more photos from Abant...

Abant Gölü (Lake Abant)

About a week ago, a friend on my hockey team invited me to come along with her on a work retreat trip.  Since i have been in the city now for a month, I jumped at the chance to get out of town.  So yesterday morning I got up at 7am , by far the earliest since I've been here, and met my teammate Nazli to go to the bus that will take us to Abant.  While waiting for everyone to gather around I was introduced to many people, and as I've commented before, Turkish people are all very nice and welcoming, so I felt totally comfortable.  When the bus pulled out around 8:15 (everthing in Turkey happens late), we were all given a cup of tea and a snack.  The ride was about three hours, on the road toward Istanbul.  I slept for most of the way, though i did try to keep my eyes open to see the scenery, which reminded me of the small, scrubby hills of Wyoming.  We passed many small towns, each of which had a mosque with tall minarets jutting up into the sky.

As we neared the town of Bolu, the landscape changed.  The hills got bigger and were now covered with conifers.  32km past Bolu, we arrived at a hotel on Lake Abant.  It was extremely windy and cold outside, but we all piled out and headed toward the dock on the lake to take some photos, then went inside to drink warm tea and wait for lunch.  Lunch was inside the hotel, and it was an incredible buffet with many different salads, about six main courses to choose from, and 15 or more different deserts!  

After lunch, we went for a long walk around the lake, maybe about 6km.  It was very nice to get outside and be surrounded by hills and trees instead of concrete and cars!  At many places around the lake, we came across groups of men with horses, trying to sell horseback or carriage rides.  It was nice to see the local people, as they all looked different from the Ankara city people.  They all looked kind of short and very weathered, but thus more interesting.  Nazli opted for a short horseback ride, which they said would be 5 Lira.  They led the horse around for two small circles, and then asked for 10 Lira, since they did two circles.  Oh well.  

When we finally returned to the hotel we were exhausted, so what else would we do, but drink tea!  I have never had as much tea in my life as i have had so far in Turkey! But since it was cold out, we also drank salep, which is a warm thick sweet drink made from Orchid roots.  I thought it was like sweet, thick milk, which was very good when just coming in from a long, cold walk.  So we sat around, had salep, tea, and more food, and waited for our bus to depart, which it did at 5pm.  

On the way back I slept again, but had to listen to guy up front playing guitar and singing Turkish songs into a microphone for the whole bus to hear.  The first three songs were okay, and it was fun and interesting to hear a whole bus singing along, but after an hour, it got old.  But he didn't stop until we were all the way back to Ankara!  Oh, how i love the Turkish experience!

Just don't ask what's in it..

(Photos:  A sidewalk cafe, sitting outdoors with Leen, an Estonian, in November!  The three small dishes in the middle are: cig köfte, a salad, and a spicy sauce for dipping bread.  Big plate in front is yet another pide with mixed toppings.)



Whereas in the States, a 3am post-bar food craving might bring you to a White Castle, in Turkey, it will most likely bring you to one of many small all night street food vendors to order a kokorec.  Now, a kokorec is a delicious sandwich, with delicious fillings, but you might not really want to know what's in it until you're done.  I think it's lamb intestines, mixed with greens and spices, but really, it's so good it doesn't matter.  Especially not at 3am!

Now that I've been here almost three weeks, I've had time to sample many of the foods here.  I often go out to lunch with other foreigners or some teammates to pass the time.  And, since I don't really have a working kitchen, food prep is difficult.

My first night here, I had Little Ceasar's pizza, but since then, it's been mostly only Turkish food.  There really isn't much of a choice anyways.  Unlike my 'Eat Street' neighborhood back in Minneapolis, where i could find Asian, German, and Mexican food all on one street, here the choices are limited, not that it's a bad thing, as the food here is amazing.  I have been told that some of the shopping malls have Asian food, and maybe even sushi, but i have yet to see anything other than Turkish food shops, with an occasional McDo or Burger King mixed in.  

Turks love to eat meat, and being a vegetarian in Turkey might be tough.  Every other shop seems to have a döner kebap (meat roasting on a big spit, like Greek Gyros meat) turning in their window, and about 30 choices of how you want to eat your döner kebap meat.  You can often choose between goat or chicken, and then choose whether you want it on a sandwich, a wrap (dürüm) or in one of many traditional Turkish dishes, the most famous of which is the Iskender Kebap.  The Iskender is served on an oblong plate, with yoghurt on one end, rice pilav on the other, and in the middle, a flat bread covered with strips of juicy dönner meat and some kind of sauce.  I have had this twice and it is exceptional!  The other specialty is the Adana Kebap, which is a couple of long pieces of minced meat, served with flatbread and onion salad.  Walking along sidewalk cafes, I often see people eating one of these two dishes.  Turks love their Turkish food, just like Latvians love their meat and potatoes!

