here was at the New Zealand Embassy, where we met with Carmel Cahill, the directorate for Trade & Agriculture in the Organisation for Economic & Community Development (OECD). The is a group of 34 countries that embrace the principles of the market economy, and are committed to growth and improvement. There are another 5 to 6 observer countries involved as well.  They are really a think tank which produces reports on how member countries can improve their economies and communities.

One of the interesting points that came out of the briefing with Carmel was that overall subsidies in the developed world are continuing to be wound back. This is in complete contrast to the developing world where although still low subsidies are increasing as countries use them as a tool toward food security and to slow the rate of population movement from the rural areas to the cities. This may well be a real challange for Australian Agriculture into the future

Following our briefing it was time to do some sight seeing, first on the list was Notre Dame. It was completed in 1260 taking 93 years to build. It is an amazing example of gothic achitecture, and it bell tower was made famous by the novel "The Hunchback of Notre Dame"

This silver cross and cabinet was a gift to Notre Dame from a deceased princesses estate (Cant remember who). The guide said that the box underneath the cross contains a slither of Christs cross.

                                                                                               According to the guide the red box in front of this alter contains the crown of thorns worn by Jesus at his crucifiction

Next stop "The Eiffel Tower". The wise ones in our group caught the metro and had plenty of time to suck in this amazing structure while we waited for the others to get there on foot.

The last stop for the day was the Arc de Triomphe

Finally to finish the day off, what trip to Paris would be complete without a feed of garlic snails and a nice white wine

Oct 10th Bye Bye Istanbul

We left the wonderfull smells, the beautifull architecture, and the hussle and bussle of the street traders in Istanbul, bound for France. The half time break in Turkey has been fantastic I have really enjoyed the culture, the people, the food and, although it is hard for me to admit….. the shopping. Turkey, one day I will return… with an empty suitcase and money to spend.

October 9th The Bhosphorus

Before spending several hours this afternoon catching up on my blog, I decided to join the rest of the guys in our group for a boat ride today on the Bhosphorus. The Bhosphorus is the straight of water that divides Istanbul.  It is also a major trade route.

One of the two huge suspension bridges that cross the Bhosphorus

Old Istanbul was protected by a fortified wall, each time it was invaded and taken the wall was strengthened

One of the very large ships that ply this trade route

Oct 8th Gallipoli

Had an amazing visit to Gallipoli, including Anzac Cove, The Lone pine, Scruby Knoll, Shrapnel valley, & North beach where the diggers really landed. We had a fantastic guide who unwrapped many of the myths & legends on both sides of the conflict. All in all a very moving day.

Oct 7th Istanbul Sights

We took a guided tour to see the sights around Istanbul. This is a city of 14 million people, it is the only city in the world that is spread over two continents, Europe & Asia. The Bhosphorus is the stretch of water that divides the city and the continents.

Turkeys population is 99% Muslim and 1% Christian & Jews. It has 2900 Mosques & 100 churches. It has swung between, paganism, Christianity & Islam for thousands of years depending on who was in power. It was during the reign of Constantine that it became Christian and is where the book of Concord was put together which is where the creed of mainline Christian churches comes from. The Ottermans came to power in the 15^th Centaury and from then Islam has been the dominant religion.

The Blue Mosque, not blue because of the outside but because of the thousands of blue tiles used to adorn the interior

Inside the Blue Mosque & then the mosque by night

An Obelisc, made by the Egyptians in about 1490 BC & brought to Istanbul (Then Constantanople) by Constantine in 357AD to celebrate his 20th year of rule. It was errected as a monument in the hippodrome, at 100,000 seat capacity chariot racing stadium

The Hagia Sophia was completed in 475AD it was the largest christian church building of its time, it had a seating capacity of 2000 people. On its opening it is said when Justinian the great, who comissioned its building walked into it, he was awestruck, and said, look I have even surpassed Solomon with the beauty we have buit here.

Yes fish signs, the signs of the early church

When it was taken over by the Muslims all of the amazing art that adorned the walls was covered over with a white wash and painted, as muslim culture does not allow pictures of people in their temples, (only flowers & scripture).

We also visited the Basilica Cisterns. These were basically water wells created by the Romans in 532AD to service the city of Istanbul  When the Ottermans took over they were lost and it was only in 1550 that they were rediscovered by chance. If ever you are in Istanbul I recommend a visit here it is truly amazing. Built from recycled materials after the Romans conquered the city this amazing work was never meant to be seen by people. 

October 6th Cafe Istanbul

After a big night saying goodbye to the Ukraine we flew out to Turkey and a day off, despite being somewhat tired the girls wanted to head straight to the shops. Of course they needed chaperons to make sure they didn't spend too much, none of the other guys were up to it so under sufferance I headed to the Grand Bazaar. All I can say is wow!! For someone who's eyes usually glaze over after the first five minutes of shopping, I managed to survive three hours in this amazing place...I actually had fun and came away with some great bargains (But I think the girls actually spent more with me there) The Grand Bazaar contains about 4000 shops with everyone of them trying to push there products to you as soon as you show the slightest interest. 

We had dinner on the rooftop overlooking Istanbull with some amazing views of the Bosphorus (Straight of water dividing the city) and the Blue Mosque