Design students’ novel idea for those leading hectic lifestyles strikes a chord with Queen
Royals learn of UK links and local customs on Turkey visit
Published:
The Queen joked about her fast-paced life of royal tours yesterday when she met design students who have developed a novel way of eating on the run.
Coming to the end of a four-day state visit to Turkey with the Duke of Edinburgh, she met five post-graduate students who have created the “breakfast kit for urban life”.
The young women, who are studying for masters qualifications at Istanbul Technology University (ITU), talked the Queen through their project when she visited the Istanbul Modern Art Museum.
The breakfast snack is pre-packed in a plastic tray that folds up to the size of a small book and includes strawberry jam, butter, cream cheese, bread and black olive paste and a knife.
The Queen’s busy schedule during her state visit has seen her based in capital Ankara but making day visits to other parts of the country.
During her visit to the museum, the Queen, who was joined by Foreign Secretary David Miliband, was shown iconic design pieces from classic furniture to electronic gadgets and even a pinstripe suit by designer Paul Smith.
Earlier British students from two Hackney schools met the monarch when she visited one of Istanbul's most renowned education institutions, Kabatas High School.
The teenagers from Hackney Girls School and Hackney Community College have been working with their counterparts from Kabatas on a business plan for marketing a pedal bike that also has an electric motor. Mr Miliband spent a few moments riding one of the bikes in the grounds of the school.
Later the duke and the Queen were treated to the sight and sounds of Istanbul’s famous Kapali Carsi – covered bazaar. Philip browsed the stores which included a replica of a Turkish coffee house which included a man smoking a hookah pipe, but the duke told him laughing: “That’s illegal.”
The Queen and Duke travelled by a Bosphorus cruise ship. Later the Queen hosted a glittering reception on board the warship HMS Illustrious in honour of Turkish President Abdullah Gul.
