In the morning there was news on the TV about an earthquake (deprem) the night before. It was a Richter scale 6 quake that had struck a little north of Ankara. Not much more detail. Later I learnt that it had killed 2 people and damaged 100 buildings. A small one as far as Turkish quakes go.
Breakfast in this hotel was even more elaborate than in Istanbul. They had börek, simit sticks, fresh cherries and apricots, halva, more types of cheese, and even some pâte. Also cherry (kiraz) and orange (portakal) juices.
I packed up and took a walk around the town. The markets were waking up. In a confectionery shop I bought some candied chestnuts. Luckily I only bought 250g because it wasn't to my taste. Incidentally the şeker in the shop sign is from the same Arabic root that gave us sugar.
It was a humid day and sweat was pouring out of every one of my pores. Perhaps it was the lack of cooling breezes like in Istanbul. I gave up sightseeing, checked out and waited where the tourist office said the bus to the otogar would be. It took 20 minutes to get there, meandering through the city. As I suspected it only passed the terminal and didn't actually enter so I had to walk some 200m across the road to the building. The huge signs over the ticket counters showed that there were heaps of bus companies represented. I didn't see the recommended one, so I went for the biggest and most professional looking one, Uludağ. I had some time to grab a lahmacun and a soft drink for lunch. The bus station was large; it even had a bakery in it.
The bus left on the dot and we wound our way out of the industrial suburbs of Bursa. One of the civilised rituals of bus travel in Turkey is that the conductor will come around to pour a splash of cologne water in your palm for you to freshen your face. Then he will give you packaged tea or bottled water. Unfortunately the smokers were out in force again. Even the bus driver lit up as we left the station.
We travelled through low mountain ranges. I had decided to give the ancient sites in Bergama (Pergamon) a miss and instead visit the ruins at Efes (Ephesus). These biblical names remind one that the land is ancient.
Many buildings on the outskirts of Izmir (in the past, Smyrna) were incomplete, with the reinforcement rods sticking out of the concrete. Build by installment I guessed. I wondered if I should go for a pension but decided to seek out an air conditioned hotel room. The first choice from the guide was full, they could only offer me a hot attic room which was simply no-go. I went to the second choice, but later realised that I walked into the wrong hotel. It was also in the guide so it wasn't too bad a mistake. The room was a bit dingy but had air conditioning.
For dinner I found a street full of pavement tables and accepted the blandishments of an enterprising restaurant owner who talked me into having a chicken kebap with patlıcan (eggplant). It was very tasty. By the time I finished it was too late to go up to Kadifekale castle to get an overview of the city, although I made an attempt to find the bus service.
So I walked to the docks and enjoyed the cool breeze at the water's edge. Scores of shoeshine boys hounded me, but I refused them. I was wearing beaten up sneakers anyway. A beggar woman tailed me for some time. At first I ignored her, but her pitiful entreaties changed my mind and I gave her some small change. I wondered how long it would last her.
Izmir is the third largest city in Turkey and a major port. It also wanted to be cool and attract travellers. Signs said that a festival would start in a day or two, but I hoped to be out of there by then and avoid the crowds. I noticed that Izmir was large enough to have a metro and I decided to give it a try the next morning. It only ran during peak hours, 0700-0900 and 1700-2000. There were train services out of Izmir but the times didn't look at all suitable.
Back in the room, I turned on the air conditioner and watched a Michael Douglas movie dubbed in Turkish. I fell asleep watching and showered the next morning instead of before bed, as is my habit.
Breakfast in this hotel was even more elaborate than in Istanbul. They had börek, simit sticks, fresh cherries and apricots, halva, more types of cheese, and even some pâte. Also cherry (kiraz) and orange (portakal) juices.
It was a humid day and sweat was pouring out of every one of my pores. Perhaps it was the lack of cooling breezes like in Istanbul. I gave up sightseeing, checked out and waited where the tourist office said the bus to the otogar would be. It took 20 minutes to get there, meandering through the city. As I suspected it only passed the terminal and didn't actually enter so I had to walk some 200m across the road to the building. The huge signs over the ticket counters showed that there were heaps of bus companies represented. I didn't see the recommended one, so I went for the biggest and most professional looking one, Uludağ. I had some time to grab a lahmacun and a soft drink for lunch. The bus station was large; it even had a bakery in it.
The bus left on the dot and we wound our way out of the industrial suburbs of Bursa. One of the civilised rituals of bus travel in Turkey is that the conductor will come around to pour a splash of cologne water in your palm for you to freshen your face. Then he will give you packaged tea or bottled water. Unfortunately the smokers were out in force again. Even the bus driver lit up as we left the station.
We travelled through low mountain ranges. I had decided to give the ancient sites in Bergama (Pergamon) a miss and instead visit the ruins at Efes (Ephesus). These biblical names remind one that the land is ancient.
Izmir is the third largest city in Turkey and a major port. It also wanted to be cool and attract travellers. Signs said that a festival would start in a day or two, but I hoped to be out of there by then and avoid the crowds. I noticed that Izmir was large enough to have a metro and I decided to give it a try the next morning. It only ran during peak hours, 0700-0900 and 1700-2000. There were train services out of Izmir but the times didn't look at all suitable.
Back in the room, I turned on the air conditioner and watched a Michael Douglas movie dubbed in Turkish. I fell asleep watching and showered the next morning instead of before bed, as is my habit.
No comments:
Post a Comment