two pans of the balance

YOUNG VIEW // GENÇ BAKIfi
TWO PANS OF THE BALANCE
TERAZ‹N‹N ‹K‹ KEFES‹
D‹LDAR ÜNDE⁄ER
Serap Taflkent Yenal
Arzu Taflkent Dinçer
Think of two sisters; they are both Libra and they were born on the same day 4 years apart, and they have
characteristic features and tastes which complement one another. I am talking about Arzu and Serap
Taflkent sisters. Of course, one more word was added to the surnames of both sisters, and
one of them became Arzu Taflkent Dinçer and the other Serap Taflkent Yenal.
‹ki kardefl düflünün; ikisi de Terazi burcu, üstelik 4 y›l arayla ayn› gün do¤mufllar ve
birbirlerini tamamlayan karakteristik özelliklere, be¤enilere sahipler. Arzu ve Serap Taflkent
kardefllerden bahsediyorum. Tabii her ikisinin de y›llar önce soyadlar›na birer kelime daha
eklenmifl ve biri Arzu Taflkent Dinçer, di¤eri de Serap Taflkent Yenal olmufl.
044
MARINE&COMMERCE JULY 2008
YOUNG VIEW // GENÇ BAKIfi
rzu and Serap Taflkent sisters are two of the 4
daughters of Çetin Taflkent, the bitter-sweet figure
of the sector, and of Mrs. Saliha Taflkent whose
smile on her face never disappears. They are also the new
generation managers of Taflkent Tourism.
A
Mrs. Arzu states that her most typical feature is her
intolerance against injustices. She studied statisticsmathematics, and she took over the financial responsibility
of their company in the tourism sector. She is creative.
Arzu Taflkent Dinçer
Serap Taflkent Yenal
Although she knows how to enjoy life, she does not feel at
ease without performing the last step in the practice stage
of her work. She prefers running after the works and
rzu ve Serap Taflkent kardefller, sektörün tatl›-serti Çetin
researching to sitting in her office. As for Mrs. Serap; she also
Taflkent ile yüzündeki sevecen gülümsemesi hiç eksik olmadoes not tolerate injustices, but she thinks herself slightly more
yan Saliha Han›m›n 4 k›z›ndan ikisi. Taflkent Turizm’in de
aggressive. She studied tourism and she runs the sales section of
genç nesil yöneticileri.
the business. However, unlike her elder sister, she prefers spending
Arzu Han›m, en tipik özelli¤ini haks›zl›klara karfl› tahammülsüztime in the office by listening to classical music. Her philosophy is
to leave work at the workplace. The favorite color of one of them is
lü¤ü olarak tan›ml›yor. ‹statistik-matematik okumufl, turizmde de
blue and white, while the other’s is green and black. Both of them
flirketlerinin finans sorumlulu¤unu üstlenmifl. Yarat›c›. Her ne kaactualized successful achievements in other companies before
dar hayattan keyif almay› sevse de iflinin uygulama k›sm›nda son
starting to work in their family company. Moreover, both of them
noktay› koymadan rahat etmiyor. Ofiste oturmaktansa koflturup,
love their family lives. In short; these two sisters who were born on
araflt›rmay› tercih ediyor. Serap Han›ma gelince; o da haks›zl›klathe same day 4 years apart equalize the two pans of the balance by
ra tahammül edemiyor ama biraz daha fazla fevri oldu¤unu düflücomplementing one another.
nüyor. Turizm e¤itimi alm›fl ve iflin sat›fl k›sm›n› yürütüyor. Ancak
Of course, a talk made with beautiful people on the sea is
ablas›n›n aksine klasik müzik dinleyerek ofiste vakit geçirmeyi de
enjoyable. That day, many hours passed; we shared, laughed and
çok seviyor. Felsefesi ifli iflte b›rakmak. Birinin rengi mavi ve betold our worries to each other… Our talk started with “bossyazken, di¤erininki yeflil ve siyah. Her ikisi de aile flirketlerinde çafather” conversation and continued with the adversities of the
l›flmaya bafllamadan önce, baflka flirketlerde baflar›l› ifllere imza
sector and concluded with the evaluation of the place of woman in
atm›fllar. Ve yine her ikisi de aile hayatlar›n› çok seviyor. Özetle;
maritime. As in every interview, there were some crucial
4 y›l arayla ayn› gün do¤an bu iki kardefl birbirlerini tamamlayastatements in my interview with Taflkent sisters. Here are the two
rak, terazinin iki ayr› kefesini dengede tutuyor.
