Of Fevers and Fairy Chimneys - Cappadocia and Ankara

« Return to Turkey

I developed a sweat-dripping fever on my arrival in Ankara - one of those devastating flu attacks that leave you shaking and sobbing in delirium. As luck would have it, Gizem, my contact in Ankara, is a doctor. So here I am, shaking on the couch in the small apartment she shares with her mom, sister and three insane kitties, muttering crazies with a thermometer under my armpit. Mom is cooking up a storm in the kitchen, while sis Sinem is Turkey’s tough-talking, chain-smoking four-time Women’s 9-Ball champion. My friends, you can follow the Lonely Planet all you want, but if you’re looking to learn something about a country, you have to throw yourself at the mercy of fate. I didn’t leave their apartment for two days, ordered to remain horizontal except when it was time to eat or drink tea, which was often. Not surprisingly, I quickly kicked this fever in the butt, and was once again astonished by Turkish hospitability.

The following day I went looking for a place to stay so I could explore Ankara for a couple days. In doing so, I explored Ankara. In anticipation for a public holiday on August 30, flags and enormous portraits of Ataturk were everywhere. Security was tight ≠ riot police were hanging about in full regalia. I asked someone why and they said it was normal. Istanbul was targeted by Al-Qaida in 2003, in which two bombs rocked Istanbul and killed 60 people, and bombs later went off outside two synagogues, the British Consulate and an HSBC bank. As a secular Muslim state that strongly supports the U.S, Turkey is a natural target for Islamic extremists. This is why I was frisked and had my camera confiscated on entering the Canadian Embassy. I wanted to find out what the deal was in Ankara for visiting tourists, and why Canadians and Canadians alone have to pay an outrageous 40 Euro Visa fee to enter Turkey. I spoke to Suzanne, the Canadian Trade Commissioner, who outlined the security issues, mentioned something about reciprocity, and went off to get her Lonely Planet to see if there was somewhere I could afford to stay. I checked out their suggestions, which happened to be located in a particularly nasty part of town (think Hastings and Main). I had to quickly remove my Hat of Harassment. It’s amazing. Hat on, everyone looks and wants to talk. Hat off, everyone leaves me alone. Hence: The Hat of Harassment. I finally found a cheap hotel to stay in, cheap as in $40 a night (but just for you, Sir!). Meanwhile, Gizem took advantage of the public holiday to walk me around her Ankara, and what I saw was a modern, European city. MacDonalds, Starbucks, Benetton - nice neighbourhoods with jam-packed coffee shops, bars and malls. The parks had black and white swans. In the student neighborhood near my hotel, thousands were playing backgammon and chatting on cell phones and drinking tea and beer. Modern Turkey. But, when I wanted to show Gizem something on my laptop in my room, hotel management refused to allow her upstairs. “This is the problem!” fumed Gizem. “They think they are protecting me, they think it is wrong for a Turkish woman to enter a foreigner’s room!” She was furious, and I could understand why: the four directions, tugging hard at the fabric of a modern society. It is why the European Union has stalled Turkey for decades. They would love the West part of the country, with its education and infrastructure and commerce, but with it comes the East, with its religious intolerance, Kurdish extremists, and socially-backward population. Even here, in Ankara, conservative religious values still abound. Turkey, where the West truly does meet the East.

On my last night in Ankara, I got a serious lesson in 9 Ball Pool from Sinem and Gizem (lets just say my fairy chimney quietly retreated in male shame). There wasn’t that much to see in Ankara, but I got to spend time with lovely people, and learn a lot about a fascinating country. Combined with the spectacle of Cappadocia, and even with a dose of burning fever, my mind and body finally reconnected. Now it’s time to catch a bus north to the Black Sea.

Hotel Bellvue Paradis
Amasra, Turkey

Gonzo Gallery for Of Fevers and Fairy Chimneys - Cappadocia and Ankara

view full gallery

Tweet