In praise of Ankara

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Sigacik August 29 2014



Our visa collecting in Ankara has gone better than we dared hope so we have headed for the seaside prior to meeting Jayne and Paul in Fethiya.



In the case of Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan with support of Letters of Invitation obtained via Stan Tours we got the visas from the consulates in Ankara on the same day. The biggest challenge turned out to be paying them. I have written previously about the Usbek consulate experience. It was similar for Turkmenistan. This time there was no friendly Turk and we were sent of to find the "Ish" bank so we could directly into the consulate account. People on the street we asked told us where it was and we still could not find it at first. In fact we walked past it because it is the IS bank (the s has an accent under it so it is pronounced "sh"). Once found things went like clock work and we had our visa in 90 minutes.



The Indian visa was straight forward too. We had put in the application and supporting documents at the allotted time given when we did an online application the week before. Finger prints were taken in a very friendly manner. We could have picked the visa up after 4 days and delayed it to the Monday so we could have more time in Istanbul.



You pick up documents at 5pm from the entrance guard room. There was quite a collection of people outside come opening time. I fell into conversation with two Turkish academics, hydrologists, who were going to a World Congress in Hyderabad. It was interesting to hear their views on this emotive subject. They noted that Turkey's population is growing at a rate of 2 to 4% (that more than 2 million new people a year) and at current water use per person (which is only expected to go up) Turkey is right on the cusp of being able to supply requirements. We did not delve into issues like the loss of villages and sites of antiquity under new reservoirs and the politics of damming the Tigris and Euphrates and the limiting of water down stream in Syria, Iraq and Iran.



That very much summed up Ankara. It is more Turkish that the international and multi ethic Istanbul. Everybody is happy to talk and help you. In a similar vein, we had had a friendly conversation with a father and son on the bus to the Indian embassy. They want to know where we were from and told us about the son's recent school visit to England.



Prior to getting our Indian visas we needed a haircut. In the end we both paid 20TL (£6) and Jane got a trim whilst I got a head manicure! At least that what it felt like. When I went in the barbers opposite our excellent hostel (www.deepshostelankara.com) I was lucky that the guy just finishing having his hair done spoke some English. I told him I wanted my hair short like him and the beard trimmed and he passed this message on to the barber. He left and the barber started work. First the hair was cut and then the beard. Then the stray bits anywhere else. Then the shampoo. Cotton wool in each ear to clean them out. Next the hot shave with a cut throat razor to shape the beard. Final three different skin care products went on the shaved areas. I am still trying to work out which was the "after shave". After an hour, with Jane about to come looking for me, I was done, probably as close to metrosexual as I will ever be! Jane was impressed.



That night with Indian visas in hand we got the night bus to Seferihisar near the coast South East of Izmir and close to our next destination Sigacik (pronounced Sur-a-juk). More from there shortly.

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Photos

Kocatepe Camii (mosque) near our hostel in Kizilay, Ankara
New and still impressive by its shear size. Underneath it was a shopping centre.