Photos from Ankara
Here is Atatürk's mausoleum. You can get an idea of how big it is by looking at the specs of people climbing up the stairs.
Here's me!
Ankara from the citadel. I don't know the Turkish name for it, but it's not too far from this place called the Anatolian Civilizations Museum which was so awesome cool. After feeling like an ant in the mausoleum, this place made me appreciate the time I have on this earth. There are things in there that are thousands of years old, made by people who lived thousands of years ago. I mean, can you imagine how long it must have taken for somebody to learn how to make a stone statue, for instance? They were babies first, with a mother to care for them. They survived childhood, the crazy teenage years with raging hormones, and into adulthood long enough to learn the art of carving stone well enough that their work to be put on display where ever it was in their life. Then that piece of art survived how ever many hundred or thousands of years to be discovered by somebody else who survived infancy and childhood long enough to become an adult and train in archeology. I loved that museum. In 1997 it won a European Museum Award. I wish I could have taken some pictures of the stuff in there for you to see. Ah well! Guess you'll just have to come Turkey to see it for yourself.
Oh yeah, look near the bottom of the photograph and you can see tiny white things. That's a dolmush starting point. I'm not sure if I told you what dolmush are. They are small vehicles, like small busses or big vans, that follow a certain route through the city and you can get on or off any any time. They leave from the starting point when they are full, but let's say you want to get in one that is driving past. Barely wave your finger at the driver and the side door would slide open for you (although on older ones you have to open the door yourself, you lazy bum) and you hop in. Let's also say that the only seat available is in they very back. How do you pay if you can't reach the driver? No problem, all you have to do is pass your money up to the front and the correct change will be passed back to you. Oh, and don't worry about seat belts because they really aren't necessary. Nor are they available. One time I sat in the front and tried to buckle in, but the buckle was only half there! The dolmush driver noticed my dilemma, and told me not to worry. It wasn't so bad, but I was still nervous because I've noticed that many Turkish drivers don't always stop at red lights. Anyway, if you sit in the back, you can forget about their driving habits and enjoy the sights without having to drive yourself. When you want to get out, just say one of two things: "a suitable place" or "can I get out here?" This is one of my favorite things about Turkey. I don't get to ride the dolmush very often these days, because I live a mere seven minute walk away from work. Ah well. If you come to visit, we'll ride one for sure to see Aya Sofia.
Ah, speaking of dolmush drivers, my manager is friends with one here in Trabzon and arranged for him to get me to and from the airport. He was really great to talk to because he kept his Turkish simple enough for me to understand, and was able to understand me when I spoke to him in broken Turkish. Turns out he lives down the street from me as well.
Here is another view of Ankara.
Oh my gosh! There is so much of Turkey that I want to see! I'm hoping that I can plan things right so I'll have enough time to do everything I want. Of course, I have to wait for a few paychecks before I go anywhere else.
Hey, this weekend I taught the first six hours of Course 3. It went all right, I think. Yesterday my students hardly said anything, mostly because they were nervous. Today was much better, because I planned activities better and they were less nervous. My manager said that when teaching in Turkey, one must jump up and down a lot. He is thinking about getting a trampoline for just that.
Well, I'm off now. On the plane back from Ankara I managed to snag a copy of one of those airline magazines, which is written in both Turkish and English. Let's see if I can learn more Turkish now.
Here's me!
Ankara from the citadel. I don't know the Turkish name for it, but it's not too far from this place called the Anatolian Civilizations Museum which was so awesome cool. After feeling like an ant in the mausoleum, this place made me appreciate the time I have on this earth. There are things in there that are thousands of years old, made by people who lived thousands of years ago. I mean, can you imagine how long it must have taken for somebody to learn how to make a stone statue, for instance? They were babies first, with a mother to care for them. They survived childhood, the crazy teenage years with raging hormones, and into adulthood long enough to learn the art of carving stone well enough that their work to be put on display where ever it was in their life. Then that piece of art survived how ever many hundred or thousands of years to be discovered by somebody else who survived infancy and childhood long enough to become an adult and train in archeology. I loved that museum. In 1997 it won a European Museum Award. I wish I could have taken some pictures of the stuff in there for you to see. Ah well! Guess you'll just have to come Turkey to see it for yourself.
Oh yeah, look near the bottom of the photograph and you can see tiny white things. That's a dolmush starting point. I'm not sure if I told you what dolmush are. They are small vehicles, like small busses or big vans, that follow a certain route through the city and you can get on or off any any time. They leave from the starting point when they are full, but let's say you want to get in one that is driving past. Barely wave your finger at the driver and the side door would slide open for you (although on older ones you have to open the door yourself, you lazy bum) and you hop in. Let's also say that the only seat available is in they very back. How do you pay if you can't reach the driver? No problem, all you have to do is pass your money up to the front and the correct change will be passed back to you. Oh, and don't worry about seat belts because they really aren't necessary. Nor are they available. One time I sat in the front and tried to buckle in, but the buckle was only half there! The dolmush driver noticed my dilemma, and told me not to worry. It wasn't so bad, but I was still nervous because I've noticed that many Turkish drivers don't always stop at red lights. Anyway, if you sit in the back, you can forget about their driving habits and enjoy the sights without having to drive yourself. When you want to get out, just say one of two things: "a suitable place" or "can I get out here?" This is one of my favorite things about Turkey. I don't get to ride the dolmush very often these days, because I live a mere seven minute walk away from work. Ah well. If you come to visit, we'll ride one for sure to see Aya Sofia.
Ah, speaking of dolmush drivers, my manager is friends with one here in Trabzon and arranged for him to get me to and from the airport. He was really great to talk to because he kept his Turkish simple enough for me to understand, and was able to understand me when I spoke to him in broken Turkish. Turns out he lives down the street from me as well.
Here is another view of Ankara.
Oh my gosh! There is so much of Turkey that I want to see! I'm hoping that I can plan things right so I'll have enough time to do everything I want. Of course, I have to wait for a few paychecks before I go anywhere else.
Hey, this weekend I taught the first six hours of Course 3. It went all right, I think. Yesterday my students hardly said anything, mostly because they were nervous. Today was much better, because I planned activities better and they were less nervous. My manager said that when teaching in Turkey, one must jump up and down a lot. He is thinking about getting a trampoline for just that.
Well, I'm off now. On the plane back from Ankara I managed to snag a copy of one of those airline magazines, which is written in both Turkish and English. Let's see if I can learn more Turkish now.
posted by nicole @ 9:57 AM
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