First Impressions

My first impressions on arrival in Ankara were...... It's big!  Three weeks later and my impressions haven't really changed.  Having come from the sleepy seaside town of Llandudno in North Wales with a population of approximately 30,000 to the crazy inland city of Ankara with a population of approximately 5 million it is a little bit of a culture shock.

I arrived at 8pm in the evening, so my first sight of Ankara was the city in lights.  It was pretty daunting for this small town welshy, but I was ready to take it on.  I had travelled from Fethiye on the coast by bus, a journey that had taken 9 hours, passing through some stunning areas of Turkey.  During the bus journey I realised I should have learnt more of the language as I was unable to communicate with anyone, and there were regular announcements which I obviously couldn't understand.  I am trying to pick up more of the language but it is a very slow process, but I will succeed!  The area I am living doesn't have many English speakers, apart from a few ex-pats that I have met at the local market.  So at the moment I am getting by with the few words I do know and a lot of sign language.

The road system is interesting, it appears there are no rules of the road or at least no regard to any rules should there be any, and it can sometimes appear like dodgems in a fairground.  There seems to be a rank system where buses get priority, but I guess that is due to their size and the fact they just drive on through the traffic. The journey to work is like being on a white knuckle ride at Alton Towers.  The hills are steep and the corners are severe.  I have been known to close my eyes on numerous journeys as I hold on tight to the seat in front.  

The first morning in my new home, and I was woken up with the sounds of the call to prayer at the nearby mosque, which is a sound you would normally hear in Turkey, but it was accompanied by a sound that was a little different.  At 5.30am I was a little dazed and confused, but then I worked out what it was.  The local street dogs were joining in with the call to prayer with howling.  Now in the area I live there are a large number of street dogs so this sound is a little eerie when you first hear it.  It only happens during the morning and evening call to prayer.  I guess during the day the dogs have more important business to attend to like sleeping.

There a a lot of street dogs, but they appear to be well looked after by the locals, who feed them their leftovers.  They are often seen chilling out in the sun.  I haven't seen so many cats in the area though, which is something that has surprised me after seeing large numbers of cats in other parts of Turkey that I have visited.

Ankara seems to be a friendly city, and although there will be a lot to get used to, I think it is somewhere I could possibly in the future call my home.  Let's just go with it and see where the next few months takes me.