Visit to Turkey        June 2015- Page 1
    Click on any photo to see a larger view

    In June 2015, I flew from DFW to Philadelphia, waited for hours and then flew to Munich, Germany to meet up with Les
    and Stu.  But Stu did not make it, he flew from Denver to Houston and his flight from Houston to Munich got cancelled.
    Les and I flew together from Munich to Ankara, Turkey.  I left home in Richardson at 10:00 am Saturday and got to
    Ankara, Turkey at about 7:00 am (Texas time) on Sunday.  21 hours in airports or planes will wear you out, esp. since
    I don't sleep well on an airplane.  

    I had never been to Turkey before but it was not what I had expected.  It is seems much more European than Middle
     Eastern.  I had a good trip there but I did not take off any days to go sightseeing.  I will go back, Turkey is a pretty
    nice place and seems very safe to visitors.

    Link to my travel blog with more trip notes
Back to Other Trips Page
    Location, Location, Location
    Turkey got screwed in the neighboring countries category.  Their neighbors are Greece, Bulgaria, Georgia (former USSR),
     Armenia (home of the Kardashians), Iran, Iraq and Syria. The neighborhood is getting even worse with ISIS moving into
     Syria and Iraq along the southern border.  Not good, can you imagine living next to where the Kardashians are from?
    Les and Stu driving around and looking tlike they are hard at work.  Also a photo of my new frind EEEE
    Turkey is in Europe and Asia and it looks much different than what I had expected. Ankara is built on many green
     hills and seems like a very modern city, in fact the roads and buildings seem much more modern than many US cities.
     See some of the pictures below from my hotel.
    Sharp Dressed Man      I do wear a suit and tie sometimes.
    Before work:                                 After work:
    Turkish Lira
    Turkish money is the Lira.
    Right now 1 U.S. dollar is about 2.7 Lira.
    It's a Small, Small World
    My friends Kent & Laura were going on a cruise
     and they were in the Munich airport at the same
     time today that I was. They were leaving for
     Europe, I was going the other way.  I missed
     seeing them by an hour.  It really is a small
     world.
    Where I am in Turkey
    Just a picture showing where
     I am in Turkey. We are in the
     middle of Turkey nowhere near
     an ocean or straight. Ankara is
     built on hills, not mountains and
     it is nowhere near a border.
    Who is in Charge This Week?
    Apparently there's no government controlling Turkey right now after the elections last week.  They had elections
    for a new president and nobody won.  The party that had the most votes now has about 40 days to set up a new
     government, and if they can't do that the group that had the second most votes has 40 days to set up a new
    government.  The government here now seems very volatile and a lot of decisions are waiting to see who the new
    people in charge will be
    Read Turkish
    Turkish is hard to read and
     there are not many signs in
     English, so I was glad top
     see the name of a university
     that I recognised
    Don't Drink It!
    In the hotel lobby, there are pitchers of nice fruit water with lemons, oranges and limes for you to drink.   Don't do it!!
    We are still in the Middle East, I stay away from any water that does not have a lid on it, and stay away from the ice.

    I am drinking beer, cokes, wine and Raki.  Also I always use bottled water to brush my teeth with.  After many trips to the
    Middle East, this has always worked out fine, I have never been sick.  Here is what we are drinking:
    Lots of Kebabs
    If you like kebabs of different kinds,
     Turkey is the place to be.  I am sure
     that Greece has very good kebabs also

    Here is a yogurt kebab dish I had at
     lunch. Lots of meat, tomatoes and
     peppers with yogurt on top.
    And Some Water Buffalo
    You can also get water buffalo at all
    of the finest restaurants, I was going to
     have some to go with the horse meat that
     I had in Finland in January, but they
     were out
    For my drink, I ordered a Raki because my friend Joe Begue said I had
    to drink one in Turkey.   Two hours later I have a headache. I think the
    Raki was tequila made from grapes.  Finished meal off with a strong,
    thick Turkish coffee to help me sleep better.
    Why do they call this place Turkey?
    For dinner last night I had 2 kinds of lamb. For breakfast today I had lamb this and lamb that (no bacon or sausage here).
    For lunch today, we were taken out to eat traditional Turkish food. Lots of veggies and yogurt dips plus lamb pieces and lamb
    meatloaf - all very good!  I don't understand why they call this place Turkey.