First Backgammon Victory!!!
Trip Start
Apr 21, 2008
1
135
225
Trip End
Apr 20, 2009
Ankara,
Turkey
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
After breakfast, Bilge walked me to my bus stop as I needed to go to the Iranian embassy to get my visa processed. After a 10 minute bus ride and a 45 minute walk, I found myself at the front gate of the Iranian embassy. Before I could even ring the doorbell, someone already buzzed open the front gate. I opened the gate door and was directed to the front door by the gardeners. I went through the front door where I was then greeted by the embassy's security guard. He was dressed in a dark grey suit and looked a bit intimidating only because he never smiled. He checked my day pack thoroughly and directed me into the waiting room where the mood immediately changed. I was greeted warmly by an Iranian lady who was also waiting to talk to someone from the embassy. She tried to explain to me in her best English that someone would come to the service window shortly to help us. I thanked her for the update and she seemed pleased with my gratitude. After she was served, I had to deal with 2 very pleasant Iranian officials. I handed them my passport, 2 passport sized photos and the authorization code I received from the agency that processed my visa application. They had some questions about my name as they said it didn't seem like a Canadian one. I smiled and said they were right. I explained that my parents were Italian and moved to Canada 45 years ago but still gave their children Italian names. It was the only question they had for me. They then directed me to complete another form and also visit the bank nearby where I needed to pay 45 Euros for my visa. This all took 30 minutes. When I returned to the embassy, I gave them all the information they needed again. I was a little concerned about the photos I gave them as I had hair and a chubby face. The photos were taken 5 months ago. I have now trimmed down and shaved my head. I look nothing like my photos. It is funny as Hamdi and Bilge are not shy to tell me how fat I look in those photos. Anyhow, the embassy did not question the photos at all. They stated that I would need to return tomorrow to pick up my visa as they needed to "engrave" it into my passport.
The rest of the afternoon was spent walking around downtown and the old part of Ankara. I saw a few sights. The highlight was seeing the Museum of Anatolian Civilization. At first I didn't think I would enjoy it but it was actually very good. The museum is filled with Hittite artifacts - most of them over 10000 years old.
I then met up with Hamdi and Bilge at the entrance of the museum. They showed me around the nearby Citadel which provided a glimpse of how Turkish people in the area lived over a hundred years ago. I really felt like I was walking in an old Turkish village. From the citadel, you could get a great view of the city. Bilge could definitely be the town's premier tour guide as she knew everything about the town. Should would pick out a landmark and explain its history with relative ease. She is unbelievably smart. She also pointed out the city's slums which I found very interesting. It was quite funny as almost all of the slum dwellers had a satellite dish on the roof of their homes.
At about 8 pm, we all returned to Bilge's home where her mom prepared us a huge dinner. It was so good. I ate like a king. The mom then entertained us with her musical skills. She plays an instrument similar to the banjo. We sat there and watched her play. After the short concert, we all played backgammon. Hamdi and Bilge took turns beating me. I then played Bilge's mom. I was finally able to celebrate my first ever backgammon victory - although I did have the support of Bilge and Hamdi. A photo was taken to commemorate my first ever backgammon victory. Bilge's mom was looking forward to some revenge tomorrow :).
Before I went to bed, I made a few phone calls home. It was great to talk to my family again as I hadn't called since I was in Slovenia. Hearing everyone's voices and knowing they are ok makes it easier to continue on traveling. They all still remember me which was a bonus :).
