Merhabalar!
This past weekend Riley and I ventured to Beypazarı, 1 ½ hour bus ride away, west of Ankara. Leaving our houses in the early hours, I wasn’t entirely sure we were going to make it to Beypazarı, because we had to first find Ankara’s old bus station, then we had to get on the right bus. Luckily our Turkish mothers drew maps for both of us, and we made it to the bus station no problems.

When we arrived in Beypazarı it was still relatively early so we had beaten the noon-time crowds. Wandering up the cobblestone streets, we met local men and women setting their hand-made jewelry, dried herbs, vegetables, nuts, havuç lokum (carrot-flavored Turkish delight), colorful textiles, and knitted booties out to sell. One notable difference from Ankara was the prevalence of headscarves in Beypazarı. The woman also wore very loose-fitting pants, with the crotches of the garments sagging nearly past their knees. Throughout the day, we got to practice our Turkish with men, women, and young children alike. Two young boys captured our hearts in a photo shoot. They were so patient with us, hanging on each other in brotherly-fashion, while Riley changed lenses. I gave them each a quarter. When they found out the coins were from America, they took off running down the street, shouting “Amerika! Amerika!”. We were sitting down at a table in a crowded restaurant for some afternoon grub, when an older woman came over to us, kissed me on both cheeks, and gave us the tasty baklava from her meal.

Sitting outside a café, we got to talking with a very nice Turkish couple. They invited us to come with them to hıdırlık tepesi, a high-overlooking hill in the center of Beypazarı where one can see the city and surrounding areas. We had been planning on walking there ourselves, but the car ride saved us a good sweat up the steep and winding road. It was a wonderful string of adventures!