kızılcahamam

on friday right after class, i met volkan up in levent where we would take an isbank service bus to ankara. we were on this bus from 6 to 11 ish, and i really enjoyed just seeing more of istanbul by bus. as i've mentioned before, i much prefer traveling by bus than plane since you i see the landscapes better. the route followed the sea of marmara coast for some good time, and i was able to see the huge build up of turkish industries lined along this major fault line. as in, earthquake fault line.

we got into ankara late friday night. volkan's dad picked us up and brought us back to their home, where we basically called it a night. saturday morning we were up brightttt and early (well, i was SORT of up haha) to pick up a few of volkan's friends and 15 loaves of break from the bakery. after a big reunion among volkan's super close friends from home, we set off for the forest!

my first animal sighting (and only). i thought it would appropriate to attach a little side story to this turtle about this phrase that my turkish teacher uses 24/7: "yavas yavas." it means "slowly, slowy." the pace of life here is so fast, so busy - or at least it always seems that way because the city is so FULL! and yet that phrase "yavas yavas" comes up so often. kind reminders to slow it down, to be patient despite the immediate reaction to try and go at the same pace as istanbul...

sorgun lake, okan and emrah cooking up a storm...

possibly my favorite moment of the trip:

when volkan described this camping trip to me, he said this: there will be a lot of men, drinking, eating, dancing, and joy. so, so true hahahah!! but really, a bit about how fun this was: in the morning we packed up camp and moved down to where we had parked the cars. volkan put the radio on and found a station with the right kind of music (something we could "sik sik" to) and
volkan, mehmet and ahmet immediately started the party :). emrah and okan spotted them and sprinted down the hill, despite each carrying tons of leftover food, sleeping mats and tents, dropped the stuff and joined in. when i joined in, it was just so, sooo fun.

one of the best moments of my entire trip, where despite any-all language barriers, my timidity, self-consciousness..it all just fell away and i shared in on this moment of happiness among friends :). huge thanks to all the gentlemen who made me feel so welcome that weekend.

and food food food - another universal language of love.

playing "bluf"

a parting picture of the whole gang

on the drive back to the city. a few glances of turkish landscape:

after a wonderful time in ankara, we hopped on a night bus back to istanbul and arrived at 5am!

since it was my last day in my flat, i took some very necessary pictures of the view from my bedroom....

and my daily (or multi-daily) trek up and down these stairs - from akyol to the coast.

this post isn't really "done" but its so damn long and i know you all despise these uber long posts hahaha. so i'll just end it here! next post will hopefully come from the turquoise coast. i begin my travels tomorrow evening by bus to fethiye..and i'll figure it out from there! toodles!