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I had until 12:30 to do everything I wanted to do in Ankara. We were leaving the hotel for the bus terminal at that time, and our bus would leave the depot at 1:30 in the afternoon.
This wasn't a big problem, though, because there was one last thing I wanted to do. Visit Atatürk's Mausoleum. When Atatürk died, it was a time of great sadness for Turkey. He was buried in a tentative grave at a Palace, and construction of his Mausoleum began. Once it was complete, his body was moved to his final resting spot. The Mausoleum is a commemoration, a museum, and a show of devotion to the man.
Yaseen, Nick, Ben, Raman, and me crammed ourselves into a taxi (I got shotgun). We made it to the gate, and walked around the site for a bit, reading the exhibit signs, and learning more about Atatürk as we went along. We had split off into two groups, and Raman and I walked around together. I haven't spent much time alone with her this trip, so it was a good opportunity to hang.
Raman is technically my cousin, but we've grown up with her being referenced as my niece, although we actually behave like siblings. She's smart and cute, witty as hell, and someone who can always get me to laugh. You wouldn't really know it when you first meet her, but she's got a real wry sense of humor that is very iconic of our family. Raman is in the daytime program while I'm in the Working Professionals Program, and we'll both be graduating this June!
So we walked around the site, taking everything in. It is a dramatic monument to the man, with very moving quotes about him. We watched a military ceremony that placed flowers at his sarcophagus, and we toured through his museum. It was very impressive. I can say that by the end of the tour of the site, I felt a sense of Turkish Patriotism (which is funny considering I'm not even a Turk!), and that I felt a real sense of love for this man who seems to have been larger than life!
We jumped in Taxis and headed back to the hotel to finish packing. We were back in the lobby by 12:30, checking out, clearing our bills for the rooms, and jumping in taxis to head to the bus depot. Traffic wasn't so bad, and we got there with time to spare. We hung out at the depot, waiting for our bus, chatting and munching on some snacks. When the bus came, we loaded up, and settled in for a long ride to Istanbul.
The bus ride started our pleasantly enough. There was wireless on the bus, but it was only available to Turkish Citizens. Since I wasn't, I just worked offline, sorting photos, blogging a bit, and generally enjoying the ride. There was a bus attendant (like a flight attendant) who kept us fed and watered with snacks and beverages. The seats were fairly comfortable, and the bus ride was smooth.
We stopped about halfway to Istanbul at a rest stop and got something to eat. I got a cheese panini sandwich with french fries and a Pepsi. I would never eat this in the States, but as I agreed with my Trainer, as long as I'm outside the borders of the United States, I'm not going to restrict my eating. It's gonna be painful hitting the gym when I get back home!
The trip to Istanbul continued. I think I catnapped a bit, and putzed around on the computer. But as we got nearer, we began to see more buildings. The outskirts of Istanbul on the Asian side is very industrial and reminds me of how Benicia looks on I-680. Traffic was starting to get thicker, and the bus wasn't moving as quickly.
We had battling the air conditioning the entire drive. Soon after we had started for Istanbul, we noticed that cool air wasn't coming out of the vents. I had expected to be cold on the bus, as I tend to get on public transportation (like planes). But without the air conditioning, this would not be the case. I kept cool by stripping off my extra layers and leaning my back against the cool window. It helped to regulate my body temperature, and I kept throwing back drinks every time the attendant would come by. To be honest, it wasn't really that bad.
Yet.
We stopped at a Bus Depot, and some of the travelers got off the bus. We were told to stay on, as the next Bus Depot stop would bring us closer to our hotel. So we stayed on, and soon, we were on the highway on the Asian side of Istanbul, driving towards Europe.
I'm gonna throw in a quick Geography lesson for those that aren't familiar. Istanbul (formerly Constantinople) is a city that is located between the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara. It is split down the middle by the Bosphorus Strait so that part of it lies in Asia (the landmass also known as Asia Minor) and the other part lies in Europe (the landmass also known as Thrace). Turkey spans two continents, and Istanbul is the city that spans the crack (aka the Bosphorus) that splits the two.
Okay, back to the story.
Traffic was gnarly. We were crawling along in the bus. We had been traveling for about 6 hours at this point, and darkness had fallen. The air conditioning being out was no longer funny, and the bus was heating up. The windows were fixed, and the door was such that it couldn't be opened while we were driving. We were a metal tube with questionable ventilation, and we were finding ourselves incredible jealous of the other drivers that were wearing jackets and scarves in their respective vehicles.
I'm not sure if it was the heat or the exhaustion, but we no longer were the polite International Travelers.
No, we became something bad.
We became loud, obnoxious Americans.
Trust me, folks. It doesn't get much worse than that.
We were cracking jokes, laughing, and having a generally good time. It was making it easier to deal with the uncomfortableness of the heat and humidity, and to move the exhaustion of 6 hours of travel to the back of our minds. Well, there was a problem with our plan.
We weren't the only ones on the bus.
