Suppose it happens

Drive along the TEM and E-5 highways on the European side of İstanbul near the airport and you will notice massive sports stadiums and the Olympic Village. Ever since İstanbul decided on a third bid, there has been a massive program under way. Plans have been drawn up, sites acquired, foundations laid and structures have been built.

The Turkish International Olympic Committee (IOC) continues to work diligently to win the bid in the future. Turkish IOC member Sinan Erdem said, “We will bid next time and again until we finally get the games.”

Many were surprised when Beijing won the bid over other prominent cities. One Today’s Zaman reader writes:

Dear Charlotte, I am a real sports fan. I would love for Turkey to host the Olympics one day but I realize there are issues that need to be dealt with before that can happen. It seems with China winning the bid it could be more possible for Turkey than one imagined. But winning the bid for the Olympics is not just about having the necessary facilities and infrastructure in place. From, Hans G. (Hamburg)

Dear Hans, many of us wish for it! It would be wonderful for Turkey to win the bid when everything is in place. But some are not so optimistic. Did you hear CNN’s Jane Arraf’s response after China won the bid? She said, “Turks thought it would be nothing short of miraculous if İstanbul’s bid had won.” Hans, as you pointed out, a lot of things are being taken into consideration to qualify a city to win a bid. You implied human rights? Right?

It hasn’t just been the rival bidders who were caught by surprise -- many were -- with the decision for 2008.

-- The Dalai Lama’s Tibetan government-in-exile slammed the choice of Beijing as the venue for the 2008 Olympics, saying it would encourage repression in China. Now look at the current events there.

-- India-based Central Tibetan Administration Kalon T.C. Tethong said in a statement: “We deeply regret that Beijing has been awarded the 2008 Olympic Games. This will put the stamp of international approval on Beijing’s human rights abuses and will encourage China to escalate its repression.”

--Amnesty International said China must improve its human rights policies now that it has been awarded the 2008 Olympic Games.

We all know that an advanced infrastructure needs to be in place. All of us who live here know that the infrastructure and bidding ability has been improving rapidly over the last decade. For example, we have a new international football stadium and the initial transport problems for that site have now been solved. The metro runs out there and so do the metrobuses. Plans are under way for an extension of the tram and metro network and the Marmararay project, an underwater tube, will link the two continents.

The chances of winning the bid are not being helped by current economic conditions, İstanbul’s pollution and traffic problems. Also we still lack many major venues, such as an Olympic-size swimming pool.

Does the fact that the IOC has yet to grant the bid to İstanbul mean the city should quit its preparations and quit trying? No! We are all familiar with Nasreddin Hodja stories. Have you heard the one called “Suppose it Works”?

One day Nasreddin Hodja took a bowl of yoghurt and went to Akşehir Lake. He started to spoon the yoghurt into the lake. A man who was passing by saw what the Hodja was doing and asked, “Efendi, what do you think you are doing?” He replied, “I am putting yoghurt into the lake in order to turn the whole lake into yogurt.”

Confused, the man asked, “Do you think it will work?”

The Hodja answered, “I know it won’t, but suppose it did!”

China tried and got results. İstanbul’s logo and theme for the Olympics is “the meeting of continents.” Let’s hope when İstanbul wins the bid, it will be a great opportunity for the nation and for tourism. We all hope being European Capital of Culture in 2010 will greatly boost the cultural life of the city. The Olympics would inject the same energy into the sporting life.