Farewell to Turkey.

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Friday 31 July:



The final day of July was our final full day in Turkey. Zachary woke up a couple of times overnight and had a lot of water. He then got up at 7 and was rather tired so lay on the couch and watched tv. He had a little bit of breakfast (finishing off the marmite) but wasn’t really feeling too great. We decided to delay our departure an hour so that when we got to Ankara we could check in to our room immediately. We got a taxi to the bus station in Beypazari and bought tickets for the 1130 bus. We got the last 2 seats so we were in the back row. It was a bit squashed and extremely hot! Zachary fell asleep after about 10 minutes. Even the locals were struggling in the heat and the bus’s air-con was certainly not keeping up. However we survived. The bus emptied out a bit as we got near Ankara so we had a bit of space for the last bit. The trip in took just over 90 minutes and we were glad to arrive.



We located where the taxis were so we could go to the hotel. We actually passed it on the way in to the bus station and we could see it was about a 1 km walk. However we were very hot and tired and Zachary wasn’t feeling great so I was happy to pay 20 lira for a ride. My plan was to ask a taxi driver if he minded taking us for the short ride for 20 lira. When we got to the taxi stand a driver immediately grabbed all our luggage and loaded it in before I got a chance to say anything. When I told him where we wanted to go the complaining started. He started berating us at great length. I attempted to show him we were hot and had a child but he just kept on and on and on. He dropped us at the hotel, still going on, and we now felt no inclination to give him the 20 lira! The bell-hop met us and Heather was telling the taxi driver off which attracted the attention of another staff member. Heather asked them to explain to the taxi driver that he was very rude and that we were happy to give him 20 lira for his trouble, but now we weren’t. Heather gave him a 10 and he threw 3 lira coins back at us (which we left him to pick up himself) and we went inside. As we were checking in with the very lovely lady (who spoke perfect English) she was made aware that something had happened and asked us what the story was. She was quite mortified and apologised profusely as that is not the first impression of Ankara they want visitors to have! I think after we checked in she, or another staff member, rang the taxi company about it. Amongst all that we managed to leave the bag with Heather’s stitching in the cab. He dropped it off a short while later, redeeming himself somewhat.



We have been in Turkey 12 days and found the people here absolutely lovely. Even where there has been no common language, great efforts are made to communicate and help. We certainly won’t let one rude person sour our impression of what has been a great country to visit.



Our room on the 9^th floor is nice. It is a little small but is quiet, well equipped, and has air-con! The tv has a cool feature whereby programs originally made in English are broadcast in Turkish but with a push of a button you can switch it back to English so Zachary got to watch some familiar programs in English this afternoon. The hotel is right next to Armada Mall, and having missed lunch, we went to Starbucks and grabbed some afternoon tea. Then Heather took Zachary back to the room and I went to the supermarket (I found cornflakes and tinned fruit – don’t need them now but nice to know they have them somewhere in Turkey) and got a few supplies (including some beer). While there I discovered a sizeable children’s play area. We went back over just after 4 and went to that. For 10 lira Zachary could go into the supervised pirate play area which had a ball pit, small trampolines etc and we were able to leave him there for half an hour. Then he did a few of the arcade games and we headed up to the top floor for dinner. McD’s for Zachary and KFC for us. 6.75 lira (about $3.50) for nuggets, chips, and a drink for Z while for 33 lira (about $18) we got 2 box meals which had a ridiculous amount of chicken. If you’re a Turkish chicken, I’m afraid your life isn’t worth much.



Back to the hotel and some rain and thunder and a wee bit of lightning. For some bizarre reason the remote stopped working properly – only the power and volume buttons were working, not the channel or menu buttons. Heather then decided, after somehow managing to make her beer spray everywhere, to break the bathroom door (the handle came off when she opened the door) just as we were getting Zachary off to sleep - so we’ll let them know about that in the morning.



Security going into the mall is interesting – you have to pass through a detector and there is a guard, and same at the hotel. I don’t know if this is always the case or whether it is related to recent activity involving ISIS. Turkey is going through some political turmoil at the moment and, combined with their recent joining of the fight against ISIS, this makes them potentially vulnerable. The next month or so could possibly get a bit tense here, so perhaps we are leaving at the right time. Hopefully everything works out well.



In the morning we are being picked up at 815 to go to the airport. I have checked in online so we’ll get there with heaps of time to spare. First flight is to Istanbul and then an hour and a bit to walk to the international terminal and go through security to go to Athens, Greece.



While the accommodation in Beypazari didn’t deliver we have overall very much enjoyed our visit to Turkey. It has been very different to the other places we have visited. The people have been great and it has been a positive experience, I think, to be in a country that is nearly completely Muslim, but that practices the religion in a tolerant way. There are churches and synagogues in Turkey. It is a country that seems to have figured out how to live in both worlds. I hope to have the opportunity to come back one day and explore further.

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