ON THE BUS TO...ANKARA!
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And this is where our bus is going.
About our bus: it’s big and comfortable and air-conditioned. There are enough seats for everyone to have two, and our very kind driver keeps the cooler filled with iced water bottles, free ones. He also stays with the bus or makes sure it’s locked so we can always safely leave anything on board.
About the ride from Istanbul to Ankara: it’s long, at least five hours, with lots of traffic. Istanbul stretches on forever, with endless businesses and industrial plants. It reminded me of the outskirts of Houston. Taylan told us bus time was our opportunity to ask him anything about Turkey: culture, politics, religion, history. We became quite the rolling classroom. He knew a lot and taught us well.
One of the first things to get straight are the Byzantines and the Ottomans.
The Byzantines were part of the Roman empire. Constantine, a Christian, moved the capital from Rome to Byzantium and renamed it Constantinople in 330. That started the Byzantine Empire, and it lasted about a 1000 years.
The Ottomans were followers of Islam who conquered Constantinople in 1453 and renamed it Istanbul.
Once you get these two groups sorted, you can ask a question that sounds like you may be smarter than a fifth grader. If took some of us a while.
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Once out of Istanbul traffic, we made out first stop at a Turkish truck stop for lunch, much better than it sounds, and our driver knew where to find the best ones. Basically a big food court, with four or five restaurant counters with quick service, plus a 7-11 store. There usually was a point and choose cafeteria line where Taylan patiently explained to everyone, often one at a time, “…lamb…chicken…fish…eggplant…” and often a doner kebab shop and another serving Turkish pizza - pide. It was a quick way to accomplish a meal, and everyone got a choice. These truck stops always had good bathrooms. And the really good ones had ice cream!
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ANKARA
Ankara was our first city after Istanbul, and there are big differences between the two. Ankara is much smaller — only 5 million, and it’s the capital and a big university city. We saw few women wearing headscarves here, although in the historic center of Istanbul, many of the women who were covered were also visitors, from Arab countries. The part of Ankara we drove through looked very modern.
We arrived near sunset and checked out after breakfast, so our stay at the King Hotel was a short one. It was a modern, multi-story business hotel in a suburban neighborhood with many nearby restaurants.
On days like this when no group dinner was planned, the pattern was for Taylan to explain the options of where we could eat while we were still in a group. Some opted for the hotel dining room, and Taylan led the rest of us on a walk for a few blocks pointing out the choices, then let us ALL follow him to the Irish pub where he was headed. Good fish and chips and Turkish white wine!
Tour Day 4: Ankara
Anatolian Civilazations Museum
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Ankara's Anatolian Civilizations Museum was named “Museum of the Year” the first year the award was given in Switzerland in 1997. The collection has artifacts from the Palaeolithic Age (8000 BC) to Bronze Age castings to wonderful ceramics from the Hittites (1750-1200 BC) to first millennium artifacts from the Byzantines. And they are beautifully displayed, with English captioning.
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03
DESIGN
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CONSULTING
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CONSULTING
Taylan has spent much time explaining Turkish history and culture, but in this museum his archeology and art history background really made a difference in what we were seeing. Loved how ancient cultures depicted animals.
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These clay tablets were sealed in clay envelopes for security before they were "mailed." They are each about the size of an iPhone!
There are always stone lions on guard in Turkey, but at night a pair of lovely Anatolian Shepherds are turned out to take over museum guard duty.
Mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
Our second destination in Ankara was the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, who lead the Turkish War of Independence and founded the Republic of Turkey. He modernized Turkey and made it a secular nation, abolishing Islamic institutions like the madrassas, and introducing Western legal codes and dress, even replacing Arabic script with a Latin one. He must be Turkey’s Washington, Lincoln, Roosevelt, and M.L. King, all in one. He is revered. There is a large museum at his mausoleum memorializing his military feats and even displaying his clothes.
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An honor guard of soldiers is present at his tomb, and when the guard changes, they march with a distinctive exaggerated step. This is also where graduation classes take their group pictures on the steps. And where dozens of school groups make field trips…and march like the soldiers.
