Istanbul to Ankara to Karaman

This morning we woke up at 4:45 am and left the house by 5:10 am to catch a bus to Ankara. And then 4 hours after we made it to Ankara, we caught another bus to Karaman for 4 hours where we are staying for the next 7 days. 

Before we left Istanbul, I said goodbye to the view from our bed room, because I was going to miss it greatly every morning...

Ankara is the capitol of Turkey and is also the place where Ayse went to College. It was there in Ankara that she and Ross met at a real estate office while he was trying to find a place to live because he was working there for his company at that time. It was a treat to visit this city that had so many memories for Ayse. She was so happy to be able to show it to us.


On our way to Ankara, we passed the sea... and it looked like this...

And like this... Yes, that is a mosque down there...

In Ankara, we had 4 hours to kill so we took the subway to the main hub of the city and walked out to streets looking like the picture below. It was beautiful, all the colors that were around us. This area is a cross roads of sorts where a lot of people come and a lot of students visit. There are shops and places to eat and it is very busy but yet very quaint.

We ate lunch there up in an open air restaurant (basically a second floor restaurant with not walls- simply just a railing to keep you from falling off). We ate a typical Turkish dish, Doner (pronounced Dunar) which consists of Lamb, tomatoes, pita bread, and a small salad. It was delish. A little too much bread, but other than that delish!

We did some people watching while we were up there.

Hello.

Then Ayse wanted to take us to a park where her and Ross would go when they lived there. But I couldn't help myself when I saw these chandeliers of sorts hanging in the middle of the roads. They turn them on at night and I can just imagine how incredible it must look! I wish we had stayed for it, but we couldn't! But aren't they rad!??

We arrived at the park and there were these mass amounts of pigeons everywhere. It is always a little hard to know what to expect when Ayse says she is taking us some where because she usually just says something like "Lets go to the park" and then you show up and it isn't what you thought at all. Like this park for example, it was a bird park. Awesome, right???

These pigeons were sooo comfortable with humans that I was just walking right next to them and they wouldn't even move! See how close I am to them!

Also, there was a pond full of swan and geese.  I haven't ever seen real swan in person, so I was particularly excited to see them so up close and personal. They were huge! Like as big as a medium sized dog. And they were just beautiful.

And then there were these really cute little gooslings? geeslings?? haha But seriously, cuteness.

Then She took us to her favorite dessert place and I got this Chocolate ice cream that had an almost gummie like texture. It was sooo tastey and sooo, different? but in a good way. Sometimes I wish the states had cooler places to eat.

Once we squeezed in a little bit of Ankara, we got back on the bus and drove for 4 more hours to Karaman where Ayse's parents and family live. This was a bit of a big deal to come here and meet them. This is one of the main reasons for this entire trip.  It was so that I could meet the only extended family John really has. The pressure was a little daunting especially because I knew they didn't speak english. haha anyway, I knew it would be okay, but I was still nervous nonetheless. When we arrived everyone was sooo incredibly excited to see John after 6 years and to meet me. Everyone in the family had gathered for this. It was very sweet to meet them all, especially his grandparents. His grandpa is 81 years old and his grandma is 70. His grandpa was so sweet to me, he motioned for me to come and sit by him and he would try to hard to talk with me. I couldn't understand him but he would just hug me and I knew it was alright. It was like there was a bond formed so quickly. He is a sweet sweet man. Also, it was a hoot to see the two orphan children that Ayse brought stuff for. They were just adorable and such a joy to watch as they opened up there gifts.

This is one of the orphan kids Benjamin. He is almost 5.

And his sister ( I can't remember her name right now). She is almost 7. Their mom was Ayse's niece. She died a few years ago and so Ayse has felt the need to help take care of them so that they don't end up in an orphanage. It is very touching to see the love she has for these two kids. They also just adore her.

Ayse's sister does fantastic needle work. She took these two towels and added the lace to them for john and I. On the hand towel she has added to the top an evil eye in her needle work. Evil eyes are everywhere here. An evil eye represents protection against evil thoughts or evil deeds. It is believed to ward off those things in an effort to protect you.

Remember, this is all hand done.

I am so grateful to have been able to meet John and Ayse's family tonight. I am looking forward to getting to spend more time with them. I am not sure how well I will get to know them, since we can't speak, but I still feel a part of their wonderful family. It's so great to be here!