sisters’ most crucial statements which preoccupied my mind;
Denizin üstünde, güzel insanlarla yap›lan sohbet keyifli olur elbet• “We consider our father as our ‘spiritual leader.’”
te. O gün de saatler saatleri kovalad›; paylafl›ld›, gülündü, dertle• “Serap calls me and my father Hacivat and Karagöz.”
flildi... Sohbetimiz “patron-baba” muhabbetiyle bafllad›, sektörün
• “We take 15-20 thousand people to show around in one season
s›k›nt›lar› ile devam etti ve denizde kad›n de¤erlendirmesiyle nokand most of these are tourists. That means we are a firm that
taland›. Her röportajda oldu¤u gibi Taflkent kardefllerin röportamakes a remarkable contribution to tourism.”
j›nda da baz› kilit cümleler vard›.
• “I’m sorry to say that people of Istanbul are uneasy to get on a
boat in winter. In fact, the gray clouds, rain and snow of the
‹flte iki kardeflin benim zihnime tak›lan en kilit cümleleri;
Bosphores are viewed more spectacular on the sea.”
• “Babam›z› “ruhani liderimiz” olarak görüyoruz.”
• “Unfortunately, as a country, we do not have the imagination to
• “Serap, babamla bana Hacivat ve Karagöz der”
experience different things.”
• “Sezonda 15-20 bin kifli gezdiriyoruz, bunlar›n ço¤u da turist.
How do you see your relationship as “Boss-father and his
Demek ki biz turizme ciddi katk›da bulunan bir firmay›z.”
daughters”?
• “‹stanbullu k›fl›n tekneye binme konusunda maalesef tedirgin.
Oysa k›fl›n bo¤az›n gri bulutlar› da, ya¤muru da, kar› da sadece
Arzu Taflkent: We consider our father as our “spiritual leader”.
denizden güzel.”
It is enough for us when he is at our side even though he may not do
anything. Unlike his tough appearance, he is such a softhearted
• “Ne yaz›k ki ülkece farkl› fleyler yapma hayalperestli¤imiz
person… He is not resentful; he is outspoken and he says everything
yok.”
for the goodness of his addressee. As a matter of fact, he is loved for
“Patron baba ve k›zlar›” olarak iliflkinizi nas›l görüyorsunuz?
these features of him. In fact, people liken him to Hulusi Kentmen.
Arzu Taflkent: Biz babam›z› “ruhani liderimiz” olarak görüyoruz.
I see myself as a small-size model of my father. I experience many
Hiçbirfley yapmasa bile yan›m›zda bulunmas› yeterli. Sert görünüthings with my father. For instance; when there is an organization on
the boat, we never sleep before the boat is moored and everybody
müne ra¤men öyle yufka yürekli bir insan ki... Asla kinci de¤il, sö-
A
ULUSLARARASI DEN‹Z ve T‹CARET TEMMUZ 2008
045
YOUNG VIEW // GENÇ BAKIfi
The responsibility we undertake is very enormous. We have the
understanding of achieving the best and the finest for the
“Taflkent” which has existed for 30 years and is known by
everyone. Of course, this is difficult in these economic
conditions, yet we still have such a vision.
Ald›¤›m›z sorumluluk çok büyük. 30 y›ld›r yaflayan ve herkes
taraf›ndan bilinen ‘Taflkent’ ismi için, en iyiyi en güzeli yapma
anlay›fl› içindeyiz. Tabii bu ekonomik koflullar içerisinde flu an
için zor ama yine de böyle bir vizyonumuz var.
