A few things I've learned in five days

This first week in Turkey has been something of a whirlwind. The past few days I've felt so overwhelmed by new information and jet lag that at times my head was spinning. So here are just a couple of the experiences we've had in the last few days.

Friday morning we were taken by a Turkish friend to visit Kocatepe Mosque, the largest in Turkey. Our guide says that over 30,000 people can worship here at a time. It's an absolutely gorgeous building, shining with white and blue on top of a hill. The inside is a big open space, with marbled domes decorated in geometric patterns and writings from the Qur'an. The carpet is patterned to allow individuals a space to kneel and pray. Since we arrived shortly before noon prayers on Friday (the Islamic equivalent of Sunday church) we could see people sitting along the walls, discussing the Qur'an or simply sitting in quiet contemplation.

The chandelier in the center is made of eight tons of gold!

The circle is a surah (chapter) of the Qur'an in Arabic

The mosque seemed to be a perfect example of the juxtaposition of ancient and modern that characterizes this society. Women in Turkey work outside their homes and walk confidently in the streets, but are confined to the balconies and rear of the mosque during prayer times. The muezzin sings from the top of the minaret the same call to prayer that Muslims have used for centuries, but these days he's aided by an elevator and an amplifier. Women walk into their mosque with their heads covered (we did too, as a sign of respect) but still wearing trendy skirts and tight-fitting blouses. It reminded me that while Ankara seems very cosmopolitan and modern on the outside, many people here are still rooted in tradition and look to their faith to guide their busy lives rather than the secularism that informs their government.

That being said, secularism does pervade the streets. While many women do wear headscarves and dress conservatively, there are plenty who prefer trendy European styles. Islam forbids consumption of alcohol, but a sign on the street informed me today that it's still Miller Time here.

Which brings us to part 2: the day of exploration.

The three new girls have been sticking together for the most part as we try to get our bearings. Yesterday we made a leap and bought bus passes. Ankara is a city of 4 million, and while I do truly enjoy walking up and down hills all day, sometimes it's best to let someone else take you where you need to go. This is a new adventure for me, since I rarely utilized the bus system in Taiwan.

One thing we did discover is that the only way to find out which bus goes where is to literally get on a bus and find out. There are no route maps to be found in stores or online, so we decided this morning to just explore.

The 413 bus took us all around Ankara, making a big loop around the north end of town before coming to the end of its route. At this point we were kicked off our bus and told to find another that was heading into town. From there we went back to the downtown area of Kızılay, where we hopped off to wander around town.


You can never get too engrossed in gazing about the buildings and fascinating people here, because the sidewalks are deadly. Sometimes tiles pile up in odd places, or there will be a hole in front of you waiting to trap your ankle and sprain it. And really, this area of town was crowded enough that I nearly walked into people several times.

Our office/temporary housing is conveniently near this very large tower, which is visible all over town.

We found parks, cafes, a triceratops, the opera house, mountains, Roman baths, and some pretty wacky hairstyles. Then we came back and cooked some dinner, ready now to tackle a new week which will bring such exciting ventures as our first formal Turkish lessons. Bring it on.