Ankara, Turkey

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I have recently changed roles and the new project requires a lot of interaction between various offices, so I traveled to our office in Ankara, Turkey to meet the team and see how they intend to complete this project. They were sooooo incredibly nice! They definitely spoiled me by taking good care of me for two days. It really reminded me of my old office in Ventura, California and I got a little nostalgic and even homesick. It was quiet and easy paced, and everyone seemed to respect and value each other. Though they work fairly long hours! The office was located in the older downtown area near the embassy, with great views over the city. However, they have a new office that is being completed and will soon move there, out of this area instead. Bummer. I found the office employees quite knowledgeable and busy. Indeed, aside from some ongoing long term projects, they were also involved in some capacity with the recent Turkey earthquake back in February.

The team went out to lunch together every day, particularly to one place nearby, Cemile'nin Mutfagi, that was run by a husband and wife with homemade foods, a little different every day. So, we had lunch there both days and it was so delicious. I had fried chicken with mashed potatoes and eggplant the first day, and stuffed peppers the second day. They also took me to dinner each night. The first night I went with the team I would be working directly with, including the Country Manager. It was a nice, outdoor restaurant situated on a slight hill and overlooking this part of the city, and a nice view of the sunset. It was very green and peaceful, though it started to sprinkle towards the end and they started to roll out the cloth overhangs, so we had no worries. We shared plates of mostly appetizers, some which were so good. Those filled me up, but they also ordered a main dish instead, with me getting chicken and vegetables. Finally we finished with fruit plates for dessert. Not to mention, we had some raki throughout the evening. The second night, I went with three colleagues to a seafood restaurant - I was slightly concerned since we were well inland, but this place was also delicious. It was surprisingly not crowded, being Friday night in the middle of town. We had a table on the balcony, again with a great sunset. We started off with some mezze, small dishes that you could order from a display, so we got about 5 of them to split, including some dips and smoked fish, later getting some shrimp dishes, and of course, lots of raki. YUM!!!! Then we decided to skip the main dish and order dessert, including more fruit and some kind of hot gooey dish. This group was a bit more low key and explained some of the typical customs to me, like raki is for friends, basically "what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas", and the typical cheers.

Anitkabir

On Saturday, I had the whole day to myself until my very late night flight. I walked the 3 miles to Anitkabir, a mausoleum and memorial park dedicated to the revered founder of the modern country, Mustafa Kemel Ataturk. It was a pleasant, morning walk, with my plan to get there soon after it opened at 9am. It was free (yay!) and was already starting to get a bit busy. My colleague had recommended to go early because it gets very hot on a sunny day with the open, reflective structure. It was a good choice.

I started by walking up the nice garden path to see the flag of Turkey depicted in the flower bed and the first flag pole laying nearby. Then you walk up the steps to the Ceremonial Ground, the massive plaza. I first went left as it seemed most people were heading straight to the mausoleum. I walked along the covered walkway between the main towers, with clear views of the city all around. The gravesite of Ismet Inonu, the first prime minister, who is laid directly across from the mausoleum was a first stop. Then I realized each tower had a bit of a display, so I started to pay attention. The first two towers had a display of a car and a little theater with a video showing some old footage (I assume of Ataturk, but it was in Turkish). I then continued down the Lion Path, which was lovely, and with two more display structures at the end (cars again and a ship this time - boys and their toys). There were also statues representing the men and women of Turkey. I then made my way back to the mausoleum, going up the steps. The mausoleum was quite impressive, high ceilings, and simple, tasteful decorations. I noted some people there as tourists, and some who seemingly came to generally pay their respects.

Coming down the steps, I made it to the next tower, which was the entrance to the museum. The friendly guard told me no photos in the first three rooms, which housed portraits of Ataturk at various times in his life and had a nice overview of the history of the founding of the country. This was more my speed and interest area. Most signs were translated to English, but it was starting to get crowded. Then I realized the museum was a long winding pathway that ran beneath the mausoleum. Very cool. The next portion contained life size dioramas of the Great War, which was a bit overwhelming. Then you go into a room with a lot of giant paintings, again mostly focused on the war and conditions surrounding it - some were interesting, but it was also a bit of a weird way to tell the otherwise interesting history. Then you go further into a long tunnel-like walkway with windows on one side, and the other side had little alcoves containing some old artefacts from this era. Some were fairly interesting, mostly just to get an idea of how life was like at the time. Additionally, when I left, I walked down the other side, enjoying the greenery. There were signs on the trees, which were many varieties, donated by more than 50 countries. I also saw some wild blueberries! In general, I was pleasantly surprised that this whole structure was more than a mausoleum and a plaza.