Arzu Taflkent Dinçer
Serap Taflkent Yenal
gets off. Of course, when we work together, sometimes we get into
conflict. Serap even calls us Hacivat and Karagöz. Indeed, there is
such kind of a relationship between me and my father. When my
father says something, the conversation is over. Since I have the
same manners, sometimes we differ in opinion.
Serap Taflkent: In fact, the cordiality between me and my father
has increased since we started to work together, of which I am
glad. I would keep more distance with my father in the past;
indeed, I was afraid of him. As for Arzu, she would not hesitate to
speak and she would say anything she wanted. In fact, since our
childhood, we were brought up being always conscious about our
responsibilities. We were never able to be at ease and we thought
that we had to do our best in whatever business we engage in.
Accordingly, my father enjoys this, too.
Tell me about a regular day of yours?
Arzu Taflkent: I am not a person who can spend the work hours in
the office environment. I have a restless personality. Suddenly,
what must be purchased for the boat decoration comes into my
mind and I spend hours in Grand Bazaar or Eminönü which I enjoy
very much. I even joke around by telling Serap, “You sit in your
glass mansion, and make business connections and let me spend
the money.” In our share of work, Serap steps in during the stage
of sale and I take the responsibility of other stages. I can say that
I am a good housewife besides my business life. I am good at
kitchen and I very much love spending time in the kitchen when
I come home in the evening.
Serap Taflkent: Naturally, I make visits to the agencies during the
day, but I love spending time at my office as well. The section for
which I am responsible is sale, but I am the type of person who leaves
work at the workplace. I think that the work must be finished before
I go home, and I get bored if I have to experience the opposite.
In comparison to Arzu, I can isolate myself from the work more.
I believe that I fondly and deliberately conduct the tourism business.
What are the challenges of your job?
Serap Taflkent: The primary challenge is where the boats are
046
MARINE&COMMERCE JULY 2008
zünü sak›nmaz, herfleyi karfl›s›ndakinin iyili¤i için söyler. Zaten bu
özellikleri yüzünden çok seviliyor. Hatta Hulusi Kentmen’e benzetirler babam›n tav›rlar›n›. Ben kendimi babam›n küçük bir modeli olarak görüyorum. Birçok fleyi babamla beraber yafl›yoruz, örne¤in teknede bir organizasyon oldu¤unda tekne ba¤lanmadan,
herkes inmeden kesinlikle uyumay›z. Tabii çal›fl›rken arada bir güç
çat›flmas› da yaflar›z. Hatta Serap bize Hacivat ve Karagöz der,
gerçekten de aram›zda böyle bir iliflki var. Babam bir fley söyledi¤i zaman noktay› koyar, genelde ben de o yap›da oldu¤um için arada bazen fikir çat›flmalar›m›z olur.
Serap Taflkent: Asl›nda beraber çal›flmaya bafllad›¤›m›zdan beri
benim babamla olan samimiyetim artt› ki bundan çok memnunum.
Eskiden babama karfl› daha mesafeliydim, hatta biraz korkard›m.
Arzu’ysa laf›n› sak›nmaz, içinden ne geliyorsa söylerdi. Asl›nda biz
çocuklu¤umuzdan beri her zaman sorumluluklar›m›z›n bilincinde
olarak yetifltirildik. Hiçbir zaman çok rahat olamad›k ve hep ne ifl
yaparsak yapal›m, en iyi flekilde yapmal›y›z diye düflündük. Tabii
bunu ifl hayat›m›za da yans›t›yoruz. Dolay›s›yla babam da bundan
keyif al›yor.
Rutin bir gününüz nas›l geçiyor?
