Class 55 Keeping it Tight – Farewell Istanbul October 22, 2026 By Class55 Share: We woke up to a glorious sunrise over the Bosphorus, and while it signified the start of another day for an estimated 20 million residents of Istanbul, it signified the close of our time in this beautiful city. The city commanded our attention, challenged our perspectives on leadership, and teased us with hints of what’s required to make a city not only last for thousands of years but remain relevant. Our guide, Cihan, taught us about the vast history and customs, and also what the city was really about: care and connection. Istanbul’s culture is rooted in helping and hospitality, and Class 55 certainly felt that everywhere we visited, from impromptu tea for 27 from a vendor at the Grand Bazaar to a very sad farewell to Cihan, who had so authentically endeared himself to us in just three short days. If there’s a leadership lesson in Istanbul’s longevity, perhaps it’s this: what lasts isn’t just built in stone, but also how people take care of one another.They say you really get to know someone when the pressure is on, and travel days are proof. Thankfully, through the guidance of Dr. White, Class 55 has created systems to ease these pressures, even if we can’t eliminate them. Our captains outline each travel-day the night before: bags packed, specific meeting times, and most importantly, “keeping it tight!” By designating roles, this system lets the entire class move from the hotel, onto the buses, and through the airport without a second thought. Our captains are in the driver’s seat, and the passengers understand their role is to follow the guidance to the letter. Moving 27 people and around 60 bags by bus through a bustling city and into Istanbul Airport, one of the busiest and most connected hubs in the world, could easily be chaos. With a good system in place, it’s almost effortless. As we flew over Istanbul, we could see the city’s color palette, and it reflected what the city was about; calming blues, soothing greens, and welcoming royal purples. Together they matched the calm, imaginative, and restorative energy we had experienced. Two and a half hours later, we were greeted by the bustling sprawl of Greater Cairo, a wash of tans, browns, reds, and yellows. The contrast with what we had just left made it clear we were no longer in Istanbul, a reminder that Egypt comes with its own history, culture, and customs. We could only wonder where Cairo’s palette came from? Is it the desert? The black silt of the Nile, which gave ancient Egypt its name, Kemet, “the black land”? Or the limestone cut for the pyramids themselves? Perhaps it reflects a groundedness we aren’t yet aware of, one we hope to understand by the time we leave. At passport control, we were introduced to our guide for this portion of the trip, Mamdouh Goda, “Gouda” as he introduced himself. Keeping it tight, we followed directions out of Cairo airport and onto our tour bus to head to our new hotel. Gouda told us the drive would take an hour-ish, the “-ish” accounting for the inevitable traffic jams: no marked lanes, constant merging, and horns honking all around. For millions of Cairenes, this is simply daily life. The suburbs we passed looked equally chaotic, with buildings at every angle, clothes hanging from windows, and in some cases no windows at all. Gouda explained that much of this growth happened over just the last 10–15 years, without central planning. It was another reminder that at this scale, good systems play an important role in minimizing disorder. As evening began to descend, Egypt gave us a glimpse of what we had all been thinking about since the International Trip was announced: the Pyramids of Giza. They immediately drew the attention of everyone on the bus, a reminder of just how ancient this place is. We got our first real taste of Egyptian culture at a lovely welcome dinner, where the hospitality shown to our large group made it clear how much our hosts care about treating people well. That morning, we had watched the sun rise over the Bosphorus. Now we watched it set over the desert, in a new place, on a new continent. At this point in our journey we had come to realize that the Türkiye we expected, wasn’t what we found. Many of us had our original assumptions about religious tolerance and multiculturalism challenged, and conversations over dinner confirmed we were all mostly feeling the same way. We’d asked many questions over the last few days of Cihan, most raised from inquisitiveness as to why and how these differences we were seeing had come about. As leaders this kind of curiosity is especially important to help us understand more than what the surface shows. Now, as we start exploring what Egypt has to offer, we’re remaining curious and looking beyond our expectations to see what we might understand by the end of our time here. This entire trip will expose us to dramatic differences between what we know and are comfortable with, and what we are seeing for the first time. It’s important for us to all remember that it’s how we choose to meet difference, uncertainty, or discomfort that matters. With gratitude,Claire, Drew, Emma, and Class 55We’re grateful to our guides Cihan and Gouda for sharing their time with us to ensure we not only see the layers each city has but more importantly understand them.We’d like to thank the California Agricultural Leadership Foundation, its sponsors, board of directors, alumni, education team and staff.