Tag Archives: ICAMES 2009

Day 6+1 – Flying Back

• Got up at 9.30
• Had breakfast at hotel
• Can Üzüm & Goknur Topcu came to meet us at the hotel
• Couldn’t spend the day with them as Can had a soccer match that day
• Checkout the hotel room room at 11.30
• Participants from Italy and Michigan left
• Kept our bags and went for lunch at a nearby mall
• Did some shopping at a supermarket and had lunch at Pizza Hut
• Came back and left to airport on campus bus with the Spanish group
• Spanish group had flight at 5 so the went directly for check-in
• We spent some time on internet and checked-in online while at the airport
• Checked-in our bags at 5
• Had ice cream at Burger King (which turned out to be a tragic joke)
• Passport checks and immigration formalities
• Walked around duty free shops for sometime
• Board flight at 7
• Takeoff at 7.30
• Flights had long traffic on runway
• Dinner on flight

17th

• Land in Dubai at 12mn
• Shop at Dubai Duty Free
• Board at 2am (but different flight than that was on the itinerary)
• Breakfast on flight
• Land in Colombo at 830am

Videos:

• Flying Back

Day 6 – Closing Ceremony

• Breakfast at hotel
• Seminar at campus on Career Choice (but felt it was little sloppy)
• Had Capachino
• Introductory presentation on Masters Programs of BU
• Lunch, the usual sandwich for all, but Ramanan had special being a vegetarian..
• Closing Ceremony
• 1st – Americans, 2nd Borazici CS Project, 3rd MEU Turkey Robot
• Shayanthan got the wrong certificate with the name of Malalasena, our 4th member who didn’t participate in ICAMES
• Greece and Latvian groups left just after the Closing Ceremony
• Came back to hotel
• The concert planned for the night got canceled, as the signer who was supposed to come got hammered a day before
• Went to campus and had dinner (same sandwich), but also had something else at canteen
• Spent some time on the campus green with others
• Walked around campus with Ben and Hidr
• Had a long chat with Ben, Metin and Hidr about education systems
• Went to an expensive disco instead of the concert, that had a really nice view of the Bosphorus Bridge
• Danced till 3am
• Back to hotel and farewell to groups that were leaving in morning – Purdue, Mazadonia, Crotia
• Just a long sleep…

Videos:

• Closing Ceremony
• Final Party

Day 5 – Istanbul Sightseeing

• Breakfast at hotel
• Visit Topkapi Palace, a little long journey on bus
• Spent nearly 2 hours inside the marvelous Ottoman palace, which is not only a palace now, but also a museum housing a large collection items from the Ottoman period and before
• Lunch on the roadside (the same sandwich, but we are used to it now… )
• Visit Hagia Sophia or Ayasofya Mosque, which is a former Orthodox patriarchal  basilica, later a mosque, now a museum
• Spent about 1 hour on the 2 floors and this had a strange stairs to go up
• Visit the Sultan Ahmed Mosque (Sultanahmet Camii or Blue Mosque)
• It was strange that we were allowed to go into this historical mosque (carrying our shoes in a bag)
• Went inside and spent about 30mins
• Walk, Walk and Walk to Grand Bazaar
• Shop some souvenirs
• Return to hotel
• Turkish Night on a boat on the Bosphorus
• Dinner and then Dance till 1am

Videos:

• Topkapi Palace
• Ayasofya Mosque, Blue Mosque, Grand Bazaar
• Turkish Night (1)
• Turkish Night (2)

Day 4 – Journey to Asia

• Breakfast at hotel
• Went to campus
• Had a seminar by Paul Doany, CEO, Turk Telecom on technology and entrepreneurship
• It was more on his experiences in making the correct decision and also suggested that not always the intellectually sexy ideas succeed.
• He also talked about some of the VAS services and other application they are working on at Turk Telecom.
• Spent some time on the campus green
• Went on a picnic to the Asian side of Istanbul
• BBQ/Lunch
• Loads of fruits, deserts, Ice Cream and some sleep under the shades
• Some guys played the Beer Dice Game
• Came back to campus and then to hotel and had the usual dinner (the sandwich)
• Went to Bowling, which was fun and entertaining
• Ramanan was the winner with 146 points though this was his first time playing (Nimal got 78)
• Back to hotel a little earlier than the other days

Videos:

