SIEMENS

Feride would be able to see a vast field of tulips, Turkey's national flower, if only she hadn't lost her eyesight many years ago. And from where she's now sitting it's a spectacular view indeed. From a cafe on the new bridge high above the Bosporus, Hagia Sophia is visible, and so are the wind turbines to the west of Istanbul. The bridge was completed only recently, just in time for the 100-year anniversary of the founding of the Turkish Republic. Feride, with her usual appetite, is eating a slice of baklava, a popular Turkish pastry. Her friend Elif refuses to have any. “My doctor forbade it. You know I'm on a strict diet,” she says, a bit crossly.

However, she can't resist loading some crumbs onto her fork and devouring them happily. And maybe she'll have some more shortly. But most of the pastries, including the last one on the plate, end up in the mouth of Feride's great-grandson, Emir. He seems to have inherited her sweet tooth. “Are there any more of those?” he asks, his mouth still full.

For Emir and his schoolmates, the new bridge has become a popular meeting place. Landscape architects carefully designed the top level of the bridge, which is accessible only to pedestrians and cyclists. It features dozens of small shops, cafes, and playgrounds, and small trees offer shelter from the sun.

On the middle level of the bridge, trains whiz past at high speeds. The bottom level of the bridge consists of a road that is open to electric vehicles only. Many of these vehicles have been developed by the booming domestic electric car industry. The vehicles swiftly make the crossing. And because the ideal distance between them is regulated automatically, throughput has been optimized.

“A trip from Bakirkoy to Emirgan now takes only 25 minutes,” says Elif. Back in the days of her youth, Feride recalls, the same trip to visit her Armenian school friend took about half a day. However, back then, when the two girls would spend hours producing wreaths of flowers only to throw into the waters of the Bosporus, time didn't seem to be such a limited resource.

Emir's dream is to build huge wind parks, just as his mother does now. Such projects have allowed Turkey to diversify its energy production away from fossil fuels, which it used to import, toward renewables. Today, much of the country's ample renewably-produced power is sold abroad. Wind power is produced in the west, solar power in the south, and hydro power is generated in the mountainous center of the country. Turkey has also become one of the leading members of the International League of Emerged Economies, which was founded in 2017. The country currently enjoys an excellent reputation as a global business hub that links Europe and the Middle East. Strong growth and innovative industries—especially green technologies—have basically gotten Turkey where it is today.

“Emir, are you stuffing yourself with sweets again?” A stern voice disrupts the ladies' discussion. The boy turns around—and starts to smile. His mom, Zeynep, has just arrived. Her electric car is parked in one of the garages at the bridge's eastern entrance, where its batteries are being recharged.

His mother is in an elated mood. During her trip from home she had watched the news, while the autopilot took care of driving and finally parking. And the news was very good indeed. Morocco has announced that it will enlarge one of its huge wind farms, and Zeynep's employer, an engineering company, has a fairly good chance of winning the upcoming bid.

The company produces many parts for Turkey's wind turbines; others are produced in its factory in Morocco. Zeynep is a member of her company's Istanbul-based research and development team. The R&D center was inaugurated a few years ago in Kartal, a part of town that has transformed itself into a true hub for high-tech industries.

Zeynep has come up with ideas on ways to further enhance the efficiency of the turbines and thus gain an advantage over the competition. In any case, it seems that her Master's degree in wind power engineering from Tsinghua University has finally paid off.

“Oh, no!” screams Elif. “The buzz again!”  Microsensors in her earclip have just detected high sugar levels in her bloodstream, meaning that she has overdone it with sweets. Her     mobile device indicates that a subcutaneous device will adjust the problem with a small dose of insulin. She has gotten used to this procedure over the years, and feels lucky that her condition can be so easily managed.

Elif's predisposition to diabetes was discovered during a routine genetic screening a few years ago—just in time to avoid the worst consequences of the ailment. Preventive care and adaptations to her lifestyle—give or take a few crumbs of baklava—make the condition more bearable. Dealing with Elif's predisposition to the illness is also less expensive for the health system than dealing with diabetes and its many consequences. Endemic shortages of nurses could only be overcome by using more and more intelligent technologies. These include electronic patient files that can be accessed everywhere around the clock—be it in Istanbul, Ankara, or Izmir.

“If only genetic screening had been available in the 1990s,” Feride says. That's when I started to lose my eyesight due to glaucoma, without being aware of it at first.” On the other hand, she feels she has lived long enough to accept the fact that life is not about regrets but about going forward. “Can I have another piece of baklava?” Emir asks.

The little group gets to its feet and starts moving along, as the check has already been settled electronically. Suddenly Feride stops and carefully bends down. She plucks one of the tulips and inhales its perfume, closing her blind eyes. Feride remembers what Hagia Sophia looks like. Linking arms with Emir and Zeynep, she slowly takes one step after the other toward the balustrade, while the wind gently ruffles her white hair. There she stands, above the huge waterway that divides Istanbul in two. She raises her arm, briefly holds the flower up, then drops it into the Bosporus. Feride will have to get home soon and rest.   After all, tomorrow is her 100th birthday.