Istanbul is a city between Europe and Asia, crossed by the Bosphorus and a mixture of culture, influences and religions. A remarkable place. One would like to be able to dedicate more time for tourism and less to work in places such as this.
After arriving we celebrated a reception dinner, where Dr. Jens Rassweiler from Germany surprised us all and played the guitar live and Prof. Dr. Ali Riza Kural sang classic symphonic turkish songs as well as modern ones (I bought one of his records in a music shop).
Then the congress started. I first participated in a "hands on" training session in which the attendees could try technology with their own hands using surgical models. We usually use bull prostates to evaluate these new surgical instruments. There was of course a Greenlight HPS laser and I was there to answer questions on laser prostatectomy.
Then I left towards the hospital, where I performed an operation that was retransmitted to the congress venue. The patient had a 65 cc prostate. The operation was uneventful, unfortunately we did not get much time left and the operation was not broadcasted entirely.
The congress followed with very interesting sessions on endourology with many live surgical procedures. I had some time to visit the Great Bazar and I entered a nearby Hammam, a Turkish bath, to enjoy the sauna and a Turkish foam massage!! An unforgettable experience that I recommend.
It was sad to have to go back, Istanbul is one of the most fascinating cities in the world.
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