Arzu Taflkent: Ben ofis ortam›nda mesai saatini doldurabilecek
tarzda bir insan de¤ilim, yerinde duramayan bir yap›m var. Birden
akl›ma tekne dekorasyonu için al›nmas› gereken bir fley gelir ve Kapal›çarfl›’ya ya da Eminönü’ne gider, saatlerimi geçiririm. Bundan
da çok büyük keyif al›r›m. Hatta Serap’a; “Sen s›rça köflkünde otur
iflleri ba¤la, ben de paralar› harcayay›m.” diye tak›l›r›m. ‹fl paylafl›m›m›zda sat›fl› yapma aflamas›nda Serap devrededir, ben de di¤er
aflamalar›n sorumlulu¤unu üstlenirim. Kendi iflimin d›fl›nda iyi bir
ev han›m› oldu¤umu söyleyebilirim. Mutfa¤a yatk›n›m ve akflam
eve geldi¤imde mutfakta vakit geçirmeyi çok severim.
Serap Taflkent: Gün içinde acente ziyaretleri yapar›m elbette ama
ofiste vakit geçirmeyi de çok severim. Sorumlulu¤unu üstlendi¤im
konu sat›fl ama ifli iflte b›rakanlardan›m. Eve gitti¤imde ifl bitmeli
diye düflünürüm. Ve aksini yaflamak zorunda kal›rsam, s›k›l›r›m.
YOUNG VIEW // GENÇ BAKIfi
moored. When the government decides that the boats be removed
from their moorings, it should designate new places for those. We
have problems related to these issues. As there is no incentive put
into effect, particularly in the recent period there are evident
obstacles. However, as Taflkent, we take 15-20 thousand people to
show around and most of these are tourists. This means we are a
firm that makes a contribution to tourism.
Arzu Taflkent Dinçer
There are some norms to be complied with due to our transition
period to European Union and we accept this fact. Yet, there are
such challenging and interesting demands related to the certificates
which the present boats must obtain that sometimes we think it is
easier to construct a boat from the scratch. When all the hardships
concerning the system are coupled with the timidity of the society
against the sea, frankly, there are times when we go nuts. While
people in many countries show their visitors small canals, we can
not make use of such a beautiful strait. Sitting all winter and
working for only 5 or 6 months is so tragic. I think that as tourism
agents it is necessary for us to have different visions. When we
speak out the necessity of organizing strait tours, I come across
such interesting questions as “Can tsunami occur in the
Bosphores?” or “Do the lengths of waves overflow the boat?” that
even though we answer these questions, it nevertheless remains
ineffective. Not only us, but also the other boats wind down
through the winter which is a very awful thing.
Arzu Taflkent: All in all, Taflkent boats were made by my father.
We renewed these boats and operate them. We think that our next
major achievement should be to construct and operate a new boat
even if it won’t have such a large size. But there are no mooring
spots for the boats, as there are no places for their maintenance
when they enter the shipyard period. Until today, my father has
always taken the boats to maintenance through his friends. What I
mean is that we are two dynamic women and when we want o build
a boat, we face way too many obstacles. These need to be
eliminated urgently.
We have all kinds of facilities present in our boats. They are safe
and cozy. But for some reason, it is almost impossible to attract
people to the sea in winter. This is because the people of Istanbul
are not familiar with the Bosphores and do not feel it.
So what is the solution? What kind of a method should be
followed?
Serap Taflkent: First of all, people should be made familiar with
the sea, it should be imposed that there is no need to be afraid of it
in such an extent. These kinds of boats obtain a certificate of
seaworthiness. I visited a canal in Dusseldorf. Even though mud
was flowing in, the queue before the boats were incredible. Also in
Paris, people queue up to see tiny canals at -30C. Our country must
receive a similar demand, too. I believe that the promotion should
be primarily initiated by tourism companies and agencies. When
we go to the agencies, they say “We do not organize boat tours in
winter”. But, why? In fact, the gray clouds, rain and snow of the
Bosphores are viewed more spectacular on the sea and
unfortunately 3 or 4 tours in February in comparison to 50-60
tours in May can hardly create a motivation.
