Day 4: The Mausoleum of Ataturk

We got up very early this morning so we could be ready when the train got to ankara (one and a half hours later...). we had breakfast in the train station and then boarded another charter bus to go straight to the anatolia museum. there were artifacts from the earliest civilizations... incredible stuff. rick steves made another appearance, but i didn't get to see him again. but i sure did get a lot of ridicule from the night before!

from there, we went to the mausoleum of ataturk. today just so happened to be a very important festival day in turkey: the festival of children and sports. (because of this, there are flags hanging all over houses and HUGE ones spanning the height of skyscrapers.) it is also the day that turks remember the battle for independence, which attaturk was responsible for. we couldn't have been at his mausoleum on a better day. there were children marching with banners, presenting them to his impressive tomb. there was a ceremonious changing of the guard. and there were two old men giving a speech in turkish to his tomb. at first we thought one of these men was the president. people were clapping and after they crowded around to bow and kiss their hands. it turns out that they are veterans of the war. it was incredible seeing people fall over themselves to express their gratitude for what these men had done. so far, i've had quite a few experiences here in turkey that have been incredibly humbling and really made me question the values that americans hold.

we had lunch in ankara after the mausoleum, and then got on our bus to drive a little over 4 hours to cappadocia. we stopped two hours later at the second largest lake in turkey, the salt lake. brooke took her shoes off and walked in the lake. she told me that it was hard and hurt her feet, like tiny rocks would. very strange.



a little further down the road, we stopped at the ruins of a caravan market from when people would travel the silk road. we climbed around inside the rooms until climbing back inside the bus to finish the ride to cappadocia.

we got here a few hours ago. i took a well-needed shower and had dinner and now i'm quite ready for a good night's sleep. i can't wait to see the underground city tomorrow! goodnight <3

p.s. this hotel has an american keyboard! this makes me very happy. :]