Copyright: Jurgen Brauer, Augusta, Georgia, USA

1. For this, my third visit to Ankara, I helped organize several sessions on defense and security economics for the International Conference on Economics hosted by the Turkish Economic Association's (which yields the happy acronym ICE-TEA). The event was held at the Sheraton hotel in downtown Ankara, Turkey.

2. Ercan Uygur, middle, is the association's president. On the right sits Guillermo Calvo, a prominent Argentinian economist. On the left is the president of Turkey, Ahmet Nezdet Sezer who gave the opening speech and assured plenty of press and TV coverage.

3. Tea/coffee breaks allow for mingling, discussing ideas, renewing contacts and friendships and making new ones.

4. Ercan Uygur teaches at Ankara University.

5. A precocious youngster takes the head seat at the panelists' table in the Sheraton ballroom.

6. I stayed about 15 minutes walk away in a different hotel. Here a view from the staircase window.

7. Walking down the street one day I came upon this restaurant. Years ago, my wife and I had dinner here! What a coincidence.

8. Another youngster, this one earning a few lira selling bread.

9. Kocatepe mosque, a gift of Saudi Arabia to Turkey, offers a dominant sight to see.

10. The minaret stretches to the heavens ...

11. ... and the heavens oblige with beautiful weather.

12. Kocatepe as mirrored in the glass front of an office building.

13. An inside view of this serene place ...

14. ... and at night.

15. My colleague, Julide Yildirim, who teaches at Gazi University in Ankara, spent a delightful afternoon showing me the sights of the old city.

17. One of the oldest mosques in the city is Aslahane.

18. Going carpet shopping? Turkey is the place. Notice the wooden framing that defines this building.

19. No digital trickery here: to spite the Romans, this stone was deliberately reused - upside down!

20. The old city offers a sweeping view over Ankara. The minaret just off center belongs to Ankara's oldest mosque. Surrounded by a fence and locked at non-prayer times, the iman's wife nontheless opened it for the visitor - and offered freshly harvested wallnuts and grapes to boot!

21. Another colleague, Onur Oszoy, who teaches at Ankara University, and his family and I took a marvellous day trip to Beypazari. This photograph is of a plant that pumps mineral springwater from something like 2,000 meter below.

22. Of course, we were offered a few bottles to taste.

23. A steet scene.

24. Hand-hammered patterns adorn these metal wares.

25. Inside an artisan's shop.

26. A candid shot of an elderly, photogenic gentleman.

27. Dried peppers and spices are sold in this shop. The peppers are stuffed with delicacies and then cooked.

28. Everywhere goodies on offer to buy.

29. This house has been converted into a museum. It preserves a typical Turkish home scene from about a 100 years ago. I found it very cosy.

30. Goodbye - and until next time.

[The end.]