Leaving Alejandro in Goreme, we pushed on to Ankara, our Turkish home city. While we had spent countless hours at the Bilkent University Hotel (mainly in the North Shield Pub), we had never stayed there. Tonight was our chance. I drove the final bit and entered Ankara in an uncharacteristic massive thunderstorm. However, Clive guided us well enough and we arrived at the hotel in the late afternoon. Our room was spacious and comfortable with a king bed (unusual in Turkey) and a very nice bathroom. We chilled out and caught up on email.
That evening (Friday) we were invited to Casa Sumer, home of Cevahir Sumer, one of the best cooks in Turkey and one of the nicest people you could ever meet. Her apartment was a brief two minute drive down the street in the Bilkent II Complex. Joining us were special friends Mehmet Gulsen (our travel partner for later in the trip) and Zulfiya and Tuncer Sahin. We ate extremely well and had a festive time.
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| Mehmet and I at Casa Sumer on Friday evening. There was a huge thunderstorm even with hail. |
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| Two beauties - Zulfiya and Cevahir |
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| The ladies |
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| Mehmet took this photo before we dug into Cevahir's feast. Cok lezzetli! |
The next morning, Randy and I took a short walk around the area enjoying the views to Ankara. We had a filling and pretty delicious breakfast in the hotel garden. As usual, Turkish breakfasts are worth getting up for (except the coffee). Our plans that night were complicated with Orhan Dengiz's wedding followed by a very late night drive to Istanbul so our day was planned accordingly. Luckily, the Sahin's invited us to their house where we had lunch and could relax (and in Randy's case, sleep) before changing for the wedding and heading into the city. Cevahir joined us for lunch. I had a chance to go shopping to the Waikiki Outlet in Golbasi (Waikiki is a Turkish brand which makes bargain priced cottonwear). I also went to my favorite Ankara mall, Panora, and browsed. I bought a shirt at Zara, a European clothing chain, but it was made in Turkey. And, some French make up at Sephora. Pretty enjoyable and relaxing.
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| View of Ankara from the road running up from the Real shopping center to the top of the Bilkent hill |
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| Bilkent II - site of Casa Sumer |
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| Atakule seen from the Bikent road - the air was a bit hazy that morning - the forest is METU's |
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| Randy, me and Ural, the middle Sahin child, who had just returned from camp in upstate New York |
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| Cevahir, me and Ur, the eldest Sahin offspring. He will enter Atalim University in Ankara this fall. And, yes, he is tall! |
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| Wow - this is lunch? Such deliciousness. |
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| Sweet Urya Sahin |
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| The amazing mosaic floor - a copy of a Piri Reis map - at Panora Mall |
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| We would reunion at the Black Sea in a little over a week hence |
We drove to Casa Gulsen in the Kurtulus area of Ankara and picked Mehmet up for the wedding. He directed us to the Ankara Horse Club, an elite private club near the new Presidential Palace. Orhan was blessed with a beautiful evening to get married as the weather was nearly perfect. We relaxed outside with some wine (raki was on offer too) and said hi to the Dengiz family and a friend from Auburn, Yelin Sevgor (we would later meet up with him in Istanbul).
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| Mehmet never smiles for pictures if he can help it but I think he was happy enough to be heading to Orhan's wedding |
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| At Casa Gulsen - sadly without Mehmet's mother as she passed on earlier in the year |
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| Yes, there are horses at the Horse Club, though most of the members are members not to ride but for the status |
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| Before the ceremony the wine was flowing |
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| Mehmet was testing out the raki - maybe that is why he smiled |
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| Berna was an excellent hostess for her son's big event |
I was asked to be a "witness", a ceremonial position in Turkish weddings. This honor was so special for me and I was pleased to be a part of my "Turkish son's" wedding. The ceremony was quick, which is what they do in Turkey (very wisely) and we moved on to dinner. Randy and I were seated with the Dengiz parents (Tahir and Berna) and the most elite dignitaries - high echelon people connected with Berna's university, Baskent University. This was a privilege though the group was a bit stuffy.
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| The groom and bride walk out just prior to the ceremony |
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| Some of the wedding party just after the vows |
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| Tahir and Berna at the dinner table. The entire event was outside in the garden of the Horse Club - a truly enchanting setting with perfect weather. |
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| Catching up with Berna's housekeeper who has done our laundry and cooking every year when we visit Casa Dengiz in Golbasi |
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| Berna and Tahir take an early dance as parents of the groom. The band was interesting - they were clearly Turkish but were playing pop music in English from the 1970's. Tom Jones, anyone? |
Sadly, we needed to leave prior to the cake and dancing and the real party broke out because we had a five hour drive ahead of us to Istanbul where I had a meeting starting the next morning (Sunday) at 8 AM. Bad timing in that way. But excellent timing in another way that we could be in Turkey for this very special occasion. Thought our stay in Ankara was extremely brief (just over 24 hours) we would return later on the trip for a more extended stay in our favorite Turkish city.
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| Selfie with the new Dr. and Mrs. Orhan Dengiz. Ozge is a graduate student of Mehmet's at Baskent University. The world is a small place after all. Bye for now to Ankara - what an evening to end on! |
