Ankara at last

I found a cheap ticket from İzmir to Ankara. Burcu was very kind to drive me to the airport. It was an evening flight on a small plane. I sat next to two women who were enthusiastic about trying their English on me. Talking with them helped to pass the time. When we landed I asked around for the bus to Aşti, a large bus station not far from Ayhan-Teyze's house where I would be staying.

These traveling situations used to make me more nervous but they don't bother me so much anymore. Whenever I was alone in Turkey I used to feel like I was lost, but now I feel more and more like I am just getting from place to place like everyone else. On the bus to Aşti, I sat next to a guy who looked to be right about my age. He was consumed with playing a soccer manager game on his laptop. I was silently cheering him on because he was managing Galatasaray. When they scored, I would say 'YES!' to myself and discreetly pump my fist. It was definitely entertaining. Toward the end of the trip, he asked me if we were at Aşti yet. I told him that we weren't. Then he guessed that I speak English and we talked for a while. He was a student in Michigan just coming home for the holidays. We carried on for a bit and then soon arrived at the stop. I shook his hand and wished him well, turned, and headed toward the taxi cabs.

After a short cab ride, I was dropped off at the apartment complex of Ayhan-Teyze. There were two buildings and I guessed that she was in the more distant one. I looked at the array of doorbells. There was one named Ayhan and at that moment I wished I knew her married name. I was about to push the button when someone else exited and I entered past them. I took the stairs to the third floor and stopped in front of what I hoped was the correct door. I took a deep breathe and then knocked. When the door opened I saw Ayhan-Teyze's large smile greeting me. At that time I met her husband, Muhtar. They immediately sat me down for some delicious dinner. Shortly into the meal their son, Kahraman's cousin Cenk, arrived with his wife, Nurcihan. A translator by profession, she enabled easy communication between myself and the others, which was a luxury I told myself not to get used to.

The following day there was an epic football match between Galatasaray and Altay in the Tukish Cup in İzmir, to which I had been invited but declined, because there was one even more exciting thing that was scheduled for that day: a long overdue visit with the elusive and mysterious B. This time, I told her that I was coming, and she had made preparations for some entertainment but kept me in the dark about the exact plan. I met her at school that Thursday morning and sat in class with her. I passed the time by trying to understand the lively discussion about topics in sociology all around me and also by writing down my thoughts about my adventures so far and my plans for the rest of my trip. The hours passed quickly, but by the end of the class my sheet of paper was covered with blue ink.

When school was out, B's friends all came together and we rode in cars over to her place. Final preparations were being made for a gathering. When we arrived at her apartment I paused in the doorway for a moment. It was the exact place I had surprise-visited her one year ago and my emotions from that time returned though un-summoned.

We were hardly inside the apartment when the phone rang. Of all the people in the world, it was Sumaré, my beloved Brazilian friend. He was, of course, in on this whole plan and hence the timing of his call. It was awesome to talk with him. I remember describing to him how strange it felt to be inside B's apartment. I mean that if I had been dropped in her room suddenly it would have taken me but a few moments to determine whose room it was. Books that she had recommended to me and that I had read were on the shelves. Pictures of people I knew and places I had been were on the walls. CD's of music and movies that she had inspired me to enjoy rested there. I was happy enough to be in the company of a great friend and her great friends, but to have Sumaré on the line just made it all the better.

Food and drinks arrived and were prepared, and everyone was either sharing stories or picking out music for everyone to listen to. I really enjoyed B's friends. At one point, one of the guys, Volkan, starting dancing in a very funny manner. It really fit his personality, actually, and it made us all laugh for quite a while.

The night went late and so I returned to Ayhan-Teyze's late, but it was definitely nice to have seen B and so many of her friends. After that long and wonderful day, I took it easy for a couple of days by just spending time reading as well as going out with Cenk and Nurcihan.

We went for a long walk around part of the lake at ODTÜ, the Middle Eastern Technical University in Ankara. Apparently, it is a very crowded place to be in the spring and autumn seasons, but in January it was very quiet. We took a lot of pictures there and talked about many things as well.


After the walk, we visited some relatives of Nurci's and then we stopped by at the Saturday bazaar...It snowed the morning I left Ankara.

I spent some time one day just watching the early morning traffic.

Aydın, city of light

Uplifted by having had a few marvelous days in Antalya, I thanked and said my goodbyes to the Karakoyunlus who had so graciously hosted me and climbed onto a bus to Aydın. Thanks to a special promotion, I got to ride a very luxurious bus at no extra cost. When I got to Aydın, I felt a great joy. I came last year from Ankara by way of the night bus, but this time I came during the day from the south. Regardless, the experience was just as relaxing and wonderful as the first time, and this time I was awake for most of it.

My friend Kahraman's sister, Burcu, came to get me from the bus station and took me back to their house. Unfortunately, Kahraman had left the day before because he needed to get back to the States. However, I had already met his father last year and his mother on more than one other occasion. In the last year, they had moved across town to a new apartment that still retained the comfort and charm of the old one. I looked out over Aydın from my bedroom window shortly before falling into a deep and rejuvenating sleep.

