Day 3 in Ankara

Note: Because I just started this blog, there will be no Day 1 or 2.
Also, I'll try to add photos later.

Did some fantastic stuff today; we trekked up to a shopping area full of restored Ottoman-era homes on a hill with a castle at the top. The castle is in various states of repair, but was especially neat because you could see how Ottomans built on the Seljuk built on the Byzantine/Roman built on the Greek structure originally there just by looking at the stones making up the walls. Sorta like looking at a cross section of the soil. There were some fantastic artisan shops (particularly the coppersmiths) and antique shops up there*. Among the gifts I picked up like faux-iznik porcelain, I found a nice chess/backgammon board with inlay work for only $20-something, what a steal! Also, if you ever wanted to get a hookah as tall as you, thats the place. I almost bought one, but couldnt figure out how I'd take such a thing home. I also happened to stumble upon a hookah contraption that is designed to go onto one of those huge magnum liquor bottles you see at the duty free shops (the ones with the big cradle thing).

As far as urban planning goes, Atlanta's got nothin' on this sort of urban sprawl. The outer rim of the city is a ring of apartment building construction in process. Its creepy to see at night on the beltway because the unlit band of buildings around the city. Speaking of beltway, last time i was here, I was quite confused as to why there was a highway built in the boondocks going around the city. Now I see that it has taken little time for developments to reach said beltway. A lot of the land was taken up by squatters who built crappy houses on state land (the kind that fall down when the ground thinks about quaking), it looks like the government is finally using some sort of eminent domain to drive them off and give them new apartments in their place. (I think I took pictures to illustrate this)

Driving: The people drive like they don't want to live. This, I believe, is why faith has a lot to do with living here. Perhaps its just correlation.

They haven't quite mastered (read: completely ignore) most posted traffic signs (what few exist) or lane markings. Speaking of which, there are no street signs. All of the streets have names, but you either need to just know it, or have a GPS because you won't see it marked anywhere. It seems the preferred way to get to a particular place is to drive to the neighborhood, yell at someone who happens to be standing nearby, and get the "take your second left and go a block" directions to your destination. My uncle offered to let me drive tomorrow, for the first time ever, I turned down the opportunity. My "frantic" driving, as my friends refer to it, is definitely genetic. While it may be exciting, if you are ever visiting Turkey, my advice is to avoid renting a car and stick to taxis and public transport.

Among the more mundane things today , we stopped into the new Ankamall for some gifts. Malls were a new thing the last time I was here, 10years ago, but the one I went to was easily as large as the Palisades in NY. Naturally there is a Starbucks, but hell, they even have their own version of Orange Julius. It was really unsettling to be somewhere so...American...yet hear a different tongue.

The food has, of course, been amazing. I've been having that "homecooked" experience, except... everywhere all the time. I particularly enjoy the fact that lamb basically replaces pork as a staple meat. I could really do without pork. This quickly segues into my first business proposal: bacon made out of lamb. I know there's turkey bacon, but its gross, I'm thinking of something just as unhealthy as bacon, but that Muslims could enjoy. Imagine the market potential!

On the topic of food, I just ate something with "kofte" (usually denoting some sort of meat) tacked onto the end of its name, although its mostly bulgur rice, tastes like I just bit into a handful of ground spices, and apparently has just a bit of raw meat in it. It was rather good, and I'm going to try to get the recipe.

Finally, I've realized why they only drink raki (similar to ouzo and sambuca) and domestic wine here, foreign booze has a 100% import tax on it! So a bottle of Absolut or Smirnoff goes for some $40, raki is half or less. Even a bottle of yellowtail shiraz-whatever on the order of $25. My 2nd business proposal: open a distillery making whiskey and vodka here. Undercut the American and European stuff, make millions!


*DO NOT buy any antiques if you intend to take them out of the country. The fact that one of the best places to see Anatolian art is the British Museum gives good reason for the strict laws. Refer to the State Department's advice on the subject.