 |
| Home Istanbul-1 Istanbul-2 Istanbul-3 Ankara M�stafapasa G�zelyurt Konya Antalya Pamukkale Aphrodisias Ephesus Last Supper |
 |
 |
| Day 4 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| G�naydin! |
| Our overnight train was comfortable, and I even slept between stations. Some of the scenery on the way reminded us of Utah. Maybe because Sidar had warned us about the skimpy breakfast we would receive on the train, we didn�t think that our breakfast was so bad. |
| In Ankara we finally met our bus driver Rafet, who then drove us to the world-class Anatolia Civilization Museum. Beautiful display! Young giggly girls of junior high age were taking pictures of a naked male statute, while eager boys surrounded Jerry, trying to have a conversation in English. |
| Driving through the scenic and historic Cappadocia region, we arrived at our hotel, "Old Greek House" in the village of M�stafapasa where we slept for two nights. The hotel had its own vegetable garden, from which we were served the most delicious home-cooked meals. Even Jerry liked the eggplant-tomato-beef stew. The tomato-cucumber salad was so fresh, and the sweet baklava was just delicious. |
 |
| Old Greek House |
 |
| Then we moved on to tour the huge Atat�rk�s Mausoleum. I have to admit that I knew nothing about Mustafa Kemal Atat�rk, who had transformed the country into the democratic, secular Republic of Turkey. At this Mausoleum, we learned why the Turks loved this leader. We pray that his reformation will continue to be the foundation of this country. Sidar read Turkish newspapers every morning on the bus and gave us highlights of the world news. Two days after we left Ankara, as we were told, a Turkish native bombed a shopping center in Ankara and killed two people. Sidar was consoled that it didn�t happen in Antalya where many Europeans come to vacation. |