For quicker bites to eat, I have ordered a kebap wrap, or Cig Kofte, which is a spicy bulgar and spice 'pattie'.  It is kneaded by hand, formed into small nuggets, and served with a flat bread and lettuce leaves.  It is often served as an appetizer before your meal is brought out, and is usually eaten by sandwiching the nuggets in the lettuce leaf, and eating some bread along with it to help relieve the spiciness.

I have also eaten plenty of 'pide', which is like a Turkish Pizza.  I really haven't figured out what exactly the toppings are, but I think it's almost always some kind of minced meat, though just cheese or mushrooms is also available.

Since i do often eat at least one meal a day out of the house, it's  good thing i also play hockey and run everyday, as the food here, though delicious, is very oily and heavy....  

And finally, the hockey!

Last night we had our first game with me on the team.  We are called "Milenyum" and it is actually a figure skating club.  Yes, a figure skating club.  And our jerseys are purple.  That aside, it's a great club to be involved with.  The girls on the team range in age from 13-31.  There are a handful in high school, and a handful in their low-mid twenties.  I am the second oldest, at 29, and as you can see in the picture (second row, third from the left) I think I am also the tallest.  

Most of these girls have never really worked out, so they were in shock when did our first leg workout.  Apart from two or three players, they were or are still figure skaters.  Actually, for a beginning team, this is a good start, as at least they can skate!  Now, we just need to teach them everything else!  

The team hangs out together a lot, and has great team chemistry. We are always having fun together, and I've spent many evenings going out with the girls.  I've said before that I like the people here, and they really are great.  Often after practice some of us and maybe some guys from the men's team go out for food or a beer.  

So on to the game.  We drew a pretty big crowd, (well, for Turkish women's hockey at least) as so many people were curious to see me play.  Pressure!  We were playing the Ankara University team, and were supposed to win by many goals.  We started okay, and I think it was 3-0 after the first period.  I had an assist maybe, but no goals.  Then, between periods, i was told that i need to start scoring, even though I would much rather pass to the other girls and help them improve their game.  But, alas, i had to start scoring, so once in a while I would skate the length of the ice and put one in.  Some were slap shots, and one or two were semi-pretty dangle goals.  In the end, we won 11-0, i scored 5 goals, and everyone was happy.  I am happiest for the other girls that scored or just felt like they could play hockey.  I motivated them to skate more and to give and receive hard passes.  Obviously we have many things to work on in practice, and the game was a good way to gauge where they are.  We have potential, I just have to teach them how to think and play hockey.

Aside from playing, i am also now in charge of two off-ice trainings a week, as well as i get to coach them on-ice on Fridays.  I am looking forward to that, and hope i ca help them improve their skills!  Our next game is in a few weeks against a very weak opponent, but the big test that we have to prepare for will be in December or January against the team that won first place last year.

The streets...

Aside from the crazy drivers, the busy streets are fun, alive, and full of anything that you might need.  My street, 8th street, is packed with shops.  7th street has a similar feel, but even more people.  I can stop at any small grocery to pick up a snack, or buy slippers from the next shop over.  I could find bed sheets one door down, and cables for my TV in the next place.  It really is great to have so many separate shops, instead of megastores!   And by the way, my first day here I went with some teammates, and we bought my bed sheets at a grocery store!  

There are two metro lines, forming a cross through the city, and go to most parts of Ankara. I have a stop right by my apartment, but have only used it once.  I was surprised by how clean and bright the metro is!  The walls were shiny, and the lighting was bright, unlike in some cities, where i am nervous to go down at any time of day, here i feel totally safe.  That is a general feeling here for me. I feel safe at any hour of the day, as there are always people on the streets.  The walk from the rink to my apartment is along a busy street, so even if I walk home after a late practice (some nights we have played until 1am!), I feel totally safe.

7th street is lined with many cafes, and it is a good place to meet friends for a coffee or tea.  Turks say that they themselves are lazy.  Im not sure about that, but they do seem to love sitting around with friends, drinking tea.  I can imagine that the outdoor cafes are extremely busy during summer here.  That is, is everyone has not gone south to the coast for vacation...   

 

How to drive in Turkey

When in Turkey, there is a certain way you must drive if you want to fit in with everyone else. First of all, make sure you do not wear your seatbelt.

Lane markings, if there are any, must be ignored.  Drive in the middle of two lanes if you'd like, go as fast as you want to, and if you want to get ahead, just go wherever there is not another car.  This can be in the middle of the road or half on the sidewalk.  If there is a car in your way, or a person about to cross the street, or if someone was nice and let you by, or anything else really, honk.  The more honking the better.  

