Apartment in Çankaya, Ankara

We were fortunate to stay temporarily at a guest house when we first arrived. Even more fortunate was the presence of a former Fulbrighter, Lee, who had been in Ankara in 2006 and is back for a shorter stint working on his specialty, Hittite archaelogy. After looking at a few apartments near work and near the main university campus, we ended up renting Lee's former apartment.  I like to describe it as a perfectly nice apartment with a million dollar view. 

The building highlighted by the sun through the clouds is Kojetepe Mosque which is the largest in Ankara. The Russian Embassy is in the block below us. We were so taken with the view that we overlooked several drawbacks, but nothing that several hours of scrubbing, a new mattress, and furniture rearranging (including moving one old sofa to the sidewalk, which the owner did not resist at all) couldn't fix. 

Armed with a small but indespensible dictionary, we managed to purchase extension cords, light bulbs, coat hangers, etc. and of course a few house plants: African violet, airplane plant hanging basket, and some unfamiliar herb which I've already managed to kill. I'm trying to root a few sprigs of ivy liberated on one of our walks and another vine that looks suspiciously like honeysuckle.

We're still looking for a mattress pad (mattresses here look more like box springs to me, and firm means FIRM) and a fitted sheet. Duvets are d'rigeur bedding which simplifies morning chores. 

The apartment is quiet but exciting during thunder storms. There's a kapıcı (translates as doorman, but doesn't man the door) who will get fresh morning bread for us if we can figure out how to ask. 

All in all, a fine home away from home.

First Impressions

Turkish Airlines doesn't have a direct flight from Berlin to Ankara which is surprising given that they're the two capitals, but changing planes in Istanbul went smoothly and customs in Ankara was a snap. The Havas shuttle was easy to find and taxis were in abundance in the city center. The sun was setting and the colors beautiful. An advantage of not being met at the airport was a sense of accomplishment from actually getting to the right place with my own guvergin (pigeon) Turkish.

We left Atlanta in the middle of a drought and felt right at home except that Ankara is high plateau, but dry, dry, dry. Otherwise: 4-5 million people, check; traffic congestion, check; air pollution, check; friendly, helpful people, check; pedestrian friendly, not a chance. Yep, feeling right at home.

We're settling in having found an apartment (details to come), the bus and metro route to work, the local Migros (grocery store), a bank account, local eateries (more about food later), and Wi-Fi access in the bar at the hotel at the end of the block. (hoops to jump through before we can hook up at home). 

What's missing? Not much: friends of course, Nell, auto independence, peanut butter without sugar, puttering in the yard,  the Sunday Times, and a good coffee maker. 

What's new? New friends to make, great new foods, calls to prayer, dodging cars, embassies everywhere in the neighborhood, flower shops on every corner, shops on every corner, wonderful fresh fruit in those shops on every corner. Finding an extension cord was an adventure. With my little dictionary and expertise at charades, we can get just about whatever we need. ("You can't always get what you want, but ...")

All in all, we're delighted to be in Ankara.