Adventures in Travel

On Sunday, I returned from The Turkish Republic of North Cyprus (which is its own country, dangit, no matter what the rest of the world says!). I have every intention of writing a blog about that entire trip, but tonight I want to tell you about the most adventurous part - coming back home. But first, a little backstory.

We (that is, Martha, Judy and I) booked plane tickets and hotels back in February. But a couple of weeks later, our flight out was cancelled. No big deal. We rescheduled for last Wednesday night. Thursday was a test day, so we figured we’ll get colleagues to cover our classes, nothing doing. Then a couple of weeks later, our flight BACK was cancelled. Well, we could either fly back Sunday on a different airline and return to a different city, or wait until Monday. Since we were already taking Wednesday off, we thought it would be very bad to take any more days off. So our return plan was to fly to Antakya and take a bus from there back to Gaziantep.

Fast forward to the trip and its end this past Sunday. We stopped into the Anglican church for their communion service. It was a great treat to go to church in English. Then we walked to the bus stop where we caught our bus to the airport. Then we took the short flight across the Mediterranean to the mainland. In Antakya, we endured the chaotic mesh of people pressing and shoving to get back onto Turkish soil.

And then the adventure began. We hadn’t really had a clear plan, other than catching the bus to Gaziantep. From my Easter trip, I knew that there were actually two bus stations - the first, more popular one, was the eski otogar (old bus station), where you could get the small, crowded, stuffy buses that are pretty uncomfortable for a four hour drive. Besides that, they stop EVERYWHERE to pick up anyone who flags them down. Then there’s the yeni otogar (new bus station), where you can get the more comfortable, large buses that don’t stop as much and actually enforce limited seating. So we wanted the yeni otogar.

We took the Havaş, the airport shuttle, towards town and stopped it at the yeni otogar. But there, we found out the next bus to Gaziantep was already booked, and there wouldn’t be another until 4:00 PM. It was only about 1:00 at the time. So that was no good. We then got another taxi to the eski otogar. But on the way, the taxi driver saw a bus headed for Antep, and flagged it down and let us get out and onto the bus.

This one wasn’t so small, but it did stop everywhere and pick up anyone who flagged it down. It took us about a half to three quarters of the way, then stopped and all the people bound for Gaziantep had to get off and get on yet another bus! This one was smaller, more crowded, and stopped even more times to pick up anyone who flagged it down, even if there was clearly no more room! They even put out little plastic stools in between the rows of seats! Cramped and uncomfortable as it was, we did make it home, eventually.

But if that wasn’t enough, just tonight I had another adventure in travel. Since I had to cancel the private Spanish lesson I’ve picked up on Saturdays because of my trip to Cyprus, I planned on doing a make up lesson tonight. I had to catch one of the student buses from work to the Grand Hotel, which is near the office for the continuing education program, where I give these lessons.

As I was walking to the buses, I saw three of them taking off! I thought, Oh no! but maybe it wasn’t a big deal. Maybe one of the ones that was still there was the one I needed. I asked the first driver I came across “Grand Otel?” and he pointed forward - to the bus that was already gone. As a look of dismay creased both of our foreheads, he suddenly brightened and waved me onto his bus. Through gestures, he made it plain that he intended to catch up to the other bus and stop it so that I could get on.

And he did. But he didn’t catch up to it in the Zirve University driveway. And he didn’t catch up to it on the main road just outside of ZU. He caught up to it at the roundabout on the road into town, which was a horrible place to stop, but the other driver finally pulled off to the side of the road just beyond the roundabout. Then I got out and mounted the other bus, after making sure that he was, indeed, going to the Grand Otel.

When I finally arrived, and waited for my student...and waited...and waited...the director at ZUCEP called her only to find out that she was flying to Egypt that night and would be gone for three or four days. So after all my crazy adventure in getting to the place, my student didn’t even show up! I wasn’t particularly angry or upset at the situation, just highly amused. All in all, it was just another day in Turkey.

Shipping and Handling

I thought I would take a moment today to explain how shipping a package from here works. Granted, I’ve only tried it twice, but it’s rather inconvenient. Some of my fellow teachers have had the full experience.

When we arrived, we were told we could have mail sent to Zirve, which it turns out is the best option. I’ve received several packages from back home there. Otherwise, in order to pick up a package sent to your home address, you have to travel way across town, almost in the middle of nowhere to pick up a package at the post office. To send a package, there’s another option that isn’t so far away, but is still most inconvenient from the side of town I live on. I live on the Southwestern outskirts of Gaziantep, just before the shops and apartment buildings become empty land and villages. The nearest post office is in the city center, downtown, a twenty or thirty minute bus ride at best, followed by a bit of a walk. And when you’re carrying a package to deliver, it doesn’t make for easy hauling.

The first time I sent a package was at the very, very far away post office, the same time a colleague was picking up hers. And the package still hasn’t arrived, I’m told. Perhaps it got held up in customs, since it was pictures of Christina’s and my trip in January on CD. I guess the customs folks worried that it might be Al Qaida training videos or something...anyway, it never got there.

The second time was just this past week. I planned to send a package from the downtown office, but it turned out that wasn’t necessary. I bought a birthday gift for Christina, but needed a box to ship it in, and wasn’t sure if I could get them from the post office. I asked at my local market, and they told me to bring the package there, and they would help me. I figured they just meant they would find a suitable box. Well, as it turned out, they took care of mailing it for me. The next day, when I went back, they asked me for the cost of shipping and gave me the receipt. This is, of course, a much more convenient way of handling the matter. I don’t know if it will be any more successful at making it through customs, but we’ll find out in a few weeks, I hope!

Easter in Antioch

We left Saturday morning; there were six of us. Four Americans including me, and two Turks - a fellow teacher and her mom. Only two of us were Believers, as far as I know.

Saturday wasn't all that important to me, since I'd been to the city before, although I did hit up the museum again. But it was Sunday that I had been looking forward to, and it was worth it! We went to St. Peter's church, a cave where early Christians met and Peter is supposed to have preached. After exploring a bit, we sat outside of the cave and read the Easter story. Tears came to my eyes reading about our risen Lord in the place where his followers were first called Christians. Then, later, we went to the Protestant church in Antioch, and again, I was moved to tears just being in a room so full of other Christians! You can't imagine how much being here wears on you - it was so refreshing to be with so many other Believers!