• Picnic to Asia
• Bowling Night

Day 3 – Presentations Day 2

• Managed to getup a little early and had breakfast at hotel
• Went to university for the second day presentations
• Presentation by Macedonia
• Presentation by Bulgaria
• Tried some Turkish Coffee during the break, it was good, and the fortune telling was interesting/funny
• Presentation by WMU, USA
• Presentation by Russia
• Pasta Pizza Party
• After a great lunch slept while some of the presentations
• Presentation by Spain
• Presentation by Solvenia
• Presentation by Crotia
• Roaming around campus till 4
• Back to Hotel, had to take all stuff for the Cultural Night
• Came back to campus with Can, but forgot the food parcels near the room door, so Shayanthan had to go back to hotel with Can to get the stuff again
• Cultural Night started at around 7
• One of the best days at ICAMES, had great fun, great food and drinks and it was a great chance to learn and share our cultures and lifestyles.
• Some of us wore cultural dresses, including Ramanan on a traditional Vaeshtti and Nimal on a Sri Lankan Sarong
• Tried a lot of Turkish food and other food items from other countries and collected some souvenirs too
• Some got overloaded with the Turkish Raki
• Many of the participants showed interest in Sri Lankan foods (though some of our items were too hot for them), and also they were impressed with the funny dance Nimal did during the Cultural Presentation
• This was a great night with fun and friendship
• Came back to hotel after midnight, almost exhausted

Videos:

• Project Presentations Videos
• Cultural Night – Part 1
• Cultural Night – Part 2

Day 2 – Presentations Day 1

• Get up late at 8.00 and had to skip breakfast
• Went to university at around 9
• Presentations started from 9.30
• Presentation by METU, Turkey
• Presentation by Boğaziçi University, Turkey
• Presentation by Purdue University, USA
• Presentation by University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka (yeah… our presentation was at 11.15)
• Though we thought we were not well prepared, most of the audience response was it was good and had a chance to chat with some of them who were impressed by the concept.
• Lunch on rooftop
• The building where the presentation were held (Perkins Hall) had a beautiful rooftop view of the Bosphorous.
• Some more presentations in the afternoon
• Presentation by Italy
• Presentation by Sabanci University, Turkey
• Presentation by Latviya
• Presentation by Greece
• Finish at 3
• Walked around the campus with Can and few of his friends
• Went to ENSO room and found out that these was another group from UoM who have took part in ICAMES 2007
• Ate alot at a campus cafeteria
• Played some handball (or whatever with a ball in hand) on the green
• Back to hotel
• Had dinner at hotel (though its a little boring with the same sandwich all the time…)
• Some free time to rest (or to check mail and post some updates on Facebook and Twitter… )
• Went to Hookah Party (Waterpipe Night)
• Back to hotel around midnight

Videos:

• Project Presentations Videos
• Walking Around BU
• Hookah Night

Day 1

• Breakfast at Hotel
• Visit Dolmabahçe Palace
• Spent half day inside the one of the largest and grand palace in Turkey
• Lunch on the move
• Visit Miniatürk Miniature Park
• Its a great way to see a snapshot of the whole Turkey in one place
• Goknur Topcu joined us after
• Visit Rahmi M. Koç Museum
• Its a private industrial museum in Istanbul, Turkey dedicated to history of transport, industry and communications
• Ate some and had coffee at the museum cafeteria
• Back to hotel and had some free time
• Dinner at Boğaziçi University South Campus
• Official Opening Ceremony and Cocktail
• Back to hotel and prepared for our presentation next morning

Videos:

• Day 1 – Istanbul Sightseeing Part 1 – Dolmabahçe Palace
• Day 1 – Istanbul Sightseeing Part 2 – Dolmabahçe Palace Interior
• Day 1 – Istanbul Sightseeing Part 3 – Miniatürk
• Day 1 – Opening Cocktail Part 1
• Day 1 – Opening Cocktail Part 2

Day 0

• Got up early
• Breakfast at hotel
• Cevahir Shopping Centre with Can Üzüm
• Meet Goknur Topcu at Kahve Dunyasi (Coffee World) @ Cevahir Mall
• Took ‘The Istanbul Metro‘ with other ICAMES 2009 participants
• Taksim Square
• İstiklal Avenue
• Lunch
• Turish Delight
• İstiklal Avenue
• Beyoğlu
• Galata Tower
• Walked from Taksim to road near Dolmabahçe Palace
• Came back to hotel
• Went to campus
• Had dinner
• Party at Cheers (nothing to drink for us )
• Dance till the end
• Back to hotel after midnight

Videos:

• (the Unofficial) Istanbul Sightseeing – Part 1
• (the Unofficial) Istanbul Sightseeing – Part 2