Turkey

Arrival

Everything went cool on the way into Turkey. I spent one day in Istanbul where I happily got ripped off a couple times. For the most part I knew my way around there, so it was cool. The Sultan Ahmet area is still as crowded with tourists as ever. I drank some tea, checked my email and left again that night. Back to back night trains is not the ideal way to travel, but it saved money and time. I made it from Bucharest to Ankara in less than 48 hours on only about US40.

Ankara

Ankara was much as I remembered it as well. Some things looked a little more modern somehow, but I think that is just because I came from Romania and whatnot. The subway system is now up and running in Ankara, but the traffic in Kizilay is still as crazy as ever. I found a cheap hotel there and started to run some errands. It took me a long time to get my new Visa card and get some cash. I also wasted some time arguing over a stiff plane ticket change fee. I managed to meet up with some old friends though.

Old Friends

Since it has been three years since I studied at the Middle East Technical Institute, most of my friends have graduated and we have lost touch. I went out one day for lunch with the American-born administrator who still organizes the summer school. I also ran into one of my favorite professors and took a nostalgia tour around. A pretty cool place. The next day I met up with two friends, Gamze and Irfan, who still have one year of school left. We spent the day at a lake that METU owns. Talked about problems in Turkey: too good of a place to have so many problems. Still everything seemed cool with them, so I was happy.

Black Sea Coast

Next, I took some advice and headed north to Ordu. I have been traveling nearly three months now, and I am a bit tired. Plus, it has gotten hotter and hotter. I decided to skip Greece and the Aegean Coast altogether and go somewhere new. Ordu is a medium- sized town (200,000?) which is popular with Turkish tourists. I found a cheap place here and started to practice my Turkish. Met lots of nice people including a couple English speakers. One Turkish-Austrian (?) helped me with my big Mavi Jeans purchase.

Yayli

Next I just had to check out one of these high-mountain plateaus that the people rave about. It is supposed to be the perfect place for mountain lovers who want to escape the heat. I found that it was actually too cold on the night that I went up to Cambasi Plateau, but it was still a nice place to relax. I seemed to be about the only foreigner to visit there this year. Everyone was really nice to me although they were a little confused about why I had come. I just read some of my book and listened to the sound of silence. The only noise at night is the cow bells.

Adana

For my last trick, I am headed south. A couple days there with Merih and then I am going home. More later.