If you need to park, feel free to hold up any and all traffic and parallel park, if you are lucky enough to find a spot.  If you cannot find a spot along the curb, just park anywhere; on the corner, on a crosswalk, or even in the street next to the parallel parked cars. 

Red lights are simply a suggestion to stop.  If you want to be an honest driver, you can stop, otherwise, you can just slowly cruise through the intersection.  

If there are any people in the street, swerve around them with out slowing down.  They will either run across the street or step back onto the curb.

If you must go anywhere within the city, I recommend walking, taking one of the many of taxis, metro, or bus.  

 

Hash House Harriers

Last night I was talked in to going out, and it ended up being a good time at a live music bar, but it was definitely harder to get up this morning to make my way across town to meet up with the 'hashers'.  I had heard of the Hash House Harriers in the past, and knew that they were some sort of running club with groups in most of the world's cities.  The Ankara branch meets on Sundays at 12:30 at Segmenler Park, which was a metro ride and long uphill walk from my house.  When I arrived, everyone was very welcoming.  It seemed to be mostly Turks, with a few Swiss and a few Americans.  Not knowing much about any of it, i just tagged along, and a bit past 1pm we were in the van and on our way out of town to our running place.  I have been here over a week and it was great to finally get out of the concrete jungle.  Soon after the city building stopped, we swung onto a dirt road, followed that for a bit and parked in a makeshift parking area.  We were surrounded by dry, rolling hills spotted with a few orchards and a few sheepdogs.  SInce i had no idea what the Hashers were all about, i was in for a surprise.  There were about 15 of us, and we first circled up to hear the instructions.  There were two 'hares', who had already set up a running course by throwing out handfuls of flour for the 'harriers' to follow.  There are several checkpoints, each with its own particular rules, as well as some false trails.  When we started, some people took off running, while others walked.  When a flour marking was spotted, someone called out 'on-on', and the rest of the group followed.  If a circle was found, that was a checkpoint.  If an 'F' was found, that was a false trail, and we had to return to the last checkpoint and look for a trail in a different direction.  Whether I walked or ran, it was a workout, especially with the many false trails.  At one point we circled up and sang a song, and at the end we had more ritual type stuff to do, mostly involving standing in the center of the circle and drinking due to being a newcomer (me), or due to breaking some 'rule', or really, due to anything that they wanted to have you drink for.  It was a good time, and a very eclectic and interesting group of people.  We stayed for a bit and some people had more beers and BBQd.  BBQing is a very common in Turkey.  People stop their car anywhere, or drive out into a place such as the one we were at, take out their version of a little smokey grill, and cook some meet.  

After a bit of time hanging out, i caught a ride back into the city with the other American girl.  It was a fun but long day, though i have a few more hours at the ice rink ahead of me before the day is over...

About town

With Angelique at the mall, eating 'pide'



I finally learned how to use the metro!  After another late night of football and beers, i got up late today.  Our basement apartment is so dark, i needed to get out of the house, so i met up with Angelique, a player from New Zealand, and we went to the mall.  She has been here for a year, and showed me how to buy a metro/bus card and how to get around town.  There are just two metro lines here, but a stop is right by my apartment and so I can get to anywhere I need to go very easily.  It is a saturday, and the mall was packed!  I bought a DVD player, we had some 'pide' (like a Turkish pizza) at the food court, and shopped around a bit before heading back home.  I live on 8th street, next comes 4th street, then 7th street.  It makes no sense, but everyone knows how to get around.

My neighborhood is great, and many locals say it is the best place to live in the city because the streets are full of cafes and shops.  7th street is the most popular, and is lined non-stop with cafes and shops.  Between the many cafes and shops, it even has a McDonald's, Burger King, and Starbucks.  In this neighborhood, it seems that every third shop is a grocery of some sort, and most of them keep their drinks and fruit outside on the sidewalk.  Some stay open all night, while others close shop but simply cover their piles of fruit with a tarp for the night.  Most restaurants have indoor and outdoor seating, and when they close for the night, they find no need to lock up all their outdoor furniture, like places do in the States.

Right now I live in a tiny 1 bedroom basement apartment.  I sleep in the bedroom on a twin bed with springs poking through, while my flatmate sleeps on the couch in the living room. It is fine, but since it is so small and so dark, i may take a look at the other apartment that i was offered, which they say is huge and on the third floor, so hopefully not as dark, but older and scrubbier.  That apartment would also be a bit closer to 7th street and to the ice rink, which right now is a 15 minute walk up-hill.