First Impressions

This picture is here in honor of the fact that it is the very first picture I took in Ankara in the bathroom at the airport. I took it because I was excited they were talking about ablution, which the ritual washing of oneself for religious purposes. Pious Muslims preform this before they pray.

Well hello everyone I am in Ankara and safe and sound. I'm in a hotel in the Çankaya district and I have just a bit of time to share some interesting first impressions about the city.

So first off there are green lights everywhere. When I flew in last night the city was illuminated by a ton of green lights mixed in with the typical white street lights. It's really cool. The green lamp posts shine light onto trees which essentially makes it look like all the plants in Ankara naturally glow green at night. My first thought was that its green because green is the color of Islam, but you know its probably just because green is a pretty color.

The next biggest impression was THE MOSQUES ARE AMAZING! They're HUGE! They are round and have two pointy triangular minarets coming off the top. So cool! Google "Turkish Style Mosques." It really makes me sad that not all mosques in the US look like that. I mean not all Muslims in the US are Turkish, but goodness the Turkish mosques are just so striking and amazing.

Also one of my very first thoughts was, "Shit I really should have learned survival Turkish before I got here." Oops. I mean there's nothing I can do about it now, but yeah it would probably have been a good idea to get some basics because so far people with a good grasp on English has been hard to come by. Well it's all about the adventure.

And most of all I realized that stereotypes and expectations are always wrong. Whatever I was expecting of Ankara, and Turkey in general, is just totally different from what I've found. I was expecting some type of Morocco which is poor and very Middle Eastern, but Ankara is so modern and bustling! There is such a mix of Western and Eastern influences. I was expecting conservative dressing women with a no shorts allowed policy, but again, I've seen all types of women wearing skirts, shorts, and tank tops. Ah its just exciting even if it's going to be difficult. I'm sure I'll pick up some Turkish along the way.

Well that's it for now. The internet at the hotel has been a little weird so if I'm not in touch with people its because the internet is acting up.

I miss everyone from home!