048
MARINE&COMMERCE JULY 2008
Yes, we run a restaurant, but the shipping aspect of this business differs so
much. Its connection to age and experience is very significant. We want our
father to come to office and he may do nothing but accompany us, which still
creates a very great energy. We sometimes go through a conflict of
generations, but this is very normal. Our vision is much broader and we wish to
catch many trends. After our father has seen this outlook of ours, he quit
interfering and provided us with more opportunities.
Arzu’ya göre kendimi iflten daha çok soyutlayabiliyorum. Turizmi
severek ve bilerek yapt›¤›m› düflünüyorum.
‹flinizin s›k›nt›l› yönleri neler?
Serap Taflkent: S›k›nt›lar›m›z›n bafl›n›, teknelerin ba¤lanma yeri
çekiyor. Devlet teknelerin ba¤l› durduklar› yerden kald›r›lmas› karar›n› al›rken, bunlara yeni ba¤lama yerlerini de göstermeli. Bu
yönde s›k›nt›lar›m›z var, hiç teflvik olmad›¤› gibi özellikle flu son
dönemlerde köstek olma durumu söz konusu. Oysa sadece Taflkent
olarak biz sezonda 15-20 bin kifli gezdiriyoruz ve bunlar›n ço¤u da
turist. Demek ki biz turizme katk›da bulunan bir firmay›z.
Avrupa Birli¤i’ne girifl sürecinden dolayı, uyulması gereken bir dizi
yeni normlar getiriliyor ve bizde bunlara uymak için gerekli
çalıflmaları yapmaya özen gösteriyoruz. Ama mevcut teknelerin sahip olmas› gereken belgelerle ilgili öyle zor ve enteresan talepler de
var ki, bazen yeni tekne infla etmek daha kolay diye düflünüyoruz.
Sisteme iliflkin tüm zorluklara, bir de toplumun denize karfl› ürkekli¤i eklendi¤inde isyan etti¤imiz dönemler oluyor do¤rusu. Dünyan›n birçok ülkesinde insanlar küçücük bir kanal› gezdirirken, biz bu
kadar güzel bo¤az›m›z› de¤erlendiremiyoruz. Bütün bir k›fl oturup,
YOUNG VIEW // GENÇ BAKIfi
Serap Taflkent Yenal
sadece 5-6 ay çal›flmak çok ac›. Turizmci olarak vizyonumuzun
farkl› olmas› gerekti¤ini düflünüyorum. K›fl›n da bo¤az turlar› yap›lmal› derken, “Bo¤azda tsunami olur mu?”, “Dalga boyu gemiyi
aflar m›?” gibi öyle ilginç sorularla karfl›lafl›yorum ki... Sorular›
her ne kadar cevaplasak da, etkili olmuyor. Sadece biz de¤il, di¤er
tekneler de bütün k›fl yat›yor ve bu çok ac› birfley.
Arzu Taflkent: Sonuçta Taflkent gemilerini babam yapm›fl, biz yeniledik ve iflletiyoruz. Bundan sonraki esas baflar›m›z, bu kadar
büyük olmasa da yeni bir tekne yapmak ve iflletmek olmal› diye düflünüyoruz. Fakat teknelerin ba¤lama yeri yok, tersane döneminde
bak›mlar›n›n yap›laca¤› yer de yok. Bugüne kadar hep babam
dostlar› arac›l›¤›yla gemileri bak›ma çektirdi. Yani biz iki dinamik
kad›n›z ve tekne yapmak istedi¤imizde, pek çok engelle karfl›lafl›yoruz. Bunlar›n acilen kald›r›lmas› gerek.
Teknelerimizde her türlü imkan mevcut; güvenli ve s›cak. Ama nedense insanlar› k›fl›n denize çekmek imkans›z gibi bir fley. Çünkü
‹stanbullu denizi, bo¤az› bilmiyor ve hissetmiyor.
Peki çözüm ne? Nas›l bir yol izlenmeli?
