This was essentially another traveling day, another early start but we were getting used to them by this stage. We were driving some 300 kms from Cappadocia to the nation’s capital Ankara, and then continuing onto Istanbul, another 400 odd kms.
In Ankara, we visited the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, founder of the Republic of Turkey. We had never seen a monument to someone that was so extensive, there was a whole room in this museum dedicated to his wardrobe, as well as his favourite pet dog which has been stuffed. The Turks really really really loved this guy. He is credited for the being the founder of modern day Turkey, his achievements included making everyone in Turkey have a second name, doubling the literacy rate, and setting up the first universities. He was also a well respected general in the army and fought in Gallipoli. He essentially unified Turkish people which was no mean feat as there was and still is such a melting pot of religions and ethnicity's. He was also a devilishly handsome man, and had blonde hair and blue eyes…very unusual for a Turk.
In Ankara, we visited the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, founder of the Republic of Turkey. We had never seen a monument to someone that was so extensive, there was a whole room in this museum dedicated to his wardrobe, as well as his favourite pet dog which has been stuffed. The Turks really really really loved this guy. He is credited for the being the founder of modern day Turkey, his achievements included making everyone in Turkey have a second name, doubling the literacy rate, and setting up the first universities. He was also a well respected general in the army and fought in Gallipoli. He essentially unified Turkish people which was no mean feat as there was and still is such a melting pot of religions and ethnicity's. He was also a devilishly handsome man, and had blonde hair and blue eyes…very unusual for a Turk.
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| In front of his tomb |
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| Thats a real person (on the left) |
He was so loved that the Turkish government passed a law forbidding anyone to speak ill of him, and several Turkish journalists have been jailed for exactly that.
The weather had been perfect the whole trip but on our way back to Istanbul the rains came, it didn’t really bother us and we got back to our original hotel in Istanbul around dinner time. We stopped off at a recommended sweet shop and stocked up on presents for our work teams and ourselves and went back to the same place we had dinner on our first night in Istanbul – we just needed one more hit of yogurt dip and eggplant….
Highlight: Making it back to Istanbul and not being stuck in traffic
Highlight: Making it back to Istanbul and not being stuck in traffic
Lowlight: How much of a big deal they made of this Ataturk guy, surely he had some flaws?
Interesting Fact: Although a Turk invented Turkish delight, it was an unknown Briton who shipped back to Britain under the name Turkish delight. It became a major delicacy in Britain and during this time, it became a practice among the upper class to exchange pieces of Turkish delight wrapped in silk handkerchiefs as presents.
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