Museum of Anatolian Civilizations

I started walking to my next destination, but I was getting irritated with my GPS, which just randomly stopped working. I could have found my way, but it was another hour walk, so I saw a taxi on the way, and decided to just take it. He was soooo friendly but spoke very little English. I am glad I took the taxi as when you get closer to the museum and castle area, there are many small, side, and winding roads, so you can be easily confused. It was also getting hot and it was very steep here! He dropped me off right at the entrance and had google translate tell me he was sorry about his lack of english - adorable!

This was the one place I really wanted to see here, though I will say that the morning at Anitkabir did sap my energy. I paid the entrance fee and entered; again, very friendly employees. The museum is housed in a 15th century building, which was heavily damaged by fire in 1881, but Ataturk recommended to restore it into a museum, which was originally opened in the 1960's. I saw a large tour group at the entrance and initially followed them into the Hall of Stone Artefacts, squeezing past them to see some of the many stone sculptures and motifs. It felt a little Indiana Jones like, as they were housed in a way that seemed like organized storage. The cool part of this room are the ten huge domes above the open room, supported by just four main pillars. Though it did get a little overwhelming at just the sheer volume.

So, I left and headed back to the beginning, realizing the museum was divided into 11 sections, each dedicated to a different age or theme. This actually made it easy to follow. While there were a lot, a LOT, of displayed artefacts, and you could not really take a good look at all of them, it helped you see the changes over time clearly. First was the Paleolithic Age (up to 11,000 years ago), then onto the Neolithic Age Section which was extremely interesting. This included some T-shaped monumental obelisks from Gobekli Tepe, the oldest known city in the world. It also has three extremely interesting painted plasters: one is the "Scene of the Bull", which depicts a large bull surrounded by human figures, and the second is possibly the oldest city plan in the world, the third is similar to the bull plaster but with a deer, all are from about 6,000 BC. Yeah, clearly I was geeking out a bit at this point.

I enjoyed the pottery displays from the Chalcolithic Age, followed by the ceremonial artefacts from the Early Bronze Age. I loved the animal themed vessels and stone books / documents from the Assyrian Trade Colonies, then the iconic large detailed vase and decorated wash tubs from the Hittite second. The Phrygian section had more wood and metal works and detailed cauldrons with some life size animal depictions. The Urartu section had artefacts that were more decorative and ceremonial, rather than functional, as well as some examples of temples. It was very interesting. By this time, I was tired, hungry and thirsty, so quickly made it through the Roman artefacts section downstairs and the outdoor displays of large pottery and statues. I was very happy and could easily have spent another hour or two here.

Lunch

I walked up the hill toward the old town area we had driven through earlier, making my way toward the castle. I was hungry and was trying to decide whether to visit the castle first or get food, when I came across a sign for a restaurant that seemed nice. I had been looking for a place with a view, but this was in a pleasant little courtyard. Good enough. And the servers were very nice! I ordered some chicken with veggies and fries, as well as a coke (so thirsty!) and water. Again, so much food! I did not expect it to be so much. But, I sat for a while and read my book while picking at my lunch.

Ankara Castle

I had walked around one side of the castle first, which was a bit rundown, but looked structurally impressive. Inside, were small streets with little shops along them. Before lunch, it was relatively empty, but after the number of people had significantly increased. It was a cute place and really, if I come back, I would spend a whole day in this part of town. The castle itself was.... fine. It was free of course, but basically because it was just a giant ruin. I do love these types of structures, where old ruins are no longer functional, but the city builds around them and incorporates them. You walk up a steep slope, with nice stairs set, then into the courtyard. At the top of the ruins, you get 360 degrees of the city. So, totally worth it, even though I had no idea what to expect.

Remainder of the day....

From there I took a taxi back to my hotel and immediately passed out for a couple hours. I ordered a club sandwich for dinner, read my book, and waited for my ride. The company had booked my room until it was time to leave at 9pm, which was super nice. My driver, Metin, an older man who worked at our company and had picked me up the first day, was so nice, but spoke little English. So, it was a silent journey for about an hour to the airport. The airport itself, was nice and easy to get through, a little confusing at the security line, but clean and organized. I slept a bit on the flight home and had an easy Sunday. A very nice, short trip!

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Comments

[D MJ Binkley]

Homesick and more
You do travel a lot for work and pleasure so I guess you'd have to miss roots from time to time. I hope it passed quickly. The team and food sounds wonderful. It sounds like you were able to see a lot in a short period of time.

[Ake Och Emma]

One of my trademark photos
The "corridor"-photo (i.e. photos similar to this one) is my trademark. I take them whenever have the chance. /Ake

[lexispence10]

Corridor photos
I love corridors, especially when they are empty! They can be impressive.