Bir restorant iflletiyoruz evet fakat bu iflin denizcilik baca¤› çok farkl›, yafl ve tecrübe ile ba¤lant›s› çok önemli. Babam›z hiçbirfley yapmas›n fakat gelsin ofiste bizim ile birlikte olsun o bile bizim için çok büyük bir güç. Bazen kuflak çat›flmas›
yafl›yoruz ama bu da çok normal. Bizim vizyonumuz daha aç›k daha çok trend yakalamak peflindeyiz. Bu bak›fl aç›m›z› gördükten sonra babam,
hiçbirfleye kar›flmamaya bafllad› ve önümüzü daha çok açt›.
Serap Taflkent: Herfleyden önce insanlara denizi anlatmal›, bu
kadar korkulmamas› gerekti¤ini empoze etmeliyiz. Bu tip tekneler
denize elverifllilik belgesi al›yorlar. Düsseldorf’ta bir kanala gittim. Çamur akmas›na ra¤men, teknelerin önünde oluflan kuyruk
inan›lmazd›. Yine Paris‘de -3 derecede küçücük kanallar› gezmek
için herkes s›raya giriyor. Ülkemizde de böyle bir talep olmal›.
Tan›t›m ifline de önce turizm flirketleri ve acentalar›n bafllamas›
gerekti¤ine inan›yorum. Biz acentalara gitti¤imizde ‘K›fl›n tekne
turu koymuyoruz’ diyorlar. Peki neden? Oysa k›fl›n bo¤az›n gri
bulutlar› da, ya¤muru da, kar› da sadece denizden güzel. Ve maalesef fiubat ay›nda yap›lan 3-4 tur, may›s ay›nda yap›lan 50-60
tura nazaran ancak motivasyon olabiliyor.
Will your other two sisters join the family company?
Di¤er iki k›z kardefliniz de aile flirketinize kat›lacaklar m›?
Serap Taflkent: My younger sister who is number three among the
siblings is presently engaged in tourism business. She worked with
us for a period of time, and if she wants to rejoin us, we’ll be more
than happy and become more powerful. She prefers to take care of
her kid for a while since he is yet very little. Number 4 who is a
chemical engineer is not interested a bit in this business nor
fancies it. She is different in nature and she has an analytical
personality. She helps us in technical issues. Presently, she works
in a textile company.
Serap Taflkent: Benden sonraki kardeflim yani 3 numara olan da
turizm ile meflgul. Bir dönem bizimle çal›flt› tekrar kat›lmak isterse de çok mutlu oluruz ve gücümüze güç katar›z. fiu an çocu¤u küçük oldu¤u için belli bir süre onunla ilgilenmeyi tercih ediyor. 4
numara ise kimya mühendisi, bu ifllerle hiç alakas› olmad›¤› gibi
hofllanm›yor da. Yap› olarak daha farkl›, analitik bir yap›s› var.
Bize teknik konularda yard›mc› olur. fiu anda da bir tekstil firmas›nda çal›fl›yor.
What about “woman in the wea”?
“Denizde kad›n” desem...
Arzu Taflkent: Unfortunately, courtesy and kindness are not
concepts that are frequently seen in the sea.
Arzu Taflkent: Nezaket ve kibarl›k denizde pek rastlanan bir kavram de¤il maalesef. Özellikle tekne yanaflma yerlerinde zaman zaman çok çirkin olaylar yaflan›yor. Ama tersanelerde durum farkl›.
S›kl›kla gidiyorum ve büyük keyif al›yorum.
Especially, in the berthing spots of the boats, very unpleasant
incidents occur. Yet, the situation is different in shipyards. I go
there frequently and enjoy it very much.
Serap Taflkent: Our sector is dominated by men. I can say that
there are only two of us in Taflkent type boats. I, like Arzu, also
think that women are not treated with respect in our sector. &
Serap Taflkent: Bizim sektörde erkek egemenli¤i var. Taflkent
tarz›ndaki teknelerde bayan olarak sadece ikimiz var›z diyebilirim. Ben de Arzu gibi, bizim sektörde kad›na sayg›l› davran›lmad›¤›n› düflünüyorum. &
ULUSLARARASI DEN‹Z ve T‹CARET TEMMUZ 2008
049