Most of the other travelers were putting up with our rowdiness. Looking back, we should have been more respectful. Most non-Americans don't make much noise in public. They usually keep to themselves for the most part. Well, we weren't. One lady who was sitting behind Jeanette was getting agitated with us. She started by just making a quiet "Shh" sound whenever we'd get particularly loud. But then she started getting more assertive by saying things like "Shh! That's enough now!" or "Shh! This isn't a private bus!" Once we realized she was shushing us, we quieted down out of respect. But Raman was getting pissed!
Raman and I were reading lips from across the bus, and she was asking me if she should say something to the lady. I told her to leave it alone, but she wasn't having any of it. She kept herself in check, and soon, we were sitting there thinking about how uncomfortable we were.
Then guess what happened?
A cell phone rang. Loudly. It was answered. And then we heard one side of a Turkish conversation.
Guess who it was.
Yeap. It was the lady! She was shushing us, but now she was talking loudly on the phone?! We were all looking at each other with shock! What a hypocrite this lady was. But we let it slide, and rode quietly until we got to the final Bus Depot. We gave her dirty looks when she finally got off the bus (even though she wasn't looking at us). Our luggage was unloaded and jumped into a shuttle van.
An older driver was behind the wheel, squeezing the shuttle in spaces that I wouldn't dare take Dr. Manhattan (my Prius)! Scilla was taking her Turkish skills out for a spin, trying to talk to the driver to see if he would take the shuttle (which was only carrying our group) to our hotel. He started talking back to her, but she (and the rest of us) were having trouble by understanding. Oh, and by "talking back to her," I mean "talking really loudly almost like he was yelling at us." We took it as a "No" and sunk back into our seats, wondering where he was going to drop us off.
I turned my iPhone's Data Roaming on, and soon, my Google Maps app was showing where we were. I found our hotel on the map, and watched as the pulsing blue dot (our Current Location) snaked through Istanbul's streets. When he finally cranked the wheel to the side and opened the door, we figured we would have to find other means to get to our hotel.
We were standing at the side of the empty street with our backpacks and duffle bags. The old driver moved to the back of the bus, and through the open back door he started chucking our luggage at us. Picture this. Old, cranky driver. 12 Americans who don't know how far they are from their hotel. Street signs that we can't really read. Luggage flying.
Spencer and I were taking turns catching (literally!) our luggage from the Old Driver. Despite his age, he was fast. By the time Spencer had set the suitcase he caught down, there was another one flying out the door. I honestly don't think the Old Driver cared if it was caught. He was on a mission.
Once unloaded, he gave us a wave, jumped behind the driver's seat, and left us in a cloud of diesel exhaust! And there we were. Welcome to Istanbul, kids! (I took the blog title picture at this point)
I pulled up the map on my iPhone, and saw that we were just a few blocks from our hotel. We had been warned of the taxi drivers in Istanbul, so we figured since we were close enough, we wouldn't bother with getting ripped off with a taxi. We'd hoof it, instead!
I grabbed my suitcases, Dyonne draped a carryon over one of the handles, and we were off. A mob of Americans dragging their luggage uphill through the streets of the Sultanahmet District! We must have looked absolutely ridiculous. Becca and I were racing, I think (I was *TOTALLY* winning). We made it to a cross street that, according to the iPhone, was only a block away from our hotel.
Turn left, walk for a bit, check street signs, realize you've gone too far, don't see a street where it should be, realize that street is really just an alley, cross the road with all your luggage dodging racing taxis and public transit trams.
It was a wonderful sight to see our hotel. We piled into the lobby, and I checked the group in. We were handed our keys, and we raced upstairs to drop off all of our luggage. We were back in the lobby within 10 minutes.
We stepped back out into the Istanbul air. The hunt for dinner was on! We found the main drag near our hotel, picked a direction, and started walking. After much deliberation, part of the group ducked into a restaurant and had a nice Turkish meal to fill our bellies. The conversation was good, the food was delicious, and soon we were feeling much better. No longer sweating in a confined space, no longer hungry, and no longer near cranky old bus drivers.
The walk back to the hotel helped dinner settle, and we were soon back in our rooms for a good night's sleep.
Laying in bed, I thought about the trip so far. Having spent a week in Ankara, I have to admit that I was a bit sad to go. It was a very efficient city. It might not have had the same pulse as more Cosmopolitan cities, but it was straightforward. As Jackie puts it, Ankara is humble. And I will always remember the city emblazoned with brightly hung red and white Turkish flags and banners of Atatürk on the buildings everywhere my eyes would rest.
Looking back on the day, I can't imagine that Atatürk could have imagined the blazing devotion to him by the People of Turkey. Has Turkey arrived at the destination he was envisioning? Perhaps. Perhaps it has further to go. Whichever the case is, I have a newfound respect for this country and its citizens, and I'm very grateful for the chance to have been embraced by both.
Be safe and be kind.
With love,
SoJo
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