Istanbul Ambassador Gundula Strittmatter‘s choice of venue for the latest meeting at the Bosporos met with general approval among her numerous guests from almost ten different nations: The famous Grand Hotel de Londres is one of the oldest hotels in Istanbul, and during its long history, it has hosted many well-known expatriates and global minds, from Ernest Hemingway to the award- winning Turkish-German film director Fatih Akin.

Last night, however, it was up to the local InterNations members to fill the elegant lobby with lively interaction and animated discussions, even waking the sleeping parrots in their cages behind the closed curtains — much to everyone’s amusement. While quite a few of the usual regulars had already departed for home, several other participants were newcomers in town, and they were particularly glad about the opportunity for some socializing in the festive season.

(The rest of the event photos can be found in this gallery.)

Our Istanbul Ambassador Gundula Strittmatter was very happy to receive the biggest turnout of guests so far at her latest InterNations Get-Together in the Turkish metropolis. Apart from a huge Spanish-speaking group of members at the meeting, there were also participants from Morocco, Austria, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Turkey, Iran, Germany, Brazil, Canada, and the United States enjoying the beautiful setting at Cezayir restaurant. During this gathering on Tuesday night, the crowd was avidly discussing plans for future activities, ranging from sports over cultural gatherings to excursions and short trips together. If you, too, should have a suggestion for the local life of our Istanbul expats, please just get in touch with Gundula.

(If you would like to see more pictures, please go to Gundula’s gallery here.)

At the fifth InterNations Get-Together in Istanbul, Ambassador Gundula Strittmatter was delighted to note that this event had the biggest turnout so far. Members from about a dozen countries (for example, Poland, Iran, Macedonia, Ukraine, Montenegro, France, Italy, Canada, Turkey, Germany, USA, and Britain) came to the comfy Wongo Lounge in Beyoglu to enjoy the splendid view of the skyline, cocktails and complimentary fingerfood. In the spirit of bridging the differences between people and cultures, InterNations Istanbul is most certainly heading in the right direction.

(You can see all of Gundula’s snapshots here.)

Our Ambassador Gundula Strittmatter’s suggestion to organize an event at the Istanbul Modern Museum, Turkey’s first private gallery for contemporary art, combining a visit to an exhibition with casual socializing afterwards, met with general approval in her community.

A huge turnout of members from Iran, Sweden, Turkey, Germany, Canada, the USA, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Russia, Italy, and Spain used the opportunity to stroll leisurely through the exhibition rooms and have dinner together later on. Among the businesspeople, bankers, journalists, and NGO employees present at the meeting, there were also quite a few newcomers to the city, who were really glad about the opportunity to meet other expats as well as locals and to get to know their new contacts a little better on a beautiful terrace with a wonderful view of the Bosporus.