The next morning I shook away the remnants of sleepiness more quickly than usual. I was very excited to visit the elementary in Sultan Hısar again. Last year, I was shocked by the enthusiasm the children were instilled with from seeing me. Even with their uncontrollable excitement, they were very respectful and very hardworking. This year I would visit them again but without warning. I stayed the whole day this time and even taught one the English classes. The students and I shared facts and interests with each other in English and they performed very well.

That evening, I went out with Burcu to a nice little club where we met up with a few of her friends and enjoyed a late night out together. Burcu and her friends talked about many things, which at first I tried to understand. After a short time I realized that it was mostly on topics that do not generally interest me. Unsurprising I suppose, but the conversation sounded so interesting when I did not understand it.

Apart from the Efes and the music, I also enjoyed taking some pictures without the flash, producing shots like the one left of Burcu and her friends.

Some conclusions from my time in Aydın:

- Kahraman's mother cooks the most amazing food
- Aydın isnt the same without Kahraman there but it still rocks
- I will totally miss those kids from Sultan Hısar

Antalya'da

After leaving Misa and Robin in Manavgat, I went to Antalya and from there took a bus to Kumluca in the southwest of the Antalya region. The bus ride there was absolutely amazing. There were mountains that ran right into the sea. However, I did not want to be that guy who just takes tons of pictures of everything so I just enjoyed it. When I got to Kumluca I met up with my friends Deniz and Cengiz. They were visiting relatives. They have a lot of uncles and we were visiting them one or two at a time.

Something about Kumluca... It is a city filled with farmers because it is where a lot of the fruit in Turkey is grown. We stayed for a short while at one uncle's house, which was a small farmhouse. I found it to be very cozy. Sure it was a simple place but it had its charm and was to me very comfortable. I found myself thinking it was the kind of house that I would like to live in one day. Anyway, since I was a guest, my friends' relatives constantly wanted me to sample various fruits, which by the way were all delicious. I was only in Kumluca at nighttime, but I could tell that it was a lively place; it was southerly, but with almost no tourists in the summertime for lack of a good beach. Anyway, it is definitely a place I would like to see again.

When we returned to Antalya, I met more relatives of Deniz and Cengiz, including their eight year old cousin, Alp. He was shy at first but then he went and got his English practice booklet and I helped him with some of the word games and exercises in it. The next day, Alp had soccer practice at the local Antalyaspor training ground. In the picture, Alp is the goal keeper. While he was playing, I was on the sideline where there was a small practice goal. A little boy named Berke asked if I would play with him. We played several mini soccer matches. He was really cute and called me Abi. Also, as a way of passing the time at the soccer place, Deniz and I made up a chant to show our support for Alp. It went like "Alp!.....Kalk!.....Oyna!...Kurtar!, senin için atar.... bu kalp!....Alp!...." Of course we were the only passionate supporters present at these scrimmages between different teams of single-digit-aged kids.

I met many of my friends' relatives and friends. In fact, I even met the father of one of Deniz's friends, Zafer. I had met Zafer maybe a month or two earlier and I never thought I would meet his dad in Antalya, but that happened.

My days in Antalya were days that I heard more Turkish than any other time in my life. For a couple of days I was tagging along to family reunions of sorts and I tried to maintain a low profile by not trying to find a place in the conversation and just listening. I mention this though because the feeling of hearing a different language all day long was sort of eerie at times. Don't misunderstand me, I enjoyed it very much. In many ways it was comfortable as well because I was not expected to follow along or contribute. At no moment would someone ask me a question with the expectation that I knew anything relevent to the conversation leading up to the question. I found relaxation in hearing Turkish around me but just being able to listen. These days while I sit at my apartment back in the states and recall all of this I find myself seeking refuge from the monotony by playing Turkish music and occasionly television shows in the background to help recreate the comfort of that environment.

One other thing that I want to address here is something that people have asked me a lot about since my return, which is how I was received abroad as an American. Really, it was no different this time (with Obama about to take office) than last time (when America's reputation abroad was probably at an all-time low). People treated me the same, but I have to mention that people were interested in my opinion of Obama. One of Deniz's uncles (the one in the photo on the left) asked me if I voted for Obama. I said "of course", to which he was very pleased. Then I thought, any American that you meet at a family reunion dinner at your brother-in-law's house in the south of Turkey in the winter who was born before 1990 will have voted for Obama. Anyway, I found myself wishing I had made the shirt I thought to make before my trip. I wanted to sew a shirt that said "Obama'ya oy verdim." ...which of course means "I voted for Obama." It would have told anybody in Turkey who saw me wearing it just about everything they might want to know about me (that I'm American, and that I voted the way they would have voted if they could have).

After a few days in Antalya, I said goodbye to Deniz, Cengiz, and their family and took a bus northward through the mountains to Aydın, one of my favorite cities from the trip last year.